Musicians & Composers
The makers of humanity's soundtrack.
records written
Modern era
Abdul Alim
July 27, 1931 – September 5, 1974
Bangladeshi Folk singer (1931–1974)
Modern era
Shah Abdul Karim
February 15, 1916 – September 12, 2009
Bangladeshi musician
Contemporary era
Ahmad Zahir
June 14, 1946 – June 14, 1979
Afghan singer (1946-1979)
Modern era
Noah
January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946
American actor (1882–1946)
Contemporary era
Elijah
b. c. 2000
Swiss singer (2000-)
Contemporary era
John Wesley
August 3, 1947 – September 7, 2019
American actor (1947-2019)
Contemporary era
Imhotep
b. May 19, 1960
French DJ, composer and record producer
Medieval era
Peter Abelard
1079 – April 21, 1142
French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician (c.1079-1142)
Modern era
Vaclav Havel
October 5, 1936 – December 18, 2011
Czech statesman, playwright, and former dissident, the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic (1936–2011)
Modern era
Margaret Hamilton
December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985
American film character actress (1902–1985)
Modern era
Henrik Ibsen
March 20, 1828 – May 23, 1906
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828–1906)
Modern era
Susan Sontag
January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004
American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist (1933–2004)
Modern era
Charles Bukowski
August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994
German-American writer (1920–1994)
Modern era
Federico Garcia Lorca
June 5, 1898 – August 18, 1936
Spanish poet, dramatist and prose writer (1898–1936)
Modern era
Mahmoud Darwish
March 13, 1941 – August 9, 2008
The national Palestinian poet, and author (1941–2008)
Early Modern era
Anthony van Dyck
March 22, 1599 – December 9, 1641
Flemish Baroque artist (1599–1641)
Early Modern era
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
August 29, 1780 – January 14, 1867
French painter (1780–1867)
Modern era
Man Ray
August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976
American and French visual artist (1890–1976)
Modern era
Yoko Ono
b. February 18, 1933
Japanese artist and activist based in the United States (born 1933)
Modern era
Ansel Adams
February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984
American photographer and environmentalist (1902–1984)
Modern era
Henri Cartier-Bresson
August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004
French photographer (1908–2004)
Contemporary era
Annie Leibovitz
b. October 2, 1949
American photographer (born 1949)
Early Modern era
Claudio Monteverdi
May 15, 1567 – November 29, 1643
Italian composer, string player, choirmaster, and priest (1567–1643)
Early Modern era
Henry Purcell
September 10, 1659 – November 21, 1695
English composer (1659–1695)
Early Modern era
Arcangelo Corelli
February 17, 1653 – January 8, 1713
Italian violinist and composer (1653–1713)
Early Modern era
Johann Pachelbel
September 1, 1653 – March 3, 1706
German composer, organist and teacher
Early Modern era
Domenico Scarlatti
October 26, 1685 – July 23, 1757
Italian composer, son of Alessandro Scarlatti
Early Modern era
Antonio Salieri
August 18, 1750 – May 7, 1825
Italian composer and teacher (1750–1825)
Modern era
Johann Strauss II
October 25, 1825 – June 3, 1899
Austrian composer (1825-1899)
Modern era
Jacques Offenbach
June 20, 1819 – October 5, 1880
German-born French composer (1819–1880)
Modern era
Georges Bizet
October 25, 1838 – June 3, 1875
French composer (1838–1875)
Modern era
Gabriel Faure
May 12, 1845 – November 4, 1924
French composer, organist, pianist and teacher (1845–1924)
Modern era
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
March 6, 1844 – June 20, 1908
Russian composer (1844–1908)
Modern era
Modest Mussorgsky
March 9, 1839 – March 16, 1881
Russian composer (1839–1881)
Modern era
Alexander Borodin
October 31, 1833 – February 15, 1887
Russian composer, doctor and chemist (1833–1887)
Modern era
Alexander Scriabin
January 6, 1872 – April 27, 1915
Russian composer and pianist (1872–1915)
Modern era
Bedrich Smetana
March 2, 1824 – May 12, 1884
Czech composer
Modern era
Bela Bartok
March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945
Hungarian composer and pianist (1881–1945)
Modern era
Ralph Vaughan Williams
October 12, 1872 – August 26, 1958
English composer (1872-1958)
Modern era
Gustav Holst
September 21, 1874 – May 25, 1934
British composer (1874–1934)
Modern era
Edward Elgar
June 2, 1857 – February 23, 1934
English composer (1857-1934)
Modern era
Benjamin Britten
November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976
English composer, conductor, and pianist (1913-1976)
Modern era
Arnold Schoenberg
September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951
Austrian-Jewish American composer (1874-1951)
Modern era
Carl Orff
July 10, 1895 – March 29, 1982
German composer (1895–1982)
Modern era
Aaron Copland
November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990
American composer, composition teacher, writer, and conductor (1900-1990)
Modern era
Samuel Barber
March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981
American composer (1910-1981)
Modern era
Philip Glass
b. January 31, 1937
American composer (born 1937)
Modern era
John Cage
September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992
American avant-garde composer (1912-1992)
Modern era
Arvo Part
b. September 11, 1935
Estonian composer (born 1935)
Modern era
Astor Piazzolla
March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992
Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player and arranger
Modern era
Heitor Villa-Lobos
March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959
Brazilian composer (1887–1959)
Modern era
Joaquin Rodrigo
November 22, 1901 – July 6, 1999
Spanish composer, best known for his Concierto de Aranjuez (1901–1999)
Modern era
Enrico Caruso
February 24, 1873 – August 2, 1921
Italian opera singer (1873–1921)
Modern era
Vladimir Horowitz
September 18, 1903 – November 5, 1989
Russian/Ukrainian and American pianist (1903-1989)
Modern era
Arthur Rubinstein
January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982
Polish-American classical pianist (1887-1982)
Modern era
Glenn Gould
September 25, 1932 – October 4, 1982
Canadian composer and pianist (1932–1982)
Contemporary era
Itzhak Perlman
b. August 31, 1945
Israeli-American violinist and conductor (born 1945)
Contemporary era
Yo-Yo Ma
b. October 7, 1955
American cellist (born 1955)
Modern era
Herbert von Karajan
April 5, 1908 – July 16, 1989
Austrian conductor (1908–1989)
Modern era
Arturo Toscanini
March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957
Italian conductor (1867–1957)