Musicians
Medieval
Baroque
Born in Venice in 1678, Antonio Vivaldi established the solo concerto as a dominant Baroque form. With over 500 concertos including The Four Seasons, he influenced composers across Europe, most notably J.S. Bach. Known as 'The Red Priest,' he spent decades training the all-female ensemble at Venice's Ospedale della Pieta. Nearly forgotten for two centuries after his death in poverty, he
Born in Venice in 1678, Antonio Vivaldi established the solo concerto as a dominant Baroque form. Wi
Born in Halle
Born in Halle, Germany, in 1685, George Frideric Handel became one of the Baroque era's towering fig
Born in 1685 in Eisenach
Born in 1685 in Eisenach, Germany, Johann Sebastian Bach elevated Baroque counterpoint to its highes
Modern
Born in Macau in 1905, Xian Xinghai
Born in Macau in 1905, Xian Xinghai was a pioneer of modern Chinese music. The first Chinese student
Born in Tokyo in 1930, Toru Takemitsu
Born in Tokyo in 1930, Toru Takemitsu was a largely self-taught composer who became one of the twent
Born in Saint Petersburg in 1906, Dmitri Shostakovich
Born in Saint Petersburg in 1906, Dmitri Shostakovich was the Soviet Union's preeminent composer. He
Born in Hungary in 1881, Bela Bartok
Born in Hungary in 1881, Bela Bartok was one of the most important composers of the twentieth centur
Born near Saint Petersburg in 1882, Igor Stravinsky later became a French and then American citizen, standing as one of the twentieth century's most important composers. His ballet The Rite of Spring provoked a near-riot at its 1913 Paris premiere and fundamentally changed how composers understood rhythm. Traversing three distinct creative periods, Russian, neoclassical, and serial, he drove the development of modernist music and
Born near Saint Petersburg in 1882, Igor Stravinsky later became a French and then American citizen,
Japanese Art
impressionist
classical
Born in Salzburg in 1756
Born in Salzburg in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart defined the Classical era with over 800 compositio
Born in the Austrian village of Rohrau in 1732, Joseph Haydn
Born in the Austrian village of Rohrau in 1732, Joseph Haydn was the composer who contributed most t
Born in Bonn in 1770
Born in Bonn in 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven bridged the Classical and Romantic eras, expanding the em
jazz
Born in New Orleans in 1901, Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong
Born in New Orleans in 1901, Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong was a foundational figure in jazz. His innova
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1899, Duke Ellington
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1899, Duke Ellington was hailed by music critic Ralph J. Gleason as 'Am
romantic
Born in Russia in 1873
Born in Russia in 1873, Sergei Rachmaninoff later settled in the United States as one of the last gr
Born in Russia in 1840, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Born in Russia in 1840, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer to achieve lasting i
Born in Poland in 1810
Born in Poland in 1810, Frederic Chopin devoted his entire creative life to the piano, transforming
Born in Hungary in 1811, Franz Liszt
Born in Hungary in 1811, Franz Liszt was the Romantic era's supreme virtuoso pianist and a composer
Born in Leipzig in 1813
Born in Leipzig in 1813, Richard Wagner transformed opera into the Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of
Born in Hamburg in 1833
Born in Hamburg in 1833, Johannes Brahms carried forward the structural traditions of Bach and Beeth
Born in Vienna in 1797
Born in Vienna in 1797, Franz Schubert died at just thirty-one yet left over 1,000 compositions, ear
Born in Hamburg in 1809, Felix Mendelssohn
Born in Hamburg in 1809, Felix Mendelssohn was a composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of the e
Born in Zwickau, Germany, in 1810, Robert Schumann
Born in Zwickau, Germany, in 1810, Robert Schumann was a leading composer, pianist, and music critic
Born in Leipzig in 1819, Clara Schumann
Born in Leipzig in 1819, Clara Schumann was one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic e
Born in Bohemia in 1860 to a Jewish family, Gustav Mahler bridged nineteenth-century Romanticism and early twentieth-century modernism. As director of the Vienna Court Opera, he
Born in Bohemia in 1860 to a Jewish family, Gustav Mahler bridged nineteenth-century Romanticism and
Born near Busseto, Italy, in 1813, Giuseppe Verdi dominated Italian opera in the nineteenth century. Rigoletto, La traviata, and Aida marked the peaks of his middle period, while Otello and Falstaff, composed in his seventies, astonished the world as late masterpieces. His early chorus 'Va, pensiero' from Nabucco became a symbol of the Italian unification movement, and Verdi himself
Born near Busseto, Italy, in 1813, Giuseppe Verdi dominated Italian opera in the nineteenth century.
Born in Lucca, Italy, in 1858, Giacomo Puccini
Born in Lucca, Italy, in 1858, Giacomo Puccini was the most successful Italian opera composer after