Top 10 Composers

Though he was a priest, a master of violin and an opera impresario, Vivaldi is known as one of the Baroque era’s greatest composers. Blending harmony, melody and instrumental parts, the Red Priest’s lively and imaginative musical compositions were even fit for European monarchs. While the virtuoso violinist also wrote and produced operas, it was his ground-breaking “The Four Seasons” that set the standard for concertos.

He may not have lived to see his 32nd birthday, but Schubert’s technical skills and experimental side were more than aptly displayed in his 600-plus lieder or art songs, chamber works, operas, and more. By setting Wilhelm Muller’s poems to music, Schubert laid the blueprint for song cycles. Meanwhile, the melodies, harmonies, contrasting moods and orchestration of his symphonies made him one of the foremost Romantic composers.

Always a perfectionist, Brahms rewrote several of his works after mastering the Baroque and Classical writing techniques of counterpoint and development. Aside from his chamber, orchestral and vocal compositions, the highly skilled pianist found recognition for his choral work and the smaller-scale “Hungarian Dances.” Thanks to his purist yet innovative musical approach, the Romantic composer’s many piano concertos, string quartets and symphonies are still performed today.

#7 – George Frideric Handel (Baroque)

Also in:

Top 10 George Michael and Wham Songs

His cantatas and Italian operas garnered him international fame and a gig as King George I’s official music-maker. But after producing the orchestral movement, “Water Music,” Handel made his name by writing the first English-language oratorio, “Esther,” and the popular choral work, “Messiah.” Add his anthems, concertos, orchestral writings and theatrical works and it’s easy to see why Handel is considered one of the Baroque’s best.

Preoccupied with how listeners experienced his compositions, Tchaikovsky filled his music with heavy orchestration, varied emotional ranges, contrasting timbre tones, and 18th century pastiche style. The first internationally recognized Russian composer also combined Western European techniques with his native approach. In addition to symphonies, concertos, operas and his Romeo and Juliet masterpiece, his ballets remain popular thanks to their full melodies and carefully crafted dance music.

Though he moved to Paris, the introverted Romantic composer is one of Poland’s most respected figures. The piano child-prodigy-turned-patriotic Pole mostly wrote highly detailed and technically challenging piano works. He was also known for writing the first instrumental ballades and transforming Etudes from teaching material to concert pieces. With his sense of melody and emotion, Chopin expanded the genres of nocturne, the Viennese Waltz and Polish mazurkas.

He forever changed German operas with his use of leitmotifs, melody, rhythm, harmony and orchestration. By writing the libretto and the musical score, he united multiple art forms in his music dramas, most notably in his epic “Ring Cycle.” Though Wagner authored some highly controversial writings, he also wrote one of history’s finest operas and paved the way for 20th century classical music with “Tristan und Isolde.”

Mozart embodied musical elegance, grace and passion. Already playing keyboard, violin and composing songs by age 5, he later defined piano concertos with his complex orchestration. By refining the scope and techniques of Baroque composers, Mozart also wrote exquisitely balanced symphonies, operas, sonatas and chamber music. The musical clarity and transparency of his compositions positioned him as one of the most significant classical composers of all time.

Though he studied with Haydn and was influenced by Mozart, the virtuoso pianist and incomparable composer epitomized classical music with his ambitious and heroic symphonies, concertos and sonatas. However, it was his more inventive, profound and personal works crafted amid his increasing deafness that set the stage for Romanticism. Beethoven’s Ninth has been hailed one of history’s finest musical works and remains one of the world’s most recognizable symphonies.

While Mozart’s and Beethoven’s rankings are arguably interchangeable, there’s little doubt as to the identity of history’s greatest composer. Believing music’s purpose was the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul, Bach creatively fused other European styles with his German approach. His deep, beautiful and technically complex works for organ, violin, cello and flute were colored with motifs and his own contrapuntal style. With music in his blood, the original father of harmony was destined to become a highly proficient multi-instrumentalist and brilliant Baroque composer. Today, his “Mass in B minor” is considered one of history’s greatest musical compositions. Do you agree or disagree with our list? Who is your favorite composer of all time? Be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com for more entertaining top 10s.