The following is a list of major composers by nationality:
- Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), Classical era composer
- Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Classical era composer, wrote 104 symphonies including the "Farewell" Symphony as well as string quartets and other chamber music
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, wrote the famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik serenade, 41 symphonies, and the opera Don Giovanni
- Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Classical/Romantic composer, regarded as the first significant lieder writer
- Johann Strauss I (1804-1849), Early Romantic dance music composer
- Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), Romantic composer of nine large-sclae symphonies
- Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), Romantic composer of waltzes and polkas, wrote The Blue Danube waltz
- Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Late Romantic composer of large-scale and sometimes programmatic symphonies
- Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), 20th century modernist composer, founder of the Second Viennese School, developer of the twelve tone technique
- Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), 20th century virtuoso violinist and composer
- Alban Berg (1885-1935), 20th century composer, student in the Second Viennese School
see also
List of Czech composers
- Jan Stamic (1717-1757), Classical era composer better known as Johann Stamitz, founder of the Mannheim School of composers
- Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884), nationalist composer, known for the opera The Bartered Bride
- Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Romantic nationalist composer, known for his symphonies, especially the "New World" Symphony
- Leoš Janáček (1854-1928), 20th century neoclassical composer
- Julius Fučík (1872-1916), 20th century military band leader, known for his Entrance of the Gladiators
- Henry Purcell (1659-1695), significant Baroque composer
- Jeremiah Clarke (1674-1707), Baroque composer known for Trumpet Voluntary
- Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), Romantic composer known for his work with W.S. Gilbert
- Edward Elgar (1857-1934), late Romantic composer, famous for the Pomp and Circumstance Marches and the Enigma Variations
- Frederick Delius (1862-1934), 20th century composer, used chromaticism in many of his compositions
- Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), 20th century composer
- Gustav Holst (1874-1934), 20th century composer known for The Planets
- William Walton (1902-1983), 20th century composer, showed influence of jazz in his works
- Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), 20th century comopser, conductor, and pianist
see also
List of French composers
- Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), Baroque composer, first significant composer of French opera
- Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682-1738), Baroque composer, known today for his 'Rondeau' (theme song to the TV show Masterpiece Theatre)
- Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), Baroque composer, replace Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant French composer of the time
- Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764), significant Baroque era composer
- Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831), composer known for his 42 études used by most violin students
- Jacques-Fereol Mazas (1782-1849), 18th century violinist and composer
- Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), composer famous for his programmatic symphony, the Symphonie Fantastique
- Charles Dancla (1817-1907)*, 19th century violin teacher and composer
- Charles Gounod (1818-1893), composer, best known for his opera Faust
- Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), French operetta composer, known for The Tales of Hoffmann
- Edouard Lalo (1823-1892), Romantic composer remembered primarily for his Symphonie Espagnole for violin and orchestra
- Jean-Baptiste Accolay (1833-1900), 19th century violin teacher and composer
- Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), Romantic composer perhaps best known for The Carnival of the Animals
- Leo Delibes (1836-1891), ballet composer known for his Coppelia, Sylvia, and Lakmé
- Georges Bizet (1838-1875), Romantic composer famous for his opera Carmen
- Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Romantic composer best known for "Meditation" from his opera Thaïs
- Gabriel Faure (1845-1924), Romantic composer, known for his chamber music and a requiem among other pieces
- Claude Debussy (1862-1918), 20th century composer, his music is often described as impressionist, although he dismissed the term, wrote 'Clair de Lune' from Suite bergamasque
- Paul Dukas (1865-1935), late Romantic composer known today for his piece of program music, The Sorcerer's Apprentice
- Erik Satie (1866-1925), 20th century modernist and impressionist composer, known for his Gymnopedies
- Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), 20th century composer in the impressionist and neoclassicist styles
- Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), 20th century modernist composer
- Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706), Baroque composer known almost exclusively today for his Canon in D major
- Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), Baroque composer with more than 800 credited works
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Baroque composer, considered the father of counterpoint, known for Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and many other compositions
- George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Baroque composer, wrote a significant amount of music for the church including Messiah
- Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), early Classical era composer
- Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), early Classical era composer
- Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), 18th century composer in the Galante style
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), regarded by many as the first Romantic composer and one of the most significant composers in history, famous for Für Elise, "Moonlight" Sonata, and other works
- Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), composer who was a bridge between the Classical and Romantic styles
- Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Romantic composer, known for Wedding March from his music to A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Romantic composer, a significant lieder writer, also wrote many short piano pieces
- Richard Wagner (1813-1883), opera composer, regarded as one of the most significant composers of the 19th century
- Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814-1865), violinist and composer, considered by some the greatest violinist of his time after Paganini
- Clara Schumann (1819-1896), early Romantic composer, wife of Robert and pianist who also wrote piano music
- Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Romantic composer, somewhat similar in style to Beethoven, known for his Hungarian Dances and Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn
- Franz Wohlfahrt (1833-1884), Romantic era violin teacher
- Max Bruch (1838-1920), Romantic era composer, today known mostly for his Violin Concerto No. 1
- Fritz Seitz (1848-1918), Romantic era violin teacher
- Richard Strauss (1864-1949), late Romantic composer, known for Also Sprach Zarathustra, based on Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy
- Carl Orff (1895-1982), 20th century minimalist composer
- Hans Zimmer (1957- ), contemporary film score composer (Gladiator)
see also
List of Italian composers
- Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612), 16th century composer and organist
- Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), composer who was a bridge between the Renaissance and Baroque eras
- Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), early Baroque violinist and composer
- Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Baroque composer, famous for The Four Seasons
- Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), Baroque composer, influential in the development of the Classicals style
- Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), Baroque composer, famous for his Devil's Trill Sonata
- Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), 18th century composer in the Galante style
- Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), Classical era composer and rival of Mozart
- Giovanni Viotti (1755-1824), Classical era violin teacher
- Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), virtuoso violinist and composer
- Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868), opera composer, best known for The Barber of Seville and overtures to various other operas
- Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), opera composer, known for Lucia di Lammermoor and L'Elisir d'Amore among others
- Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), one of the most popular Italian opera composers (Rigoletto)
- Luigi Denza (1846-1922), Romantic composer of Funiculì, Funiculà
- Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), late romantic opera composer (La Bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly)
- Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), opera composer, known for Cavalleria Rusticana
- Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936), late Romantic composer, known for his symphonic poems The Fountains of Rome and The Pines of Rome
see also
List of Polish composers
- Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857), one of the first significant Russian composers
- Aleksandr Borodin (1833-1887), Romantic composer and chemist, member of The Mighty Handful
- Cesar Cui (1835-1918), Romantic composer, member of The Mighty Handful
- Mily Balakirev (1837-1910), Romantic composer, member of The Mighty Handful
- Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), Romantic composer, member of The Mighty Handful, wrote Pictures at an Exhibition
- Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), influential Romantic composer, famous for his ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake), his Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, and the 1812 Overture
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), Romantic composer, member of The Mighty Handful, known for "The Flight of the Bumblebee"
- Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), late Romantic virtuoso pianist and composer
- Reinhold Gliere (1875-1956), composer who wrote pieces in a romantic style well into the 20th century
- Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), 20th century primitivist, neoclassical, and jazz composer, known for his early ballet The Rite of Spring
- Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), 20th century neoclassical composer
- Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987), 20th century composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), 20th century composer, wrote ten symphonies
- Fernando Sor (1778-1839), Classical era composer for the guitar
- Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806-1826), Romantic composer, nicknamed the "Spanish Mozart" before dying at age 19
- Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), Romantic era virtuoso violinist and composer
- Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909), Romantic era guitarist and composer
- Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909), late Romantic nationalist composer and pianist
- Enrique Granados (1867-1916), nationlist composer and pianist, influenced later composers such as Manuel de Falla
- Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), 20th century composer, best known for The Three-Cornered Hat
see also
List of American composers
- John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), military bandleader, wrote Stars and Stripes Forever
- Scott Joplin (1868-1917), ragtime composer, wrote The Entertainer
- Charles Ives (1874-1954), significant 19th century composer
- Irving Berlin (1888-1989), composer of White Christmas and God Bless America
- Cole Porter (1891-1964), 20th century composer, wrote the music for Anything Goes
- William Grant Still (1895-1978), regarded as the first significant African-American composer
- George Gershwin (1898-1937), composer influenced by jazz, wrote Rhapsody in Blue
- Aaron Copland (1900-1990), 20th century neoromantic composer, known for the ballet Rodeo and Appalachian Spring
- Samuel Barber (1910-1981), 20th century composer, famous for his Adagio for Strings
- John Cage (1912-1992), 20th century composer of aleatoric music
- Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), 20th century composer, wrote the music for West Side Story
- John Williams (1932- ), contemporary film score composer (Star Wars, Schindler's List)
- Philip Glass (1937- ), 20th century minimalist composer
- Danny Elfman (1953- ), contemporary film score composer, wrote the theme song to the TV show The Simpsons
Lists of composers | Composers by nationality