Composer Gallery
Baroque
Bach, Johann Sebastian
- Bach was a formidable intellectual and technical composer, but his music is also uplifting and spiritual, melodic, and rhythmically irresistible. Few names in music are as revered as Bach’s.
More »
20th-Century
Barber, Samuel
American composer noted for craft and emotional power. His Adagio for Strings is one of the more popular classical works of the mid-20th century.
More »
More »
20th Century
Bartók, Béla
- One of the most celebrated early 20th-century composers. He collected and studied Eastern European folk music, which became the basis of his mature compositions.
More »
Classical
Beethoven, Ludwig van
- The most famous and influential composer in music history. His life and music provided the template for musical Romanticism.
More »
20th Century
Berg, Alban
A Viennese composer whose romantic modernism is unique and multifaceted. His music communicates with audiences despite his adoption of "atonal" musical techniques.
More »
More »
Romantic
Berlioz, Hector
- His heart on his sleeve, fanatically dedicated, disillusioned, bushy-haired—Berlioz was the archetypal Romantic composer. He composed mostly large-scale orchestral and choral works.
More »
20th Century
Bernstein, Leonard
- American composer of everything from popular musicals to symphonies. He was also the most eminent and successful conductor born in the United States.
More »
Romantic
Brahms, Johannes
- Often called the successor to Beethoven, Brahms achieved greatness in a wide variety of genres. Despite his intellectual rigor, he is one of the most popular Romantic composers.
More »
20th Century
Britten, Benjamin
- Twentieth-century English composer of opera and other works. Many of his operas have become standard repertory.
More »