COMPOSERS

This document contains a (representative) selection of the composers for whom the Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music includes entries. The entries themselves range in length from a paragraph to five or more pages.

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

ABSIL, Jean	(b. Bon-Secours, Hainaut, Belgium, 1893; d. Brussels, 1974). Composer.
ANDERSON, Laurie	(b. Chicago, 1947). Composer and performer.
ANNA AMALIA [Amalie]	(b. Berlin, 1723; d. there, 1787). Composer, patroness of music, and Princess of Prussia.
BACH, Johann Sebastian	(b. Eisenach, 1685; d. Leipzig, 1750). Composer and organist.
BALAKIREV, Mily Alexeyevich	(b. Nizhny-Novgorod, 1837; d. St. Petersburg, 1910). Composer.
BARBER, Samuel	(b. West Chester, Pa., 1910; d. New York, 1981). Composer.
BARTÓK, Béla	(b. Nagyszentmiklós, now Sînnicolau Mare, Romania, 1881; d. New York, 1945). Composer and ethnomusicologist.
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van	(b. Bonn, 1770; d. Vienna, 1827). Composer.
BERG, Alban (Maria Johannes)	(b. Vienna, 1885; d. there, 1935). Composer.
BERLIOZ, (Louis-) Hector	(b. La Cote St.-André, near Grenoble, 1803; d. Paris, 1869). Composer.
BERNSTEIN, Leonard	(b. Lawrence, Mass., 1918; d. New York, 1990). Composer, conductor, pianist.
BILLINGS, William	(b. Boston, 1746; d. there, 1800). Composer.
BIZET, Georges (Alexandre César Léopold)	(b. Paris, 1838; d. Bougival, near Paris, 1875). Composer.
BORODIN, Alexander Porfir'yevich	(b. St. Petersburg, 1833; d. there, 1887). Composer.
BOULEZ, Pierre	(b. Montbrison, 1925). Composer, conductor, and writer on music.
BOWLES, Paul (Frederic)	(b. Jamaica, N.Y., 1910). Composer and writer.
BRAHMS, Johannes	(b. Hamburg, 1833; d. Vienna, 1897). Composer.
BRITTEN, (Edward) Benjamin	(b. Lowestoft, Suffolk, 1913; d. Aldeburgh, 1976). Composer.
BRUCKNER, Anton (Joseph)	(b. Ansfelden, near Linz, 1824; d. Vienna, 1896). Composer.
BUSONI, Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto)	(b. Empoli, near Florence, 1866; d. Berlin, 1924). Composer, pianist, writer on music.
BYRD, William	(b. Lincoln?, 1543; d. Stondon Massey, Essex, 1623). Composer.
CAGE, John	(b. Los Angeles, 1912; d. New York, 1992). Composer and writer on music.
CHÁVEZ (y Ramírez), Carlos (Antonio de Padua)	(b. Mexico City, 1899; d. there, 1978). Composer and conductor.
CHOPIN, Fryderyk (Franciszek) [Frédéric François]	(b. Zelazowa Wola, near Warsaw, 1810; d. Paris, 1849). Composer and pianist.
CHOU Wen-Chung	(b. Chefoo, China, 1923). Composer.
CICONIA, Johannes [Jean]	(b. Liège, ca. 1335; d. Padua, 1411). Composer and theorist.
CLEMENTI, Muzio [Mutius Philippus Vincentius Franciscus Xaverius]	(b. Rome, 1752; d. Evesham, England, 1832). Composer, music publisher, and pianist.
COPLAND, Aaron	(b. Brooklyn, 1900; d. Westchester, N.Y., 1990). Composer, conductor, pianist, and writer on music.
CORDERO, Roque	(b. Panama, 1917). Composer.
CORELLI, Arcangelo	(b. Fusignano, 1653; d. Rome, 1713). Composer and violinist.
COUPERIN, François ["le grand"]	(b. Paris, 1668; d. there, 1733). Composer, organist, and harpsichordist.
COWELL, Henry (Dixon)	(b. Menlo Park, Calif., 1897; d. Shady Hill, N.Y., 1965). Composer, pianist, and writer on music.
DALLAPICCOLA, Luigi	(b. Pisino d'Istria, 1904; d. Florence, 1975). Composer and pianist.
DAN, Ikuma	(b. Tokyo, 1924). Composer.
DEBUSSY, (Achille-) Claude	(b. St. Germain-en-Laye, 1862; d. Paris, 1918). Composer and writer.
DITTERSDORF, Carl [Karl] Ditters von	(b. Vienna, 1739; d. Cervená Lhotta, Bohemia, 1799). Composer and violin virtuoso.
DONIZETTI, (Domenico) Gaetano (Maria)	(b. Bergamo, 1797; d. there, 1848). Composer.
DOWLAND, John	(b. London? 1563; d. there, 1626). Composer and lutenist.
DUFAY, Guillaume	(b. ca. 1400; d. Cambrai, 1474). Composer.
DVORÁK, Antonín (Leopold)	(b. Nelahozeves, near Kralupy, 1841; d. Prague, 1904). Composer.
EL-DABH, Halim (Abdul Messieh)	(b. Cairo, 1921). Composer.
ELGAR, Edward (William)	(b. Broadheath, near Worcester, 1857; d. Worcester, 1934). Composer.
ENESCU, George [Enesco, Georges]	(b. Liveni-Virnav [now George Enescu], Romania, 1881; d. Paris, 1955). Composer, conductor, and violinist.
FALLA (y Matheu), Manuel (Maria) de (los Dolores)	(b. Cádiz, 1876; d. Alta Gracia, Argentina, 1946). Composer.
FAURÉ, Gabriel (Urbain)	(b. Pamiers, 1845; d. Paris, 1924). Composer.
FIELD, John	(b. Dublin, 1782; d. Moscow, 1837). Composer and pianist.
FOSS, Lukas	(b. Berlin, 1922). Composer, conductor, and pianist.
FUKUSHIMA, Kazuo	(b. Tokyo, 1930). Composer.
GARANT, (Albert Antonio) Serge	(b. Quebec City, 1929; d. Sherbrooke, Quebec, 1986). Composer, conductor, pianist, and critic.
GERSHWIN, George	(b. Brooklyn, 1898; d. Hollywood, 1937). Composer, pianist, and conductor.
GINASTERA, Alberto	(b. Buenos Aires, 1916; d. Geneva, 1983). Composer.
GLASS, Philip	(b. Baltimore, 1937). Composer.
GLINKA, Mikhail Ivanovich	(b. Novospasskoye, Smolensk district, 1804; d. Berlin, 1857). Composer.
GLUCK, Christoph Willibald	(b. Erasbach, 1714; d. Vienna, 1787). Composer.
GOTTSCHALK, Louis Moreau	(b. New Orleans, 1829; d. Tijuca, Brazil, 1869). Composer and pianist.
GRIEG, Edvard (Hagerup)	(b. Bergen, 1843; d. there, 1907). Composer.
HADJIDAKIS, Manos	(b. Xanthi, Macedonia, 1925; d. Athens, 1994). Composer.
HANDEL, George Frideric	(b. Halle, 1685; d. London, 1759). Composer.
HANSON, Howard (Harold)	(b. Wahoo, Nebr., 1896; d. Rochester, N.Y., 1981). Composer, conductor, and teacher.
HARRIS, Roy [LeRoy] (Ellsworth)	(b. near Chandler, Okla., 1898; d. Santa Monica, 1979). Composer.
HAYASAKA, Fumio	(b. Sendai City, 1914; d. Tokyo, 1955). Composer.
HAYDN, (Franz) Joseph	(b. Rohrau, 1732; d. Vienna, 1809). Composer.
HAYS, Doris (Ernestine)	(b. Memphis, 1941). Composer and pianist.
HENZE, Hans Werner	(b. Gütersloh, Westphalia, 1926). Composer and conductor.
HERRMANN, Bernard	(b. New York, 1911; d. Los Angeles, 1975). Composer and conductor.
HONEGGER, Arthur	(b. Le Havre, 1892; d. Paris, 1955). Composer.
HOVHANESS [Hovaness], Alan [Chakmakjian, Alan Hovhaness]	(b. Somerville, Mass., 1911). Composer.
HUMMEL, Johann Nepomuk	(b. Pressburg [now Bratislava], 1778; d. Weimar, 1837). Composer and pianist.
HUMPERDINCK, Engelbert	(b. Siegburg, 1854; d. Neustrelitz, 1921). Composer.
IKENOUCHI, Tomojiro	(b. Tokyo, 1906). Composer.
INDY, (Paul Marie Théodore) Vincent d'	(b. Paris, 1851; d. there, 1931). Composer.
IVES, Charles (Edward)	(b. Danbury, Conn., 1874; d. New York, 1954). Composer.
JANÁCEK, Leos [Leo Eugen]	(b. Hukvaldy, Moravia, 1854; d. Moravská Ostrava, 1928). Composer.
JOPLIN, Scott	(b. near Marshall, Tex., or Shreveport, La., 1868; d. New York, 1917). Composer, pianist.
JOSQUIN DESPREZ [Juschino; Jodocus Pratensis; Joducus a Prato]	(b. Picardy?, northern France, ca. 1440; d. Condé-sur-Escaut, Hainaut, 1521). Composer.
KAGEL, Mauricio (Raúl)	(b. Buenos Aires, 1931). Composer.
KALOMIRIS, Manolis	(b. Smyrna, Turkey, 1883; d. Athens, 1962). Composer.
KHACHATURIAN, Aram Il'yich	(b. Tbilisi, 1903; d. Moscow, 1978). Composer.
KOLB, Barbara	(b. Hartford, Conn., 1939). Composer and clarinetist.
KOUKOUZELES, Johannes	(b. Dyrrachium [Durrës], Albania, ca. 1280; d. Great Laura?, Mount Athos, 1360-75?). Composer.
KRENEK, Ernst	(b. Vienna, 1900; d. Palm Springs, Calif., 1991). Composer and writer.
LAMBERT, (Leonard) Constant	(b. London, 1905; d. there, 1951). Composer and conductor.
LASSUS, Orlande de [Orlando (di) Lasso, Orlandus Lassus, Roland Delattre]	(b. Mons, Hainaut, 1532; d. Munich, 1594). Composer.
LEONCAVALLO, Ruggero	(b. Naples, 1857; d. Montecatini, 1919). Composer.
LIGETI, György (Sándor)	(b. Dicsöszentmárton, Transylvania, 1923). Composer.
LISZT, Franz [Franciscus]	(b. Raiding, Hungary [now Austria], 1811; d. Bayreuth, 1886). Pianist and composer.
LLOYD WEBBER, Andrew	(b. London, 1948). Composer.
LULLY, Jean-Baptiste [Giovanni Battista Lulli]	(b. Florence, 1632; d. Paris, 1687). Composer.
LUTOSLAWSKI, Witold	(b. Warsaw, 1913; d. there, 1994). Composer.
MAAYANI, Ami	(b. Ramat-Gan, 1936). Composer and conductor.
MACDOWELL, Edward (Alexander)	(b. New York, 1860; d. there, 1908). Composer.
MACHAUT [Machault], Guillaume de	(b. ca. 1300; d. Rheims?, 1377). Composer and poet.
MAHLER, Gustav	(b. Kalischt, Bohemia, 1860; d. Vienna, 1911). Composer and conductor.
MALIPIERO, Gian Francesco	(b. Venice, 1882; d. Treviso, 1973). Composer and musicologist.
MAMIYA, Michio	(b. Asahikawa, 1929). Composer.
MARTIN, Frank	(b. Geneva, 1890; d. Naarden, Netherlands, 1974). Composer.
MASSENET, Jules (Émile Frédéric)	(b. Montaud, near St. Étienne, 1842; d. Paris, 1912). Composer.
MAYUZUMI, Toshiro	(b. Yokohama, 1929). Composer.
MÉHUL, Étienne-Nicolas	(b. Givet, 1763; d. Paris, 1817). Composer.
MENDELSSOHN (Bartholdy), (Jakob Ludwig) Felix	(b. Hamburg, 1809; d. Leipzig, 1847). Composer.
MENOTTI, Gian Carlo	(b. Cadegliano, Varese, 1911). Composer and librettist.
MESSIAEN, Olivier (Eugène Prosper Charles)	(b. Avignon, 1908; d. Paris, 1992). Composer and organist.
MEYERBEER, Giacomo [Jakob Liebmann]	(b. Vogelsdorf, near Berlin, 1791; d. Paris, 1864). Composer.
MILHAUD, Darius	(b. Aix-en-Provence, 1892; d. Geneva, 1974). Composer, conductor, and pianist.
MONK, Meredith (Jane)	(b. Lima, Peru, 1942). Composer and singer.
MONTEVERDI [Monteverde], Claudio (Giovanni [Zuan] Antonio)	(b. Cremona, 1567; d. Venice, 1643). Composer.
MOZART, (Johann Chrysostom) Wolfgang Amadeus	(b. Salzburg, 1756; d. Vienna, 1791). Composer.
MUSSORGSKY [Moussorgsky, Musorgsky], Modest Petrovich	(b. Karevo, Pskov district, 1839; d. St. Petersburg, 1881). Composer.
NIELSEN, Carl (August)	(b. Nörre-Lyndelse, near Odense, 1865; d. Copenhagen, 1931). Composer.
NONO, Luigi	(b. Venice, 1924; d. there, 1990). Composer.
OBRECHT [Hobrecht], Jacob	(b. Bergen op Zoom? or Sicily?, 1450; d. Ferrara, 1505). Composer.
OFFENBACH, Jacques	(b. Cologne, 1819; d. Paris, 1880). Composer.
ORFF, Carl	(b. Munich, 1895; d. there, 1982). Composer and music educator.
Ó RIADA, Seán [Reidy, John]	(b. Cork, 1931; d. London, 1971). Composer.
PACHELBEL, Johann	(b. Nuremberg, 1653; d. there, 1706). Composer and organist.
PAIK, Nam June	(b. Seoul, 1923). Composer.
PALESTRINA, Giovanni Pierluigi da	(b. probably Palestrina, near Rome, 1525 or 1526; d. Rome, 1594). Composer.
PANUFNIK, Andrzej	(b. Warsaw, 1914; d. Twickenham, 1991). Composer.
PERGOLESI, Giovanni Battista	(b. Iesi, Marche, 1710; d. Puzzuoli, near Naples, 1736). Composer.
PISTON, Walter (Hamor, Jr.)	(b. Rockland, Maine, 1894; d. Belmont, Mass., 1976). Composer and teacher.
PORPORA, Nicola (Antonio)	(b. Naples, 1686; d. there, 1768). Composer and singing teacher.
POULENC, Francis (Jean Marcel)	(b. Paris, 1899; d. there, 1963). Composer.
POWELL, Mel	(b. New York, 1923). Composer.
PRAETORIUS [Schultheiss], Michael	(b. Creuzburg an der Werra, near Eisenach, 1571; d. Wolfenbüttel, 1621). Composer and theorist.
PRICE [née Smith], Florence Bea(trice)	(b. Little Rock, Ark., 1888; d. Chicago, 1953). Composer.
PROKOFIEV, Sergei Sergeievich	(b. Sontsovka, near Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine, 1891; d. Moscow, 1953). Composer and pianist.
PUCCINI, Giacomo	(Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria) (b. Lucca, 1858; d. Brussels, 1924). Composer.
PURCELL, Henry	(b. London, ca. 1659; d. Westminster, London, 1695). Composer.
RACHMANINOFF, Sergei (Vassilievich)	(b. Semyonovo, 1873; d. Beverly Hills, 1943). Composer, pianist, and conductor.
RAMEAU, Jean-Philippe	(b. Dijon, 1683; d. Paris, 1764). Composer and theorist.
RAVEL, (Joseph) Maurice	(b. Ciboure, Basses Pyrénées, 1875; d. Paris, 1937). Composer.
REGER, (Johann Baptist Joseph) Max(imilian)	(b. Brand, Bavaria, 1873; d. Leipzig, 1916). Composer.
REICH, Steve [Stephen] (Michael)	(b. New York, 1936). Composer.
RESPIGHI, Ottorino	(b. Bologna, 1879; d. Rome, 1936). Composer.
REVUELTAS, Silvestre	(b. Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, 1899; d. Mexico City, 1940). Composer and violinist.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Nikolay Andreyevich	(b. Tikhvin, Novgorod govt., 1844; d. Lyubensk, St. Petersburg govt., 1908). Composer.
ROSENBERG, Hilding (Constantin)	(b. Bosjökloster, Ringsjön Skåne, 1892; d. Stockholm, 1985). Composer.
ROSSINI, Gioachino (Antonio)	(b. Pesaro, 1792; d. Passy, near Paris, 1868). Composer.
SAINT-SAËNS, (Charles) Camille	(b. Paris, 1835; d. Algiers, 1921). Composer.
SALIERI, Antonio	(b. Legnano, 1750; d. Vienna, 1825). Composer.
SANTA CRUZ, Domingo	(b. La Cruz, Valparaiso, Chile, 1899; d. Santiago, 1987). Composer.
SATIE, Erik [Eric] (Alfred Leslie)	(b. Honfleur, 1866; d. Paris, 1925). Composer, pianist, and writer.
SCARLATTI, (Pietro) Alessandro (Gaspare)	(b. Palermo, 1660; d. Naples, 1725). Composer.
SCARLATTI, (Giuseppe) Domenico	(b. Naples, 1685; d. Madrid, 1757). Composer (son of Alessandro Scarlatti).
SCHOENBERG, Arnold	(b. Vienna, 1874; d. Los Angeles, 1951). Composer and theorist.
SCHUBERT, Franz Peter	(b. Vienna, 1797; d. there, 1828). Composer.
SCHULLER, Gunther	(b. New York, 1925). Composer, conductor, author, educator.
SCHUMANN, Robert Alexander	(b. Zwickau, 1810; d. Endenich, near Bonne, 1856). Composer.
SCHÜLTZ, Heinrich [Henrich] [Sagittarius, Henricus]	(b. Köstritz [now Bad Köstritz], near Gera, 1585; d. Dresden, 1672). Composer.
SCRIABIN, Alexander Nikolaevich	(b. Moscow, 1872; d. there, 1915). Composer.
SESSIONS, Roger (Huntington)	(b. Brooklyn, 1896; d. Princeton, N.J., 1985). Composer.
SHOSTAKOVICH, Dmitri Dmitrievich	(b. St. Petersburg, 1906; d. Moscow, 1975). Composer.
SIBELIUS, Jean [Johan] (Julius Christian)	(b. Hämeenlinna, 1865; d. Järvenpää, 1957). Composer.
SMETANA, Bedrich	(b. Litomysl, Bohemia, 1824; d. Prague, 1884). Composer.
SMYTH, Ethel (Mary)	(b. Marlebone, 1858; d. Woking, 1944). Composer.
SOUSA, John Philip	(b. Washington, D.C., 1854; d. Reading, Pa., 1932). Composer, conductor.
STOCKHAUSEN, Karlheinz	(b. Mödrath, Germany, 1928). Composer.
STRAUSS, Richard (Georg)	(b. Munich, 1864; d. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, 1949). Composer.
STRAVINSKY, Igor Fyodorovich	(b. Oranienbaum, near St. Petersburg, 1882; d. New York, 1971). Composer.
SULLIVAN, Arthur (Seymour)	(b. London, 1842; d. there, 1900). Composer.
SZYMANOWSKI, Karol (Maciej)	(b. Tymoszówska, Ukraine, 1882; d. Lausanne, 1937). Composer.
TALLIS [Tallys, Talles], Thomas	(b. ca. 1505; d. Greenwich, 1585). Composer.
TCHAIKOVSKY, Piotr Ilyich	(b. Votkinsk, Viatka Province, Western Central Urals, 1840; d. St. Petersburg, 1893). Composer.
TELEMANN, Georg Philipp	(b. Magdeburg, 1681; d. Hamburg, 1767). Composer.
TIPPETT, Michael (Kemp)	(b. London, 1905). Composer.
USSACHEVSKY, Vladimir	(b. Hailar, Manchuria, 1911; d. New York, 1990). Composer.
VARÈSE, Edgard (Victor Achille Charles)	(b. Paris, 1883; d. New York, 1965). Composer.
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, Ralph	(b. Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, 1872; d. London, 1958). Composer.
VERDI, Giuseppe (Fortunino Francesco)	(b. Le Roncole, near Parma, 1813; d. Milan, 1901). Composer.
VILLA-LOBOS, Heitor	(b. Rio de Janeiro, 1887; d. there, 1959). Composer.
VIVALDI, Antonio (Lucio)	(b. Venice, 1678; d. Vienna, 1741). Composer.
WAGNER, (Wilhelm) Richard	(b. Leipzig, 1813; d. Venice, 1883). Composer and author.
WEBER, Carl Maria (Friedrich Ernst) von	(b. Eutin, Germany, 1786; d. London, 1826). Composer.
WEBERN, Anton (Friedrich Wilhelm von)	(b. Vienna, 1883; d. Mittersill, Austria, 1945). Composer.
WEILL, Kurt (Julian)	(b. Dessau, 1900; d. New York, 1950). Composer.
WOLF, Hugo (Filipp Jakob)	(b. Windischgratz, Styria, 1860; d. Vienna, 1903). Composer.
WUORINEN, Charles	(b. New York, 1938). Composer.
YAMADA, Kosaku [Kosçak]	(b. Tokyo, 1886; d. there, 1965). Composer.
ZWILLICH, Ellen Taaffe	(b. Miami, 1939). Composer.