| Composer | Date | Note | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev Abeliovich | 1912-1995 | Lithuanian, born in Vilnius | Dolmetsch |
| Hans Abrahamsen | 1952- | Danish, Tutor of Composition at Royal Danish Academy of Music | Wikipedia |
| Anton Garcia Abril | 1933- | Spanish composer and conductor | Dolmetsch |
| Jean Absil | 1893-1974 | Belgian, for 40 years director of the Music Academy in Etterbeek | Wikipedia |
| Richard Addinsell | 1904-1977 | British composer of film music including Warsaw Concerto for 'Dangerous Moonlight' | Wikipedia |
| Samuel Adler | 1928- | Born in Mannheim, Germany, his Jewish family fled to the USA in 1939 when Adler was only 11 | Wikipedia |
| Isaac Albeniz | 1860-1909 | Spanish, much of his piano music transcribed for guitar, e.g. Asturias | Wikipedia |
| Eugen d'Albert | 1864-1932 | Born in Scotland of an Italian/French father and an English mother he considered himself to be German. | Wikipedia |
| Charles-Valentin Alkan | 1813-1888 | French virtuoso pianist, spending much of his life as a hermit and misanthrope who was reputedly crushed to death under a bookcase. | Wikipedia |
| William Alwyn | 1905-1985 | English. He wrote over 70 film scores between 1941 and 1962 including 'The History of Mr. Polly' | Wikipedia |
| Leroy Anderson | 1908-1975 | American composer of light music, for example 'Sleigh Ride' | Wikipedia |
| Anton Arensky | 1861-1906 | Russian, taught Scriabin and Rachmaninoff at Moscow Conservatory. | Wikipedia |
| Malcolm Arnold | 1921-2006 | Wrote for British films. Took up the trumpet after hearing Louis Armstrong | Wikipedia |
| Kurt Atterberg | 1887-1974 | Swedish, he was also an engineer and worked in the Swedish patent office | Wikipedia |
| Lera Auerbach | 1973- | Russian, she was one of the last to defect to the West, in 1991 | Wikipedia |
| Aaron Avshalamoff | 1894-1965 | Russian, spent 30 years in China and was influenced by Chinese music | |
| Milton Babbitt | 1916- | American pioneer of electronic music | Wikipedia |
| Leonardo Balada | 1933- | Spanish, he studied under Aaron Copeland in the USA, then taught at Carnegie-Mellon | Wikipedia |
| Mily Balakirev | 1837-1910 | Russian, most famous composition 'Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy' | Wikipedia |
| Samuel Barber | 1910-1981 | American, best known for 'Adagio for Strings' | Wikipedia |
| Bela Bartok | 1881-1845 | Born in Hungary, a prime mover in ethnography of folk music | Wikipedia |
| Amy Beach | 1867-1944 | First really successful female American composer | Wikipedia |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | 1770-1827 | Wrote many of his compositions when deaf | Wikipedia |
| Victor Bendix | 1851-1926 | A Danish composer who studied with Listz | Naxos |
| Richard Rodney Bennett | 1936- | British, awarded a CBE in 1977 and a knighthood in 1999 | Wikipedia |
| William Sterndale Bennett | 1816-1875 | British, most influenced by Mendelssohn | Wikipedia |
| Peter Benoit | 1834-1901 | Belgian, he founded the Royal Flemish Conservatory | Wikipedia |
| Niels Viggo Bentzon | 1919-2000 | Danish, his works include 24 Symphomies | Wikipedia |
| Luciano Berio | 1925-2003 | An Italian pioneer in electronic music | Wikipedia |
| Lennox Berkeley | 1903-1989 | Born in Oxford, England, he was knighted in 1974 | Wikipedia |
| Franz Berwald | 1796-1868 | A Swedish romantic composer who had to make a living as an orthopedic surgeon | Wikipedia |
| Boris Blacher | 1903-1975 | German, though born in China, he developed a system of variable meters | Wikipedia |
| Arthur Bliss | 1891-1975 | Anglo/American, he served as an infantry officer in the first world war | Wikipedia |
| Ernest Bloch | 1880-1959 | Born in Geneva he took American citizenship in 1924 | Wikipedia |
| Felix Blumenfeld | 1863-1931 | A Russian who studied under Rimsky-Korsakov | Wikipedia |
| Francois-Adrien Boieldieu | 1775-1834 | A French composer, mainly of operas, who resorted to tuning pianos during the revolution | Wikipedia |
| Sergei Bortkiewicz | 1877-1952 | A Russian romantic composer, he lived in Kharkov but fled the revolution and ended his life in Austria | Wikipedia |
| Johannes Brahms | 1833-1897 | Born in Hamburg he eventually settled in Vienna | Wikipedia |
| Benjamin Britten | 1913-1976 | A British composer who wrote his first opera 'Paul Bunyan' in America in 1939 | Wikipedia |
| Max Bruch | 1838-1920 | German, he included 3 years as the conductor with the Liverpool Philharmonic Society from 1880-1883 | Wikipedia |
| Ignaz Brull | 1846-1907 | A German of Jewish parenthood he had his works (posthumously) banned by Hitler | Wikipedia |
| William Busch | 1901-1945 | Born in Germany he spent most of his life in England, his health destroyed by the conflict of the second world war | |
| Alan Bush | 1900-1995 | British and an outspoken advocate of Marxism | Wikipedia |
| Ferrucio Busoni | 1866-1924 | Born in Italy, he played mainly in Germany. His piano concerto is over 70 minutes long | Wikipedia |
| John Cage | 1912-1992 | American, an early composer of what he called 'chance music' | Wikipedia |
| Elliott Carter | 1908- | American, his 1967 Piano Concerto was written as an 85th birthday present for Stravinsky | Wikipedia |
| Alexis de Castillon | 1838-1873 | French, he destroyed all his earlier compositions when he opted to follow Cesar Franck in 1869 | Musicologie |
| Cecile Chaminade | 1857-1944 | Born in Paris, she studied music against her father's wishes, and became the first female composer to win the Legion d'Honneur | Wikipedia |
| Carlos Chavez | 1899-1978 | He founded the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra and was also influenced by native Mexican cultures | Wikipedia |
| Frederic Chopin | 1810-1849 | Born in Poland, he composed mainly in France. He died of TB at age 39. | Wikipedia |
| Muzio Clementi | 1752-1832 | Born in Rome, he is acknowledged to be the first composer to write specifically for the piano | Wikipedia |
| Aaron Copland | 1900-1990 | A composer of concert and film music, he forged a distinctive American style | Wikipedia |
| Chick Corea | 1941- | American jazz musician, his most popular composition is 'Spain', based on Rodrigo's 'Concierto de Aranjuez | Wikipedia |
| John Corigliano | 1938- | American, he was awarded The Pulitzer Prize for his 'Symphony No 2 for String Orchestra' in 2001 | Wikipedia |
| Henry Cowell | 1897-1965 | American, he was convicted on a morals charge in 1936 and spent 4 years in St. Quentin | Wikipedia |
| Johann Cramer | 1771-1858 | German, his virtuosity greatly impressed Beethoven. He wrote 8 piano concertos in all | |
| Carl Czerny | 1791-1857 | Austrian, he is chiefly known (and feared) for his book of piano studies | Wikipedia |
| Christian Darnton | 1905-1981 | A British composer whose conversion to Communism was not well received. | Naxos |
| Peter Maxwell Davies | 1934- | Born in Manchester he now lives in the Orkneys, and was knighted in 1987 | Wikipedia |
| Frederick Delius | 1862-1934 | British of German parents he went blind and was the subject of the Ken Russell film 'Song of Summer' | Wikipedia |
| Frederic Devreese | 1929- | Born in Amsterdam, he wrote his Piano Concerto No1 at the age of 19 | Devreese |
| Peter Dickinson | 1934- | An organ scholar at Queens' College, Cambridge, he won a scholarship to Juillard in 1958 | Musicweb |
| Erno Dohnanyi | 1877-1960 | A Hungarian classmate of Bela Bartok | Wikipedia |
| Don-Ray | |||
| Felix Draeseke | 1835-1913 | German, he wrote his first composition at age 8 | Wikipedia |
| Alexander Dreyschock | 1818-1869 | Czech, he studied in Prague and in 1862 was appointed court pianist to the Russian Tsar | Wikipedia |
| Vernon Duke | 1903-1969 | Born Vladimir Dukelsky in Russia he emigrated to the USA in 1921. Best known for songs from musicals. | Wikipedia |
| Antonin Dvorak | 1841-1904 | Born near Prague his most famous works are probably 'Stabat Mater' and the 'B Minor Cello Concerto' | Wikipedia |
| Dennis Eberhard | |||
| Ross Edwards | 1943- | Australian, his choral symphony No 5 premiered at the Sydney opera house in 2006 | Wikipedia |
| Edward Elgar | 1857-1934 | British, in 1913 he started his only Piano Concerto, constructed from his ideas by Robert Walker in 1997 | Wikipedia |
| Keith Emerson | 1944- | A British rock musician | Wikipedia |
| Einar Englund | 1916-1999 | A Finnish composer who fought in the first world war, his fame was eclipsed by Sibelius | Wikipedia |
| Samuil Feinberg | 1890-1962 | Wikipedia | |
| Howard Ferguson | 1908-1999 | Born in Belfast he taught at the Royal Academy of Music from 1948-1963 | Naxos |
| John Field | 1782-1837 | Irish, he was the first composer to write nocturnes | Wikipedia |
| Nicolas Flagello | 1928-1994 | American, he graduated at the Manhattan School of music and then taught there from 1950-1977 | Wikipedia |
| Lukas Foss | 1922- | An american composer in the 'Boston School', he was born in Germany | Wikipedia |
| Jean Francaix | 1912-1997 | He was French and studied under Nadia Boulenger | Wikipedia |
| Cesar Franck | 1822-1890 | An influential 'French' composer who was actually born in Belgium | Wikipedia |
| Robert Fuchs | 1847-1927 | An Austrian composer who taught Mahler and Sibelius amongst others | Wikipedia |
| Wilhelm Furtwangler | 1886-1954 | A German composer accused of supporting the Nazi Party, he was eventually cleared of these charges | Wikipedia |
| Rudolph Ganz | 1877-1972 | Swiss, he studied under Busoni. He spent most of his life in the USA where he contributed greatly to orchestral quality | Wikipedia |
| John Gardner | 1917- | English, he remained largely unknown till his Symphony was performed at the 1951 Cheltenham Festival | Wikipedia |
| Roberto Gerhard | 1896-1970 | He was expelled from his native Spain and ended his life in Cambridge (England) | Naxos |
| George Gershwin | 1898-1937 | He died of a brain tumour in 1937 at the age of 38 | Wikipedia |
| Alberto Ginastera | 1916-1983 | Argentinian, his first piano concerto was adapted by Keith Emerson to form 'Brain Salad Surgery' | Wikipedia |
| Philip Glass | 1937- | An American composer whose work is often described as minimalist | Wikipedia |
| Alexander Glazunov | 1865-1936 | A russian who studied under Rimsky-Korsakov, he was himself a great educationalist | Wikipedia |
| Benjamin Godard | 1849-1895 | A prolific French composer, one of his scherzos has a 5/8 time signature | Wikipedia |
| Alexander Goedicke | 1877-1957 | A Russian composer writing in the Liszt tradition | Wikipedia |
| Hermann Goetz | 1840-1876 | A German who died of TB spending only 3 years of his life composing | Wikipedia |
| Edvard Grieg | 1843-1907 | Norwegian, born in Bergen, he wrote his famous A-minor Concerto in Denmark in 1868 | Wikipedia |
| Ferde Grofe | 1892-1972 | American, arranger for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in the 1920s | Wikipedia |
| Camargo Guarnieri | 1907-1993 | Brazilian, he studied under Charles Koechlin before returning to Sao Paulo | Wikipedia |
| Christopher Gunning | 1944- | A British composer with a vast output of film and TV music, including the Poirot series | Wikipedia |
| Reynaldo Hahn | 1875-1947 | Venezualan, he was naturalised and lived in France during 'The Belle Epoque' | Wikipedia |
| Howard Hanson | 1896-1981 | An American, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his 4th Symphony | Wikipedia |
| Lou Harrison | 1917-2003 | American, he was a student of both Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg | Wikipedia |
| Emil Hartmann | 1836-1898 | Danish, though more famous in Germany, due to his concert touring | Naxos |
| Hamilton Harty | 1879-1941 | From Northern Ireland, he conducted the Halle Orchestra in the 1920s and was knighted in 1925 | Wikipedia |
| Fumio Hayasaka | 1914-1955 | A Japanese comoposer who worked with Akira Kurosawa on such films as Rashomon | Wikipedia |
| Joseph Haydn | 1732-1809 | Austrian, he became known as the 'Father of the Symphony' | Wikipedia |
| Adolf von Henselt | 1814-1889 | A German who withdrew from public life at the age of 33 due to stage fright | Wikipedia |
| Hans Werner Henze | 1926- | A German with strong left wing convictions who has lived in Italy since 1953 | Wikipedia |
| Bernard Herrmann | 1911-1975 | Born in New York he is particularly known for the film scores of many Hitchcock films, including Psycho | Wikipedia |
| Henri Herz | 1803-1888 | Born in Vienna, his output includes 8 Piano Comcertos | Wikipedia |
| Ferdinand Hiller | 1811-1985 | Born in Frankfurt, Germany, to Jewish parents, he was a chilhood friend of Mendelssohn | Wikipedia |
| Paul Hindemith | 1895-1963 | German, he composed an unplayed Concerto for Wittgenstein which resurfaced in 2004 | Wikipedia |
| Alun Hoddinott | 1929- | Welsh, he wrote a fanfare to be played at Prince Charles' wedding in 2005 | Wikipedia |
| Joseph Holbrooke | 1878-1958 | Though born in Croydon he was sometimes referred to as 'The Cockney Wagner' | Wikipedia |
| Vagn Holmboe | 1909-1996 | A Danish composer who was also an influential teacher | Wikipedia |
| Arthur Honegger | 1892-1955 | Born in France of Swiss parents he was an ardent train enthusiast | Wikipedia |
| Brian Hulse | An American who composed for the TV series 'The Sopranos' | Hulse | |
| Johann Nepomuk Hummel | 1778-1837 | Born in what was then Hungary but is now Slovakia, he was taught by Mozart | Wikipedia |
| William Hurlstone | 1876-1976 | An English composer who died of bronchial Asthma at the age of 30 | Wikipedia |
| Henry Holden Huss | 1862-1953 | Born in Newark, New Jersey, he was the founder of the American Guild of Organists | Wikipedia |
| John Ireland | 1879-1962 | From Altricham near Manchester, his Piano Concerto is one of his best works | Wikipedia |
| Charles Ives | 1874-1954 | One of the first American composers of international significance | Wikipedia |
| Andre Jolivet | 1905-1974 | Born in Paris, he was interested in both ancient and modern influences in music, in particular instruments used in ancient times | Wikipedia |
| Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky | 1904-1987 | A Russian who wrote many pieces to be played for silent movies | Wikipedia |
| Friedrich Kalkbrenner | 1785-1849 | A German pianist and composer who settled in Paris | Wikipedia |
| Nikolai Kapustin | 1937- | Born in the Ukraine, he acquired a reputation for jazz arranging. He has written 6 Concertos | Wikipedia |
| Alemdar Karamanov | 1934- | The composer of the Crimean nationa anthem, he has written no less than 24 Symphonies | |
| Aram Khachaturian | 1903-1978 | Armenian, his best-known piece is probably the love theme from Spartacus | Wikipedia |
| Tikhon Khrennikov | 1913- | Better known for his political activities he condemned Prokoviev and Shostakovich for 'formalism'in 1948 | Wikipedia |
| Friedrich Kiel | 1821-1885 | A German who, according to Wilhelm Altmann, failed to receive just recognition because of extreme modesty | Wikipedia |
| Wojciech Kilar | 1932- | Polish, worked in Hollywood with Roman Polanski | Wikipedia |
| Herman Koppel | 1908-1998 | Jewish, born in Copenhagen, he fled from the Nazis in 1943 | Wikipedia |
| Erich Wolfgang Korngold | 1897-1957 | Born in what is now the Czech Republic, he wrote many film scores for Warner Brothers | Wikipedia |
| Ernst Krenek | 1900-1991 | Born in Vienna, his music was banned by the Nazi Party | Wikipedia |
| Friedrich Kuhlau | 1786-1832 | Born in Germany he fled to Copenhagen to avoid conscription to Napoleon's army, and became a Dane | Wikipedia |
| Theodor Kullak | 1818-1882 | Polish, he studied under Czerny in Vienna | Wikipedia |
| Edouard Lalo | 1823-1892 | A French composer of Spanish descent | Wikipedia |
| Constant Lambert | 1905-1951 | An English composer who died from undiagnosed diabetes due to a fear of doctors | Wikipedia |
| Kenneth Leighton | 1929-1988 | A British composer who wrote three Piano Concertos | Wikipedia |
| Theodor Leschetizky | 1830-1915 | Polish, he recorded 12 piano rolls for Welte-Mignon | Wikipedia |
| Lowell Liebermann | 1961- | Born in New York City, he performed his own piano Sonata at Carnegie Hall at the age of 16 | Wikipedia |
| Gyorgy Ligeti | 1923-2006 | Romanian by birth, he wrote much film music for Stanley Kubrick | Wikipedia |
| Magnus Lindberg | 1958- | Finnish, he studied under Rautavaara in Helsinki, and is now Composer-in-Residence with the New York Phil | Wikipedia |
| Franz Liszt | 1811-1886 | A prodigious Hungarian pianist, he is credited with playing Grieg's A-minor concerto at sight | Wikipedia |
| Henry Litolff | 1818-1891 | London-born he studied under Moscheles until he eloped to Gretna Green at age 17 | Wikipedia |
| George Lloyd | 1913-1998 | English, he suffered a catastrophic trauma when he only just survived from a boat sunk by its own torpedo | Wikipedia |
| Bent Lorentzen | 1935- | Danish, he was one of the earliest pioneers of electronic music | Wikipedia |
| Witold Lutoslawski | 1913-1994 | Polish, he made a living during the second world war playing piano in Warsaw bars | Wikipedia |
| Sergei Lyapunov | 1859-1924 | A Russian who recorded 6 of his own pieces on Welte-Mignon piano rolls in 1910 | Wikipedia |
| Edward Alexander MacDowell | 1861-1908 | A New York-born composer of rather 'idyllic' music, he was run down by a cab in 1904 and never recovered | Wikipedia |
| Alexander Campbell Mackenzie | 1847-1935 | Scottish, his works include 'His Majesty', a comic opera in the Gilbert and Sullivan vein | Wikipedia |
| Bruno Maderna | 1920-1973 | Born in Venice, he survived imprisonment in a concentration camp during the war | Wikipedia |
| Otto Malling | 1848-1915 | The cathedral organist at Copenhagen and principal of the Royal Academy | Naxos |
| Igor Markevitch | 1912-1983 | Born in Kiev, he studied under Nadia Boulanger in Paris in 1926 | Wikipedia |
| Frank Martin | 1890-1974 | A Swiss composer who spent most of his life in the Netherlands | Wikipedia |
| Bohuslav Martinu | 1890-1959 | A prolific Czech composer who produced 10 Piano Concertos or Concertinos | Wikipedia |
| Giuseppe Martucci | 1856-1909 | Italian, he was influential in reviving interest in non-operatic music | Wikipedia |
| Joseph Marx | 1882-1964 | An Austrian whose works include the 'Romantic Piano Concerto' of 1920 | Wikipedia |
| Jules Massenet | 1842-1912 | French composer of many operas and of flute features | Wikipedia |
| John McCabe | 1939- | A British composer who had written 13 Symphnies by the time he was 11 | Wikipedia |
| William Thomas McKinley | 1938- | Born in Pennsylvania, he is a prolific composer of classical music and also a nimble jazz pianist | Wikipedia |
| Nikolai Medtner | 1880-1951 | Born in Moscow, his 3 Piano Concertos suffered in the shadow of his contemporary, Rachmaninov | Wikipedia |
| Felix Mendelssohn | 1809-1847 | Born to a banking family in Hamburg, he was said to be second only to Mozart as a child prodigy | Wikipedia |
| Darius Milhaud | 1892-1974 | A French composer who emigrated to America at the beginning of the war | Wikipedia |
| Du Mingxin | 1928- | Chinese, he attended the Tchaikovsky Music Conservatory in Moscow before joining the Beijing Central Conservatory | Wikipedia |
| Giuseppe Molinari | |||
| John La Montaine | 1920- | An American composer who won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for his Piano Concerto no 1 | Wikipedia |
| Ignaz Moscheles | 1794-1870 | Born in Prague he is often cited as a teacher to subsequent musical greats, e.g. Mendelssohn | Wikipedia |
| Mihaly Mosonyi | 1850-1870 | Largely self-taught he was a bass player who composed strongly Hungarian music | Naxos |
| Moritz Moszkowski | 1854-1925 | Polish, more popular in the late nineteenth century than he is today | Wikipedia |
| Jose Vianna da Motta | 1868-1948 | Portuguese, he was one of the last pupils of Liszt | Wikipedia |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1756-1791 | Born in Salzburg, a child prodigy, he wrote no less than 27 Piano Concertos | Wikipedia |
| Dominic Muldowney | 1952- | British, creator of many TV and film scores | Wikipedia |
| Eduard Napravnik | 1839-1916 | A Czech composer who settled in Russia, he is credited with conducting the first performances of many works of the great Russian composers | Wikipedia |
| Dieter Nowka | 1924-1998 | German, influenced by German folk music | Wikipedia |
| Michael Nyman | 1944- | English minimalist composer, chiefly known for his film scores for Peter Greenaway | Wikipedia |
| Hisato Ohzawa | 1907-1953 | Japanese, he moved to America in 1930, to Paris in 1934, and back to Japan in 1936 | Wikipedia |
| Leo Ornstein | 1893-2002! | A leading American experimental composer, he was born in the Ukraine | Wikipedia |
| Ignacy Jan Paderewski | 1860-1941 | Polish, the third prime minister of Poland | Wikipedia |
| Giovanni Paisiello | 1740-1816 | Italian composer who produced an opera of 'The Barber of Seville' libretto that predates Rossini's | Wikipedia |
| Selim Palmgren | 1878-1951 | Finnish, he studied with Busoni, and produced 5 Piano Concertos | Wikipedia |
| Carter Pann | 1972- | An American who currently teaches at the University of Colorado | Wikipedia |
| Andrzej Panufnik | 1914-1991 | Polish, he made a living during the war playing piano in Warsaw cafes | Wikipedia |
| Hubert Parry | 1848-1918 | Born in Bournemouth, England, his best known tune is 'Jerusalem' | Wikipedia |
| Vincent Persichetti | 1915-1987 | Born in Philadelphia, his students at Juillard include Philip Glass | Wikipedia |
| Hans Pfitzner | 1869-1949 | Best known for his opera 'Palestrina', he was born in Moscow but spent most of his life in Germany | Wikipedia |
| Tobias Picker | 1954- | Born in New York City, he suffers from Tourette's syndrome and has appeared on a BBC documentary linking the disease to creativity | Wikipedia |
| Gabriel Pierne | 1863-1937 | Born in Metz, France, Place Gabriel Pierne in Paris is named for him | Wikipedia |
| Walter Piston | 1894-1976 | American, at Havard he taught Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter, amongst others | Wikipedia |
| Thomas Pitfield | 1903-1999 | From Bolton, England, he was a committed vegetarian and a conscientious objector during the second world war | Wikipedia |
| Ildebrando Pizzetti | 1880-1968 | Born in Parma, his works include Sinfonia del Fuoco written for the silent film, Cabiria | Wikipedia |
| Manuel Ponce | 1882-1948 | Mexican, he wrote concertos for piano, guitar and violin | Wikipedia |
| Francis Poulenc | 1899-1963 | French, he was a member of 'Les Six', which included Milhaud, Auric, Durey, Honegger and Tailleferre | Wikipedia |
| Andre Previn | 1929- | German-born American he wrote the amusing autobiography 'No Minor Chords' | Wikipedia |
| Sergei Prokofiev | 1891-1953 | His best known work is probably the 'Classical' Symphony | Wikipedia |
| Sergei Rachmaninoff | 1873-1943 | His 4 Piano Concertos are probably the most regular concert features | Wikipedia |
| Joachim Raff | 1822-1882 | Swiss, he was largely self-taught, and wrote 11 symphonies in his lifetime | Wikipedia |
| Einojuhani Rautavaara | 1928- | From Helsinki, his work is discordant but captivating | Wikipedia |
| Maurice Ravel | 1875-1937 | A French contemporary of Debussy, his image suffers from the popularity of 'Bolero', which he is reputed to have written as a joke | Wikipedia |
| Alan Rawsthorne | 1905-1971 | British, his works include 'Elegy for Guitar', written for Juian Bream and completed by him after Rawsthorne's death | Wikipedia |
| Max Reger | 1873-1916 | A prolific German composer who died of a heart attack at age 43 | Wikipedia |
| Carl Reinecke | 1824-1910 | Born in Hamburg, his students included Grieg, Sinding, Janacek, and Albeniz | Wikipedia |
| Ottorino Respighi | 1879-1936 | Born in Bologna, he was an ardent musicologist and a scholar of Italian music in 16th-18th centuries | Wikipedia |
| Josef Rheinberger | He was from Vaduz in Lichtenstein but spent most of his life in Munich | Wikipedia | |
| Ferdinand Ries | 1784-1838 | German, he worked as Beethoven's secretary. He wrote 9 piano concertos | Wikipedia |
| Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | 1844-1908 | A skilful orchestrater, his most-performed work is probably 'Scheherazade' | Wikipedia |
| Joaquin Rodrigo | The blind Spanish composer of 'Concierto de Aranjuez' | Wikipedia | |
| Ned Rorem | 1923- | An American composer who achieved notoriety through his 'Paris Diary' and other later diaries | Wikipedia |
| Nino Rota | 1911-1979 | Italian, composed much film music, including that for La Strada and The Godfather | Wikipedia |
| Albert Roussel | 1869-1937 | A French composer who served as an ambulance driver on the Western front in the first world war | Wikipedia |
| Alec Rowley | 1892-1958 | A British composer chiefly known for his educational work | Naxos |
| Miklos Rozsa | 1907-1995 | Hungarian, composing over 100 film scores and winning and Oscar for Spellbound | Wikipedia |
| Edmund Rubbra | 1901-1986 | British, he worked as a railwayman after leaving school but went on to write 11 symphonies | Wikipedia |
| Anton Rubinstein | 1829-1894 | A Russian who was regarded as a rival to Liszt in pianisitic ability | Wikipedia |
| Poul Ruders | 1949- | Probably the most-performed living Danish composer | Wikipedia |
| Peter Sacco | 1928-2000 | American composer and jazz pianist | Sacco |
| Saint-Preux | 1950- | French, he won the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland at the age of 19 | Wikipedia |
| Camille Saint-Saens | 1835-1921 | Born in Paris, best know for his 'Carnival of the Animals' | Wikipedia |
| Antonio Salieri | 1750-1825 | Italian, appointed court composer in Vienna by Emperor Joseph 2 in 1774. | Wikipedia |
| Emil von Sauer | 1862-1942 | German, a pupil of Listz, he recorded piano rolls for Welte-Mignon in 1905 | Wikipedia |
| Xaver Scharwenka | 1850-1924 | Polish, founded conservatories in Berlin and New York. | Wikipedia |
| Ernest Schelling | 1876-1939 | Born in New Jersey, he was the first conductor of the 'Young People's Concerts' of the 'New York Philharmonic' | Wikipedia |
| Franz Schmidt | 1874-1939 | Austrian, he played cello under Gustav Mahler in Vienna | Wikipedia |
| Alfred Schnittke | 1934-1998 | Born in Russia to German parents, he suffered a stroke in 1985, was declared clinically dead, but recovered to continue composing | Wikipedia |
| Arnold Schoenberg | 1874-1951 | Austrian and then American, he was to develop the twelve-tone method of composition | Wikipedia |
| Erwin Schulhoff | 1894-1942 | Czech, of Jewish descent, and with strong Communist leanings, he died of TB in Wurzfeld concentration camp in 1942 | Wikipedia |
| William Schuman | 1910-1992 | American, he reputedly had not seen an orchestra before the age of 20 | Wikipedia |
| Clara Schumann | 1819-1896 | The wife of Robert Schumann, she continued to perform and compose while raising 7 children | Wikipedia |
| Robert Schumann | 1810-1856 | German, his music was little understood in his lifetime but is now regarded as daringly original in harmony, rhythm, and form | Wikipedia |
| Cyril Scott | 1879-1970 | Prolific English romantic composer whose work is coming back into favour | Wikipedia |
| Alexander Scriabin | 1871-1915 | Born on Christmas Day, he was a forerunner of multimedia 'Son et Lumiere' | Wikipedia |
| Peter Sculthorpe | 1929- | Australian, he is now Professor Emeritus at Sidney University | Wikipedia |
| Leif Segerstam | 1944- | Finnish, an eminent conductor, he has still found time to write 180 symphonies | Wikipedia |
| Roger Sessions | 1896-1985 | Born in Brooklyn, he was an ardent teacher whose pupils include Milton Babbit and Peter Maxwell-Davies | Wikipedia |
| Giovanni Sgambati | 1841-1914 | From Rome, he benefited from the influence and support of Liszt | Wikipedia |
| Gordon Sherwood | 1929- | American, he lived a bohemian life, reduced at one stage to begging in the streets of Paris | |
| Dmitri Shostakovich | 1906-1975 | His career suffered from disagreements with the Communist regime | Wikipedia |
| Sheila Silver | 1946- | Born in Seattle, she is currently Professor of Music at the State University of New York | Naxos |
| Rudolph Simonsen | 1889-1947 | A Danish composer who won a bronze medal at the 1928 art Olympic for his symphony No.2 | Wikipedia |
| Christian Sinding | 1856-1941 | Norwegian, he is most remembered for 'Rustle of Spring' written in 1896 | Wikipedia |
| Nikolaos Skalkottas | 1904-1949 | A Greek composer who returned to Athens from Berlin in 1933 with Hitler's rise to power | Wikipedia |
| Charles Villiers Stanford | 1852-1924 | Irish, Professor of Music at RCM from 1883. Knighted in 1902. | Wikipedia |
| Bernhard Stavenhagen | 1862-1914 | German, he recorded 'Hungarian Rhapsody' on piano roll 'as Listz would have played it' | Wikipedia |
| Wilhelm Stenhammar | 1871-1927 | Swedish, for many years the director of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | Wikipedia |
| Bernard Stevens | 1916-1983 | English, studied at Cambridge. Professor of Composition at Royal College of Music from 1948. | Impulse |
| Ronald Stevenson | 1928- | A British composer whose most famous composition is Passacaglia on DSCH for solo piano lasting 75 minutes | Wikipedia |
| Sigismond Stojowski | 1879-1946 | Polish, he spent the latter half of his life in America and taught at Juillard | Wikipedia |
| Igor Stravinsky | 1882-1971 | A Russian composer whose work 'The Rite of Spring' provoked a riot at its premiere | Wikipedia |
| Lepo Sumera | 1950-2000 | Estonian composer, a pioneer in computer music | Wikipedia |
| Emil Tabakov | 1947- | Bulgarian, his compositions include a cantata dedicated to the old Bulgarian capital Veliko Tarnovo | Naxos |
| Boris Tchaikovsky | 1925-1996 | A Soviet composer admired by Shostakovich | Wikipedia |
| Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky | 1840-1893 | His first Piano Concerto is one of the most intantly recognised pieces of music | Wikipedia |
| Alexander Tcherepnin | 1899-1977 | Russian-born, he lived first in France and then became a US citizen | Wikipedia |
| Thomas Tellefsen | 1823-1874 | Swedish, he lived most of his life in Paris where he studied under Chopin and became renowned for his interpretation of Chopin | Wikipedia |
| Sigismond Thalberg | 1812-1871 | A virtuoso Swiss pianist who engaged in a piano 'duel' with Listz in paris in 1837 | Wikipedia |
| Michael Tippett | 1905-1998 | Born in London he was imprisoned during the second world war for his pacifist views | Wikipedia |
| Donald Francis Tovey | 1875-1940 | British, he studied under Hubert Parry and was knighted in 1935 | Wikipedia |
| Geirr Tveitt | 1908-1981 | Norwegian, 90% of work lost when his wooden house burnt down in 1970 | Wikipedia |
| Viktor Ullmann | 1898-1944 | An Austrian who died in Auschwitz in 1944 | Wikipedia |
| Galina Ustvolskaya | 1919-2006 | Born in Petrograd, she studied under Shostakovich. The Durch critic Elmer Schonberger called her The Lady with the Hammer | Wikipedia |
| Fartein Valen | 1887-1952 | Born in Stavanger, he reputedly composed over 25000 piano etudes | Wikipedia |
| Ralph Vaughan-Williams | 1872-1958 | British, he was related both to Josiah Wedgwood and Charles Darwin | Wikipedia |
| Heitor Villa-Lobos | 1887-1959 | He earned a living playing in Rio cinemas and theatres, before touring Brazil's 'dark interior' where he claimed to have escaped from cannibals | Wikipedia |
| Pancho Vladigerov | 1899-1978 | Bulgarian, born in Switzerland, he was hugely influential in Bulgaria | Wikipedia |
| William Walton | 1902-1983 | British, knighted in 1951 | Wikipedia |
| Carl Maria von Weber | 1786-1826 | German, his cousin, Constanze, was Mozart's wife | Wikipedia |
| Jacob Weinberg | 1879-1956 | ||
| Judith Weir | 1954- | Born in Aberdeen, she now lives in London | Wikipedia |
| Egon Wellesz | 1885-1974 | Austrian, he wrote nine symphonies but only one piano concerto | Wikipedia |
| Charles Marie Widor | 1844-1937 | He was the organist at St. Sulpice in Paris for 64 years | Wikipedia |
| Malcolm Williamson | 1931-2003 | Australian, he was the first non-Briton to hold the post of Master of the Queen's Music | Wikipedia |
| David Winkler | 1948- | American, he earned his musical doctorate at Columbia Univ, in New York City | Naxos |
| Haydn Wood | 1882-1959 | British, he lived as a child on the Isle of Man, which was a later source of inspiration | Wikipedia |
| Xinghai Xian | 1905-1945 | Chinese he is best known for his 'Yellow River Cantata' | Wikipedia |
| Richard Yardumian | 1917-1985 | American of Armenian descent, his works are influenced by religion and mysticism | Bach |
| Akio Yashiro | 1929-1976 | Japanese, Studied in Paris under Olivier Messaien, returning home in 1956 | |
| Efrem Zimbalist | 1889-1985 | Born in Russia, he settled in America and married the famous soprano, Alma Gluck | Wikipedia |
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