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100
Epitaph of Seikilos
The oldest known musical composition, found on a funerary stele in Turkey, reflecting themes of life and death. -
Period: 476 to 1492
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages was a significant period for the development of music in Europe. It began with the dominance of Gregorian Chant, a monophonic style used in church services. Over time, polyphony emerged, particularly in the High Middle Ages, with composers like Léonin and Pérotin leading the way. The Ars Nova movement in the Late Middle Ages introduced more complex rhythms and forms. This era laid the foundation for Western music, influencing composition and notation. -
600
Gregorian chant
A style of monophonic vocal music used in Catholic liturgy, characterized by its melodic simplicity and use of Latin. -
991
Guido d'Arezzo
An Italian Benedictine monk known for developing modern musical notation and the use of solfège. -
1098
Hildegard von Bingen
A German mystic and composer, renowned for her sacred music and mystical visions. -
1130
Bernart de Ventadorn
A French poet and troubadour known for his songs about courtly love and his influence on medieval lyricism. -
1150
Léonin
A composer from the Notre-Dame school, known for innovations in polyphony and the use of organum. -
Period: 1170 to 1320
Ars antiqua
A term describing medieval music that includes the development of polyphony and more elaborate singing. -
1200
Perotin
A French composer central to polyphony in the Notre-Dame school, famous for complex works like "Viderunt omnes." -
1221
Alfonso X el Sabio
King of Castile and León, known for his patronage of music and poetry, particularly in the "Cantigas de Santa María." -
1300
Guillaume de Machaut
A central figure in the Ars Nova movement, a French composer and poet recognized for his mass and fixed-form songs. -
Period: 1320 to 1380
Ars Nova
A musical movement that introduced new rhythmic and melodic forms, marking the evolution of polyphonic music. -
1325
Francesco Landini
An Italian composer of the Trecento, famous for his vernacular songs and skill in the motet. -
1400
Johannes Gutenberg
A German inventor known for introducing movable type printing in Europe. -
1468
Juan del Encina
A Spanish composer and poet, a pioneer of musical theater in Spain, known for his villancicos and dramatic works. -
1485
Martin Luthe
A German theologian and reformer, also a composer, known for his hymns that played a key role in the Protestant Reformation. -
1500
Cristóbal de Morales
A Spanish composer of the Renaissance, known for his masses and motets, -
1509
Antonio de Cabezón
A Spanish composer and organist of the Renaissance, famous for his keyboard works and variations on popular songs. -
1510
Andrea Gabrieli
A Venetian composer and organist of the Renaissance, known for his instrumental and vocal music, influential in the development of music in Venice. -
1525
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
An Italian composer of the Renaissance, renowned for his sacred music and influence on the development of counterpoint. -
1532
Orlando di Lasso
Famouse composer of the Renaissance, known for his complex polyphony and extensive output across various genres. -
1538
Tomás Luis de Victoria
A Spanish composer of the Renaissance, celebrated for his sacred music that combines polyphonic tradition with profound spirituality. -
1544
Maddalena Casulana
An Italian composer and madrigalist, one of the first women to publish music in Renaissance Europe, known for her madrigals. -
1554
Giovanni Gabrieli
A composer and organist, nephew of Andrea, recognized for his innovations in choral music and the use of space in compositions. -
1556
Carlo Gesualdo
An Italian composer of the Renaissance, famous for his emotional style and harmonic innovations, especially in madrigal music. -
1566
Claudio Monteverdi
Was an Italian composer whose innovations in opera and vocal music bridged the Renaissance and Baroque periods. -
Giacomo Carissimi
Was an Italian composer and teacher of the Baroque era, renowned for his contributions to sacred music, especially oratorios. -
Barbara Strozzi
Was an Italian Baroque composer and singer, known for her cantatas. -
Antonio Stradivari
Was an Italian master luthier who created some of the finest string instruments ever made. -
Henry Purcell
Was a leading English composer known for his contributions to Baroque music, particularly in opera, sacred, and instrumental music. -
Antonio Vivaldi
An Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque period, best known for his concertos, particularly "The Four Seasons," a set of violin concertos representing the seasons of the year. -
George Philipp Telemann
Telemann was a highly prolific German composer of the Baroque period, renowned for his vast output across many genres, including orchestral, choral, and chamber music. -
Georg Friedrich Händel
A German-British composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, and concertos. His most well-known work is the oratorio Messiah. -
Johann Sebastian Bach
A German composer of the Baroque period, regarded as one of the greatest in classical music. -
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Born in the late Baroque period, he worked to reform opera by seeking greater unity between music and the dramatic narrative. -
Joseph Haydn
Also part of the Classical period, he was an innovator of symphony and string quartet forms, greatly influencing his contemporaries. -
Nannerl Mozart
The sister of Mozart, she was a talented pianist, though her career was overshadowed by her brother due to the limitations placed on women at the time. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A musical prodigy of the Classical era, his work is characterized by perfect structural clarity and great emotional expression. -
Maria Theresia von Paradis
A composer and pianist born in the Classical era, she was known for her musical skill despite the blindness she suffered from early childhood. -
Ludwig van Beethoven
His music transitions from the Classical to the Romantic era, reflecting personal struggles and social changes of his time. -
Gioachino Rossini
An Italian composer from the Classical period transitioning into Romanticism, famous for his comic operas filled with melody and vocal agility. -
Franz Schubert
His Romantic works, full of lyricism and melancholy, capture the essence of emotion and poetry, predicting the transformation in music that would come later. -
Hector Berlioz
A French composer of the Romantic period, whose orchestral innovations and programmatic approach to music make him a unique figure. -
Felix Mendelssohn
A composer from early Romanticism, whose works combine Classical clarity with Romantic emotionality, excelling in symphonic and choral music. -
Robert Schumann
A representative of the Romantic period, his music reflects deep emotional intensity and a blend of virtuosity and fragility. -
Franz Liszt
A virtuoso pianist and composer, a central figure in Romanticism, known for his innovative piano techniques and compositions for solo piano. -
Frédéric Chopin
A Romantic composer focused on the piano, his works explore new forms of virtuosity and emotional expression, often melancholic. -
Richard Wagner
His music and operas revolutionized 19th-century music with a new conception of harmony and thematic development, alongside philosophical ideas in his librettos. -
Giuseppe Verdi
An Italian opera master, whose works reflect passion and human drama, with strong social and political commitment. -
Clara Schumann
A virtuoso pianist and composer, a key figure of Romanticism, whose music was admired for its emotional depth and impeccable technique. -
Bedřich Smetana
A Czech nationalist composer whose works reflect the history and folklore of his country, with The Moldau being his most famous piece. -
Johannes Brahms
A composer of the late Romantic period, his music is known for its formal complexity and deep emotional weight. -
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
A Romantic Russian composer, famous for his ballets and his ability to fuse emotion and melody in orchestral forms. -
Modest Musorgski
A Russian composer, known for his bold and nationalistic style, seen in works like Pictures at an Exhibition. -
Antonín Dvořák
A Czech composer who incorporated Czech folk influences into his symphonic works, with From the New World being one of his most iconic pieces. -
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
A Russian composer and member of "The Five," his music incorporates elements of Russian folk music and rich orchestration. -
Edvard Grieg
A Norwegian composer whose music reflects the natural landscapes of Scandinavia, with elements of Romantic nationalism. -
Giacomo Puccini
A key figure in verismo opera, his works are known for their extreme emotional content and orchestration used to heighten the drama. -
Hugo Wolf
A late-Romantic composer, known for his mastery of lyric songs and his highly emotional music. -
Gustav Mahler
Late-Romantic composer famous for his monumental symphonies, which explore the limits of orchestral form and existential dilemmas. -
Claude Debussy
A French composer key to the transition into the 20th century, known for his impressionistic style and innovative use of harmony and timbre. -
Jean Sibelius
A Finnish composer and symbol of Finnish nationalism, whose symphonies and symphonic poems give voice to Finland's struggle for independence. -
Arnold Schönberg
An Austrian composer, pioneer of twelve-tone and atonal music, whose works challenged traditional tonal conventions. -
Maurice Ravel
A French composer who perfected impressionism, with works like Boléro that explore new orchestral textures and hypnotic rhythms. -
Manuel de Falla
A Spanish composer from the late Romantic and early 20th century, whose music reflects Spanish folklore and impressionistic trends. -
Béla Bartók
A Hungarian composer who fused folk music with classical traditions, known for his research on the folk music of Central Europe. -
Zoltán Kodály
A Hungarian composer and educator who championed Hungarian folk music and pioneered musical education methods. -
Joaquín Turina
A Spanish composer who blended Spanish nationalism with European modernity, known for creating intense musical atmospheres. -
Igor Stravinsky
A Russian composer whose stylistic innovations and revolutionary use of orchestration make him one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. -
Heitor Villa-Lobos
A Brazilian composer of the 20th century who blended European classical music with Brazilian folk traditions, creating a unique style. -
George Gershwin
An American composer who merged classical music and jazz, famous for works like Rhapsody in Blue and the opera Porgy and Bess. -
Olivier Messiaen
A French composer known for his avant-garde style, influenced by religious mysticism and nature, using innovative rhythm and harmony. -
Pierre Schaeffer
A French composer and theorist, a pioneer in musique concrète, experimenting with recordings and non-musical sounds as musical elements. -
John Cage
An American composer pioneering experimental music, known for works that explore silence, chance, and unconventional sound sources. -
Pierre Henry
A French composer associated with musique concrète, he developed new forms of sound creation through recordings and electronic manipulation. -
Philip Glass
An American composer, a leading figure in minimalism, known for his repetitive patterns and focus on rhythmic structure.