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- Musicnotes
- The Beatles. The Beatles exploded out of north England with their debut single "Love Me Do," unleashing a sound unlike any musical artists' that came before them.
- Led Zeppelin. While firmly entrenched in the rock genre, Led Zeppelin's eclectic sound had a strong influence on the heavy metal bands that followed. The band possessed a unique combination of passion and expertise, infused with mystery and an experimental edge that kept them on the fringe.
- Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash, the original Man in Black, created a brand of country-folk music with grueling life experiences at its core. He wrote well over 1,000 songs in his lifetime, with more than 100 hits that pushed genre boundaries and influenced musical artists in rock, country, the blues, and even rap.
- Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong tops the list of the most influential black music artists in history. The informal, swinging vocal style he crafted during the Harlem Renaissance impacted such greats as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and a host of both jazz and pop artists in subsequent generations.
- David Bowie. Nobody changed music as much as art rock chameleon David Bowie. A master provocateur confronting sexual conformity with his androgynous looks, Bowie’s ingenious personas (glam rock alien Ziggy Stardust, the steely nobility of the Thin White Duke) led the way in inspiring others to meld fashion, theatre and performance art with popular music.
- The Beatles. The Beatles have always been, and remain, a phenomenon. The timeless songwriting of Lennon-McCartney (Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day In The Life) and impeccable musicianship of George Harrison and Ringo Starr continues to inspire millions.
- Jimi Hendrix. When Jimi Hendrix arrived in the UK in 1966, no one could have predicted the earth-scorching impact he would have. Leaving other virtuosos like Eric Clapton in the dust, Hendrix’s bluesy proficiency on guitar and his exemplary use of riffs and shredding (Voodoo Child) was truly jaw-dropping.
- Led Zeppelin. In their respective fields, each Led Zeppelin member sits in the pantheon of most influential musicians of all time; together, as the greatest rock band of all time, their majestic hard rock sound is unlikely to be dethroned any time soon.
Sep 13, 2023 · In this collection, we consider 12 of the great composers, from Bach to Rachmaninoff. Covering Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music, many of the works remain instantly recognisable even amongst non-classical music fans. The biographies we present here cover not only all the symphonies, concertos, and operas but also the stories behind them ...
- Mark Cartwright
- Publishing Director
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Bach is the definitive Baroque composer. If you have sublime Bach you don’t need the others (and we’re only half kidding).
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Continuing the tradition of names with three words and four well-formed syllables in the middle one, is the child prodigy and all-round genius, Mozart.
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven’s name is widely interchanged with the phrase ‘greatest composer who ever lived’. And we’re okay with that.
- Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) Jumping back in time, and way back to medieval times, let’s meet Hildegard von Bingen. She was a saint, poet and composer who in her lifetime was one of the most influential women in Europe.
- Overview
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91)
- Johannes Brahms (1833–97)
- Richard Wagner (1813–83)
- Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–93)
- Frédéric Chopin (1810–49)
- Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
They differed in style, skill, innovation, and popularity, and nothing incites more heated debate among classical music scholars and fans than determining which of these composers of Western classical music are the most essential. The three composers that consistently appear in the top spots are Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. Scholars and fans vary o...
The German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven is widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived. He expanded the Classical traditions of Joseph Haydn, one of his teachers, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and experimented with personal expression, a characteristic that influenced the Romantic composers who succeeded him. His life and car...
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period. His contemporaries admired him for his talent as a musician but thought his compositions were old-fashioned. A rediscovery of his work in the early 19th century led to the so-called Bach revival, in which he came to be seen as one of the greatest composers of all time. ...
An Austrian composer of the Classical period, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is widely recognized as one of the greatest composers of Western music. He is the only composer to write and excel in all of the musical genres of his time. Rumored to have had the ability to play music at age three and to write music at age five, Mozart began his career as a chi...
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period, but he was more a disciple of the Classical tradition. He wrote in many genres, including symphonies, concerti, chamber music, piano works, and choral compositions, many of which reveal the influence of folk music. Some of his best-known works include Symphony No. 3 in F Majo...
The German composer and theorist Richard Wagner extended the opera tradition and revolutionized Western music. His dramatic compositions are particularly known for the use of leitmotifs, brief musical motifs for a character, place, or event, which he skillfully transformed throughout a piece. Among his major works are the operas The Flying Dutchman...
The French composer Claude Debussy is often regarded as the father of modern classical music. Debussy developed new and complex harmonies and musical structures that evoke comparisons to the art of his contemporary Impressionist and Symbolist painters and writers. His major works include Clair de lune, La Mer, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, an...
Writing music with broad emotional appeal during the Romantic period, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky became one of the most popular Russian composers of all time. He was schooled in the western European tradition and assimilated elements from French, Italian, and German music with a personal and Russian style. Some of his best-known works were composed f...
Frédéric Chopin was a Polish French composer and pianist of the Romantic period. He was one of few composers to devote himself to a single instrument, and his sensitive approach to the keyboard allowed him to exploit all the resources of the piano, including innovations in fingering and pedaling. He is thus primarily known for writing music for the...
The Austrian composer Joseph Haydn was one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style of music during the 18th century. He helped establish the forms and styles for the string quartet and symphony. Haydn was a prolific composer, and some of his most well-known works are Symphony No. 92 in G Major, Emperor Quartet, and C...
These influential world music artists have shaped global sounds and cultures, connecting diverse audiences through their unique styles. From Ravi Shankar's sitar to Bob Marley's reggae, their legacies highlight the power of music in bridging cultural divides.
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Oct 7, 2017 · Popularity on the radio waves, it turns out, does not determine an artist’s tangible impact on the actual history of music. Here are the most influential artists, broken down by genre.
