Famous Composers for Kids
Famous composers include Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Clara Schumann (1819–1896) and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893). Each wrote in the style of their time: Bach in the Baroque period, Mozart in the Classical period, and Chopin, Clara Schumann and Tchaikovsky in the Romantic period.
Updated · By the Classfern Music Department
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK words and school years (bar, semitone, KS2, Year 4); the US version uses measure, half step and grades. · US version of this page
Key facts
- Baroque: Vivaldi, Bach and Handel (Bach and Handel were both born in 1685).
- Classical: Haydn (104 symphonies) and Mozart (more than 600 works).
- Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies; the Ninth (1824) includes Ode to Joy.
- Romantic: Chopin, Clara Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Grieg.
- Women composers on this page: Hildegard of Bingen, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara Schumann and Florence Price.
Who are the most famous composers?
The most famous composers include Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893). Bach wrote in the Baroque period, Mozart in the Classical period, Beethoven bridged Classical and Romantic, and Chopin and Tchaikovsky were Romantics.
| Composer | Lived | Country | Period | Famous for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hildegard of Bingen | 1098–1179 | Germany | Medieval | Abbess who wrote chants and a sung play, Ordo Virtutum; one of the first composers whose name and music we know |
| Thomas Tallis | about 1505–1585 | England | Renaissance | Spem in alium, written for 40 separate voice parts |
| William Byrd | about 1540–1623 | England | Renaissance | Church music and keyboard music for the virginals |
| Antonio Vivaldi | 1678–1741 | Italy | Baroque | The Four Seasons, four violin concertos published in 1725 |
| Johann Sebastian Bach | 1685–1750 | Germany | Baroque | Six Brandenburg Concertos; he had 20 children |
| George Frideric Handel | 1685–1759 | Germany, then England | Baroque | Messiah (1742) and Water Music (1717) |
| Joseph Haydn | 1732–1809 | Austria | Classical | 104 symphonies, including the “Surprise” Symphony |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1756–1791 | Austria | Classical | More than 600 works, including The Magic Flute; composing from the age of 5 |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | 1770–1827 | Germany | Classical and Romantic | Nine symphonies; the Ninth (1824), with Ode to Joy, came after he had lost his hearing |
| Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel | 1805–1847 | Germany | Romantic | More than 460 works, many of them songs and piano pieces |
| Frédéric Chopin | 1810–1849 | Poland, then France | Romantic | Nearly all his music is for the piano: nocturnes, waltzes, mazurkas and polonaises |
| Clara Schumann | 1819–1896 | Germany | Romantic | Star concert pianist; began her Piano Concerto in A minor at 13 |
| Camille Saint-Saëns | 1835–1921 | France | Romantic | The Carnival of the Animals (1886) and Danse macabre |
| Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | 1840–1893 | Russia | Romantic | Swan Lake (1877) and The Nutcracker (1892) |
| Edvard Grieg | 1843–1907 | Norway | Romantic | Peer Gynt (1875), including In the Hall of the Mountain King |
| Scott Joplin | about 1868–1917 | USA | Ragtime | Maple Leaf Rag (1899) and The Entertainer (1902) |
| Gustav Holst | 1874–1934 | England | 20th century | The Planets, written 1914–1916 |
| Samuel Coleridge-Taylor | 1875–1912 | England | Romantic | Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast (1898), a huge success in Britain and the USA |
| Florence Price | 1887–1953 | USA | 20th century | First Black woman to have a symphony played by a major American orchestra (Chicago, 1933) |
| Sergei Prokofiev | 1891–1953 | Russia | 20th century | Peter and the Wolf (1936) |
Hear a famous tune by four composers
Short, simple piano versions of four famous themes. Can you hear which is the oldest? Press again to stop.
- Mozart, 1787), opening
- Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, 1824
- Grieg, Peer Gynt, 1875
- Scott Joplin, 1902), opening
These are short, simple versions made by Classfern from music that is out of copyright. The sound is made in your browser; nothing is recorded, saved or sent.
Who was the first composer?
No one knows who the very first composer was, because people made music long before it was written down. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), a German abbess, is one of the earliest composers whose name and music have both survived. She wrote about 70 chants and a sung play.
Even older tunes survive without names. The Seikilos epitaph, carved on a stone in ancient Greece about 2,000 years ago, is often called the oldest complete song with its tune written down.
Who are famous women composers?
Famous women composers include Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805–1847), who wrote more than 460 works, Clara Schumann (1819–1896), a star pianist and composer, and Florence Price (1887–1953), the first Black woman to have a symphony played by a major American orchestra.
For centuries many women were not allowed to publish music or work as composers, and some, like Fanny Mendelssohn, first published under a brother’s name. Their music is now played and recorded much more. Classfern’s Music Department characters, Mr Chopin and Miss Clara Schumann, are cartoon teachers who share their names with these composers; they are not the real Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) or Clara Schumann (1819–1896).
How do you teach composers at KS2?
At KS2, the national curriculum asks pupils to listen to music “from great composers and musicians”. Teach composers through short, regular listening: a composer of the week, a class timeline, a fact file pupils write themselves, and a chance to play one of the composer’s tunes.
- Fact file: name, dates, country, period, one famous piece and one surprising fact.
- Listen and describe: instruments, speed, mood.
- Place on the timeline from the music history timeline.
- Play a tune: Ode to Joy is on the falling-notes piano and the easy recorder songs.
- Quiz: use the one below.
Quick quiz: famous composers
Marked by Classfern 6 multiple-choice questions on the Classfern lesson engine. Your answers stay on this device.
Classfern’s free listening guides on lessonplanner.info: Peter and the Wolf and The Carnival of the Animals, instruments of the orchestra and famous violin music.
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