Archives: Composers

Gustav Theodore Holst, originally named Gustavus Theodore von Holst, was an English composer, arranger, and teacher born on September 21, 1874, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. He passed away on May 25, 1934, in London1. Holst is best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, but he composed many other works across a range of genres,…

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) is recognized as the father of the Russian national school and was a great influence on several generations of composers including Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin, and Tchaikovsky. His first opera, A Life for the Tsar (1836), established him as the leading composer of the day, and its national character and folk influences…

Billy Joel, born William Martin Joel on May 9, 1949, is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist1. He is often referred to as the “Piano Man” after his hit song of the same name. Joel’s music career spans several decades, and he has been a prominent figure in the pop and rock music scenes since…

Eric Funk (b.1949) has composed 170 major works, one third of which were commissioned, including nine symphonies, four operas, nineteen concertos, six string quartets, numerous large and small choral works and chamber works. His music has been recorded and performed by Warsaw Philharmonic, Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Moscow String Quartet, Moyzes…

Anton Hegner (1861-1915) was a Danish cellist and composer and the brother of Ludvig Hegner (1851-1923), the Principal Bass of the Royal Danish Orchestra. Anton was appointed Principal Cello of the New York Symphony Orchestra by Walter Damrosch and alongside composing many works for cello – both study and recital works. The works included in…

Czech bassist-composer František Gregora (1819-1887) was Bottesini’s almost exact contemporary, albeit two years older and, although he was a respected soloist and composer his music has, on the whole, been largely forgotten. Born in Netolice, Bohemia on 9 January 1819, he showed early musical talent playing organ, piano, violin, flute and clarinet before transferring to…

William Byrd was an English organist and composer of the Shakespearean age, born in 1539/40 in London, England. He passed away on July 4, 1623, in Stondon Massey, Essex, England. Byrd is best known for his development of the English madrigal and for his significant contributions to keyboard and organ music, which elevated the English…

Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French Romantic composer, born on February 21, 1836, in Saint-Germain-du-Val, France, and passed away on January 16, 1891, in Paris. He is best known for his ballets and operas, including the ballets Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876), as well as the opera Lakmé (1883), which features the famous “Flower…

Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a distinguished French composer, organist, pianist, and teacher born on May 12, 1845, in Pamiers, Ariège, France. He passed away on November 4, 1924, in Paris1. Fauré was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style significantly influenced many 20th-century composers. Fauré’s early talent for music…

Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO, was an English composer born on June 2, 1857, in Broadheath, Worcestershire, England. He passed away on February 23, 1934, in Worcester, Worcestershire. Elgar is renowned for his contributions to the British and international classical concert repertoire, with famous works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and…