Archives: Composers

Although completely self-taught, Peter Byrom-Smith had the opportunity of writing for, and performing over many years, with musicians from across a wide spectrum of genres, as well as musical director for theatre, church organist/choirmaster, lutenist/guitar performer, rock band member, teacher at schools, colleges, and universities. All this experience had been his true musical apprenticeship and…

André Dulaurens, a French violinist and composer, was born in Bordeaux in 1873 and died in Paris in 1932, and was a fairly prolific composer of instrumental and vocal music. Many works by Dulaurens were published by the leading French publishing houses of the day, although some were self-published from his appropriately named address in…

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…

Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era, born on February 17, 1653, in Fusignano, near Imola, Papal States (now Italy). He is renowned for his significant contributions to the development of the sonata and concerto forms, as well as for establishing the preeminence of the violin and coalescing modern tonality…

Bob Chilcott is a renowned British choral composer, conductor, and singer, born on April 9, 1955, in Plymouth, England1. He has had a significant impact on the world of choral music and is known for his compositions that are accessible to a wide range of singers. Chilcott’s early life was marked by his involvement with…

Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti was an Italian double bass virtuoso and composer, born on April 7, 1763, in Venice. He is renowned for his extraordinary skill with the double bass and for his contributions to the development of the instrument as a soloist in classical music. Dragonetti began playing the guitar and double bass at…

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…

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…

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a British composer and conductor, born on August 15, 1875, in Holborn, London, England, and he passed away on September 1, 1912, in Croydon, Surrey, England1. Of mixed-race descent, he achieved such success that he was referred to by white musicians in New York City as the “African Mahler” during his three…

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…