A Journey Through Time
Eight musical eras spanning from antiquity to the present day
Greatest Composers of All Time
From Bach and Beethoven to Coltrane and Glass — explore the lives and works of history's most influential musicians
Johann Sebastian Bach
1685–1750
Baroque
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770–1827
Classical
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756–1791
Classical
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849
Classical
Johannes Brahms
1833–1897
Romantic
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1840–1893
Romantic
George Frideric Handel
1685–1759
Baroque
Antonio Vivaldi
1678–1741
Baroque
Franz Schubert
1797–1828
Classical
Richard Wagner
1813–1883
Classical
Igor Stravinsky
1882–1971
Romantic
Joseph Haydn
1732–1809
Baroque
Claude Debussy
1862–1918
Romantic
Gustav Mahler
1860–1911
Romantic
Franz Liszt
1811–1886
Classical
Maurice Ravel
1875–1937
Romantic
Felix Mendelssohn
1809–1847
Classical
Claudio Monteverdi
1567–1643
Renaissance
Giacomo Puccini
1712–1781
Baroque
Antonín Dvořák
1841–1904
Romantic
Jacques Offenbach
1819–1880
Classical
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
1714–1788
Baroque
Henry Purcell
1659–1695
Baroque
Hector Berlioz
1803–1869
Classical
Christoph Willibald von Gluck
1714–1787
Baroque
Alessandro Scarlatti
1660–1725
Baroque
Arcangelo Corelli
1653–1713
Baroque
Domenico Scarlatti
1685–1757
Baroque
Gaetano Donizetti
1797–1848
Classical
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
1525–1594
Renaissance
Jean-Philippe Rameau
1683–1764
Baroque
John Coltrane
1926–1967
Modern
Josquin des Prez
1455–1521
Renaissance
Miles Davis
1926–1991
Modern
Vincenzo Bellini
1801–1835
Classical
Bob Marley
1945–1981
Modern
Carl Maria von Weber
1786–1826
Classical
George Gershwin
1898–1937
Romantic
Gioachino Rossini
1792–1868
Classical
Gustav Holst
1874–1934
Romantic
Leonard Bernstein
1918–1990
Modern
Aaron Copland
1900–1990
Romantic
Anton Bruckner
1824–1896
Romantic
Antônio Carlos Jobim
1927–1994
Modern
Aretha Franklin
1942–2018
Modern
Duke Ellington
1899–1974
Romantic
Guillaume de Machaut
1300–1377
Medieval
John Cage
1912–1992
Modern
Samuel Barber
1910–1981
Romantic
Steve Reich
1936–present
ModernProto (Antiquity)
650 BCE–1399
Ancient sacred chants, the poetry of Sappho, and the earliest notation systems that laid the foundation for all Western music.
View all 3 composers from the Proto (Antiquity)Medieval
500–1400
Troubadours and trouvères, Gregorian chant, and the birth of polyphony in the great cathedrals of Europe.
Guillaume de Machaut
1300–1377
Hildegard of Bingen
1098–1179
Guillaume Dufay
1397–1474
Adam de la Halle
1240–1288
Alfonso X of Castile and Leon
1221–1284
Adémar de Chabannes
988–1034
Aimeric de Peguilhan
1170–1225
Albrecht von Johansdorf
1180–1209
Renaissance
1400–1600
The flowering of vocal polyphony, from Josquin to Palestrina, as music printing transformed how compositions spread across Europe.
Claudio Monteverdi
1567–1643
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
1525–1594
Josquin des Prez
1455–1521
Johannes Ockeghem
1410–1497
Orlande de Lassus
1532–1594
William Byrd
1538–1623
Hans Leo Hassler
1564–1612
Fabritio Caroso
1526–1605
Baroque
1600–1750
The age of Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel—opera was born, the orchestra took shape, and counterpoint reached its zenith.
Johann Sebastian Bach
1685–1750
George Frideric Handel
1685–1759
Antonio Vivaldi
1678–1741
Joseph Haydn
1732–1809
Giacomo Puccini
1712–1781
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
1714–1788
Henry Purcell
1659–1695
Christoph Willibald von Gluck
1714–1787
Classical
1750–1820
Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven refined the symphony, sonata, and concerto into forms that still define concert life today.
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770–1827
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756–1791
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849
Franz Schubert
1797–1828
Richard Wagner
1813–1883
Franz Liszt
1811–1886
Felix Mendelssohn
1809–1847
Jacques Offenbach
1819–1880
Romantic
1820–1910
An era of emotional intensity and virtuosity, from Chopin’s nocturnes to Wagner’s epic operas and Tchaikovsky’s sweeping ballets.
Johannes Brahms
1833–1897
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1840–1893
Igor Stravinsky
1882–1971
Claude Debussy
1862–1918
Gustav Mahler
1860–1911
Maurice Ravel
1875–1937
Antonín Dvořák
1841–1904
George Gershwin
1898–1937
Modern
1890–1975
A century of revolution—atonality, jazz, electronic experiments, and the shattering of every musical convention.
John Coltrane
1926–1967
Miles Davis
1926–1991
Bob Marley
1945–1981
Leonard Bernstein
1918–1990
Antônio Carlos Jobim
1927–1994
Aretha Franklin
1942–2018
John Cage
1912–1992
Steve Reich
1936–present
Contemporary
1945–Present
Global fusion, minimalism, digital production, and an explosion of genres from hip-hop to spectral music.
Michael Jackson
1958–2009
Stevie Wonder
1950–present
David Bowie
1947–2016
Dolly Parton
1946–present
John Adams
1947–present
Prince
1958–2016
Wolfgang Rihm
1952–2024
"Weird Al" Yankovic
1959–present
Explore the Interactive Timeline
39,505 events. Every era. Every composer. Powerful filters.
By the Numbers
14,361
Composers
11,563
Premieres
39,505
Total Events
2,676
Years of Coverage