Niccolò Paganini
1782–1840 · Italian
The first rock star of classical music. Paganini's violin technique was so extraordinary that audiences believed he had made a pact with the devil. His 24 Caprices for solo violin remain the most technically demanding works in the violin repertoire. He inspired Liszt to become the "Paganini of the piano" and his themes were used by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and many others.
- 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 11820
- Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major1817
Start with: Caprice No. 24 — the most famous, and the most imitated.
Franz Schubert
1797–1828 · Austrian
Schubert died at 31 having written over 600 songs, 9 symphonies, 15 string quartets, and countless piano works. He is the greatest songwriter who ever lived — his ability to capture a complete emotional world in a three-minute song is unmatched. His late works — the Winterreise song cycle, the String Quintet, the last three piano sonatas — are among the most profound music ever written.
- Winterreise, D. 9111827
- Die schöne Müllerin, D. 7951823
- Symphony No. 8 'Unfinished', D. 7591822
- String Quintet in C major, D. 9561828
- Erlkönig, D. 3281815
Start with: Winterreise — one of the most devastating things in music.
Hector Berlioz
1803–1869 · French
The most original orchestrator in history. Berlioz invented the modern orchestra — his Treatise on Orchestration is still the standard text. His Symphonie fantastique (1830), written after an obsessive infatuation with an Irish actress, introduced the idée fixe — a recurring theme representing the beloved — and used the orchestra to depict opium dreams, a witches' sabbath, and a march to the scaffold.
- Symphonie fantastique, Op. 141830
- Harold en Italie, Op. 161834
- Les Troyens1858
- Requiem, Op. 51837
Start with: Symphonie fantastique — the most dramatic symphony ever written.
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849 · Polish-French
Chopin wrote almost exclusively for the piano, and no one has written for it better. His music combines Polish folk elements with Parisian elegance and a harmonic language that pointed toward the 20th century. He was a private person who rarely performed in public, preferring intimate salon concerts. He died of tuberculosis at 39. His Préludes — 24 short pieces in all keys — are among the most concentrated masterpieces in music.
- Préludes, Op. 281839
- Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 231835
- Nocturnes, Op. 91832
- Études, Op. 10 and Op. 251833/1837
- Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 111830
Start with: Préludes, Op. 28 — all 24, in order.
Robert Schumann
1810–1856 · German
The most literary of the Romantic composers, Schumann was also a brilliant music critic who championed Chopin and Brahms. His piano music — Carnaval, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana — is full of hidden literary references and alter egos. His mental health deteriorated in his 40s; he spent his last years in an asylum. His wife Clara was one of the greatest pianists of the century.
- Dichterliebe, Op. 481840
- Kinderszenen, Op. 151838
- Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 541845
- Carnaval, Op. 91835
Start with: Kinderszenen — 13 miniatures of heartbreaking simplicity.
Franz Liszt
1811–1886 · Hungarian
The greatest pianist who ever lived and the inventor of the solo piano recital. Liszt's technique was so far beyond anyone else's that audiences thought he was supernatural. He invented the symphonic poem — a single-movement orchestral work based on a literary or pictorial idea — and his harmonic language was so advanced it directly influenced Wagner and pointed toward the 20th century. He spent his last years as a Franciscan monk.
- Piano Sonata in B minor1853
- Transcendental Études1851
- Les Préludes (symphonic poem)1854
- Faust Symphony1857
Start with: Piano Sonata in B minor — 30 minutes, one movement, a complete world.
Richard Wagner
1813–1883 · German
The most controversial composer in history — a visionary genius and a reprehensible human being. Wagner transformed opera into Gesamtkunstwerk (total artwork), where music, drama, poetry, and staging were unified. He invented the leitmotif — a musical theme associated with a character or idea. His Ring Cycle (four operas, 15 hours) is the largest single work in the repertoire. His influence on film music is incalculable.
- Der Ring des Nibelungen1876
- Tristan und Isolde1865
- Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg1868
- Parsifal1882
Start with: Prelude to Tristan und Isolde — 8 minutes that changed music.
Johannes Brahms
1833–1897 · German
The great conservative of the Romantic era — the anti-Wagner. Brahms believed in absolute music (music without a programme) and Classical forms, but filled them with Romantic emotion and harmonic richness. He took 20 years to write his First Symphony, terrified of comparison with Beethoven. When it was finally performed, Hans von Bülow called it "Beethoven's Tenth."
- Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 681876
- Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 981885
- Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 831881
- German Requiem, Op. 451868
- Violin Concerto, Op. 771878
Start with: Symphony No. 4 — his greatest, ending with a passacaglia of devastating power.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1840–1893 · Russian
The most popular classical composer in the world. Tchaikovsky had an unmatched gift for melody and an ability to write music of overwhelming emotional directness. His three ballets — Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker — are the foundation of the ballet repertoire. He died nine days after the premiere of his Sixth Symphony 'Pathétique' — possibly by suicide.
- Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique', Op. 741893
- The Nutcracker, Op. 711892
- Swan Lake, Op. 201876
- Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 231875
- Violin Concerto, Op. 351878
Start with: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique' — the most personal symphony ever written.
Gustav Mahler
1860–1911 · Austrian
The last great Romantic symphonist and the bridge to the 20th century. Mahler's nine completed symphonies are vast, sprawling, contradictory works — full of folk songs, military marches, nature sounds, and cosmic despair. He was also the greatest conductor of his age. His Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), written after the death of his daughter, is one of the most heartbreaking works in music.
- Symphony No. 91910
- Das Lied von der Erde1909
- Symphony No. 51902
- Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection'1895
Start with: Symphony No. 5, Adagietto — then the full symphony.
Richard Strauss
1864–1949 · German
The master of the tone poem and the late Romantic opera. Strauss's orchestral showpieces — Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote, Ein Heldenleben — pushed the Romantic orchestra to its absolute limits. His operas Salome and Elektra were scandalous; Der Rosenkavalier was a nostalgic masterpiece. He lived long enough to write the ethereal Four Last Songs at age 84.
- Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 301896
- Der Rosenkavalier1911
- Four Last Songs1948
- Salome1905
Start with: Four Last Songs — an old man's farewell to the world.
Giacomo Puccini
1858–1924 · Italian
The last great Italian opera composer and the master of verismo — opera about real, suffering people rather than gods and heroes. Puccini's gift for melody was extraordinary, and his operas — La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Turandot — are the most performed in the world. He died before finishing Turandot; it was completed by Alfano.
- La Bohème1896
- Tosca1900
- Madama Butterfly1904
- Turandot (unfinished)1926
Start with: La Bohème — the most beloved opera in the world.
Camille Saint-Saëns
1835–1921 · French
The most technically accomplished French composer of the 19th century — a child prodigy who could play any Beethoven symphony from memory at age 10. Saint-Saëns was a classicist in an age of Romanticism, and his music has a clarity and wit that sets it apart. His Carnival of the Animals — which he refused to publish in his lifetime — is one of the most charming works ever written.
- Symphony No. 3 'Organ'1886
- Carnival of the Animals1886
- Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 221868
- Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 331872
Start with: Symphony No. 3 'Organ' — the finale is one of the most thrilling in music.
Felix Mendelssohn
1809–1847 · German
The most naturally gifted composer after Mozart — and like Mozart, dead too young (at 38). Mendelssohn combined Classical clarity with Romantic feeling, and his orchestral writing has a lightness and transparency that no one else achieved. He also revived Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1829, beginning the Bach renaissance. His Violin Concerto is the most beloved in the repertoire.
- Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 641844
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 611842
- Elijah, Op. 701846
- Symphony No. 4 'Italian', Op. 901833
Start with: Violin Concerto — then the Octet, written at age 16.
Giuseppe Verdi
1813–1901 · Italian
The greatest Italian opera composer and a symbol of Italian national identity. Verdi's operas — from the early melodramas to the late masterpieces Otello and Falstaff — show a continuous deepening of dramatic and musical sophistication. He wrote Falstaff, his comic masterpiece, at age 79. His Requiem is the most dramatic sacred work ever written.
- La traviata1853
- Otello1887
- Falstaff1893
- Requiem1874
- Rigoletto1851
Start with: La traviata — then Otello for the mature Verdi.
Johann Strauss II
1825–1899 · Austrian
The "Waltz King" — the most popular composer in Vienna and the creator of the operetta. Strauss's waltzes — The Blue Danube, Tales from the Vienna Woods, Emperor Waltz — are the sound of 19th-century Vienna. His operetta Die Fledermaus is the most performed operetta in the world. Brahms, who admired him enormously, once wrote on a fan: "Unfortunately not by Brahms."
- The Blue Danube, Op. 3141867
- Die Fledermaus1874
- Emperor Waltz, Op. 4371889
Start with: The Blue Danube — then Die Fledermaus for the full Strauss experience.