List of Romantic-era composers

Classical/Romantic era transition composers (born 1770-1799) 

Name	Date born	Date died	Nationality	Notable works	Repertoire?
Ludwig van Beethoven	1770	1827	German	regarded by many as the first Romantic composer, famous for his nine symphonies, thirty-two piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets	B
Ferdinando Carulli	1770	1841	Italian	composer for the guitar, wrote concertos and chamber music
Anton Reicha	1770	1836	French	composer who experimented with irregular time signatures; works for wind quintet	B
Bernhard Henrik Crusell	1775	1838	Finnish	composer and clarinet player
Johann Nepomuk Hummel	1778	1837	Austrian	music bridged the Classical and Romantic eras	B
Fernando Sor	1778	1839	Spanish	composer for the classical guitar who is credited with elevating the guitar to the level of concert instrument
Mauro Giuliani	1781	1828	Italian	composer and virtuoso guitarist	B
Daniel Auber	1782	1871	French	opera composer noted for La muette de Portici
John Field	1782	1837	Irish	composer and pianist, notable for cultivating the nocturne	B
Niccolò Paganini	1782	1840	Italian	composer and virtuoso violinist, wrote the 24 Caprices for violin	B
Louis Spohr	1784	1859	German	composer, violinist and conductor.	B
George Pinto	1785	1806	English	composer, violinist and virtuoso pianist, known for his contribution to the piano repretoire.
Carl Maria von Weber	1786	1826	German	composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant Romantic opera composers	B
Giacomo Meyerbeer	1791	1864	German	opera composer (Il crociato in Egitto, Les Huguenots)
Gioachino Rossini	1792	1868	Italian	opera composer, best known for The Barber of Seville and overtures to various other operas	B
Ignaz Moscheles	1794	1870	Bohemian	composer and piano virtuoso, head of the Leipzig Conservatory
Franz Berwald	1796	1868	Swedish	composer, little known in his lifetime, but his four symphonies are better known today	B
Gaetano Donizetti	1797	1848	Italian	opera composer, known for Lucia di Lammermoor and L'elisir d'amore among others	B
Franz Schubert	1797	1828	Austrian	composer, regarded as the first significant Lieder writer, also known for his chamber music, piano works and symphonies	B

Early Romantic era composers (born 1800-1819)

• Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835), Italian opera composer, known for I Puritani, Norma and La sonnambula among others
• Eliza Flower (1803–1846), English composer
• Adolphe Adam (1803–1856), French composer best known for his ballet score Giselle
• Hector Berlioz (1803–1869), French composer famous for his programmatic symphony, the Symphonie Fantastique
• Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857), nationalist Russian composer, wrote operas such as A Life for the Tsar
• Johann Strauss I (1804–1849), Austrian dance music composer famous for the Radetzky March
• Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847), sister of Felix Mendelssohn who herself wrote piano music and songs
• Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), German composer known for his Violin Concerto and the Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, also wrote five symphonies including the "Italian" Symphony
• Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Polish composer and virtuoso pianist, his output includes nocturnes, ballades, scherzos, etudes, and a number of Polish dances such as mazurkas, polonaises, and waltzes (including the Minute Waltz)
• Ferenc Erkel (1810–1893), Hungarian composer of grand opera
• Robert Schumann (1810–1856), German composer, a significant lieder writer, wrote many short piano pieces and four symphonies
• Franz Liszt (1811–1886), Hungarian composer and a virtuoso pianist, wrote a number of tone poems and extended piano technique, famous for his Hungarian Rhapsodies
• Ambroise Thomas (1811–1896), French composer, best known for the operas Mignon and Hamlet
• Louis Antoine Jullien (1812-1860), French eccentric conductor and composer of light music, king of promenade concerts in England
• Friedrich von Flotow (1812–1883) a German composer, chiefly remembered for his opera Martha
• Alexandre Dubuque (1812-1898), Russian-resident French composer, known for teaching
• Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888), French composer and virtuoso pianist
• Ernst Haberbier (1813-1869), German composer of brilliant piano music
• Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), major Italian opera composer, best known for Nabucco, Rigoletto, La Traviata and Aida
•  Richard Wagner (1813–1883), major German opera composer (Der Ring des Nibelungen, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal among others)
• William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875), English composer, conductor, and editor
• Károly Thern (1817-1886), Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher
• Niels Gade (1817–1890), Danish composer, violinist, and organist
• Charles Gounod (1818–1893), French composer, best known for his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette
• Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880), French opera and operetta composer, known for The Tales of Hoffmann and Orpheus in the Underworld
• Franz von Suppé (1819–1895), Austrian composer and conductor notable for his operettas
• Clara Schumann (1819–1896), German composer, wife of Robert Schumann, and one of the leading pianists of the Romantic era
• Jean-Baptiste Duvernoy (1802–1880), French pianist and composer

Middle Romantic era composers (born 1820-1839)

• Joachim Raff (1822-1882), Swiss-born German composer, best known for eleven symphonies, most of them program music
• César Franck (1822–1890), Belgian-born French composer, noted for his Symphony, also a significant composer for the organ
• Édouard Lalo (1823–1892), French composer remembered for his Symphonie Espagnole for violin and orchestra and his Cello Concerto
• Anton Bruckner (1824–1896), Austrian composer of nine large-scale symphonies (one incomplete and two more unacknowledged, the third dedicated to Richard Wagner)
• Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884), Czech nationalist composer, perhaps best known for his cycle of symphonic poems, Má vlast and his opera The Bartered Bride
• Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-1889) Virtuoso cornetist, wrote the "Grande méthode complète pour cornet à pistons et de saxhorn" now referred to as the "Trumpeter's Bible."
• Johann Strauss II (1825–1899), Austrian composer known as "The Waltz King", composed The Blue Danube and opera Die Fledermaus
• Adolphe Blanc (1828-1885), French composer of chamber music
• Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869), American composer famous for performing his own romantic piano works.
• Jan Gerard Palm (1831-1906), Curaçao born composer, best known for his mazurkas, waltzes, danzas, tumbas, fantasies, and serenades.
• Mily Balakirev (1837-1910), Russian nationalist composer and leader of The Five
• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), great German composer, one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period, famous for his working under and of being compared to Beethoven. His most influential works include the four symphonies, Violin Concerto in D major, two piano concertos, and Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, aside from his other orchestral works and numerous chamber music pieces and songs.
• Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886), Italian opera composer known for La Gioconda
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921), French composer of The Carnival of the Animals and his Organ Symphony
• Henryk Wieniawski (1835–1880), Polish composer and violinist, famous for two concertos and character pieces of exceptional difficulty
• Léo Delibes (1836–1891), one of the first significant ballet composers since the baroque, known for Coppélia, Sylvia, and Lakmé
• Julius Weissenborn (1837–1888), German bassoonist, composer and music teacher, famous for his Practical Bassoon School
• Georges Bizet (1838–1875), French composer of the opera Carmen
• Max Bruch (1838–1920), German composer, known for his Violin Concerto No. 1, Scottish Fantasy, and Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra
• Julius Reubke (1834-1858), German piano and organ composer, known for Sonata on the 94th Psalm
• Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881), Russian composer known for his intensely nationalist works; including his opera Boris Godunov, and Pictures at an Exhibition
• John Knowles Paine (1839–1906), first native-born American composer to acquire fame for his large-scale orchestral music

Late Romantic era composers (born 1840-1859)

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), Russian composer, known for his ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake), his operas (Eugene Onegin), the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, his Violin Concerto and his symphonies.
• Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), French composer who influenced Maurice Ravel, Les Six, Jean Françaix and many other French composers, known for the opera L'étoile
• Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904), Czech composer, known for the "New World" Symphony
• Arrigo Boito (1842–1918), Italian composer and librettist, known as a composer for his opera Mefistofele
• Jules Massenet (1842–1912), French composer best known for his operas Manon and Werther and the Méditation for violin from the opera Thaïs
• Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), English composer known for his operettas in collaboration with W. S. Gilbert
• Émile Bernard (1843–1902), French composer and organist known for his Divertissement for Doubled Wind Quintet
• Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), Norwegian composer known for his Piano Concerto, Lyric Pieces for the piano, and incidental music to Peer Gynt
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908), Russian composer and member of The Five, best known for Flight of the Bumblebee from The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Scheherazade, and the Capriccio Espagnol
• Pablo de Sarasate (1844–1908), Spanish virtuoso violinist and composer
• Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937), French composer, known for his works for the organ
• Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924), French composer, known for his chamber music and a requiem among other pieces
• Henri Duparc (1848-1933), French composer, noted for seventeen mélodies
• Hubert Parry (1848-1918), English composer, wrote choral song Jerusalem
• Ernesto Köhler (1849-1907), Italian flautist and composer, known by flautists for his instructional work Progress in Flute Playing
• Vincent d'Indy (1851–1931), French composer, teacher of Erik Satie and Darius Milhaud among others
• Francisco Tárrega (1852 - 1909) Spanish composer and virtuoso classical guitarist, known as the father of modern classical guitar playing.
• Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921), German opera composer influenced by Richard Wagner, famous for Hänsel und Gretel
• Leoš Janáček (1854–1928), Czech composer, known for his operas Káťa Kabanová and Jenůfa and orchestral pieces Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba
• Alfredo Catalani (1854-1893), Italian composer, known for the operas Loreley and La Wally
• Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925), German Jewish composer-pianist who wrote prolifically for the piano. Also composed a piano concerto and violin concerto.
• John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), American composer, "The March King"
• Ernest Chausson (1855–1899), French composer influenced by Franck and Wagner, seen as a bridge from them to Claude Debussy
• Julius Röntgen (1855–1932), German-Dutch composer influenced by Brahms, close friend to Grieg
• Edward Elgar (1857–1934), English composer, wrote oratorios, chamber music, and symphonies, most famous for his Enigma Variations and Pomp and Circumstance Marches
• Cécile Chaminade (1857–1944), French composer and pianist
• Ruggero Leoncavallo (1858–1919), Italian opera composer known almost exclusively for Pagliacci
• Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), Italian opera composer known forLa bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly
• Samuel Maykapar (1867-1938)

Romantic era/20th century transition composers (born 1860-1880)

• Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909), Spanish composer, known for nationalist piano works such as Iberia
• Gustave Charpentier (1860–1956), French composer best known for his opera Louise
• Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), Austrian composer, one of the most important late-Romantic/early-Modernist composers. His works include nine innovative large-scale and sometimes programmatic symphonies and many songs.
• Edward MacDowell (1860–1908), American composer best known for his piano concertos and piano suites includes his most popular short piece, "To a Wild Rose".
• Hugo Wolf (1860–1903), Austrian composer of lieder, influenced by Richard Wagner
• Claude Debussy (1862–1918), French composer, one of the most prominent figures working within the field of Impressionist music, known for his compositions Clair de Lune (from Suite bergamasque), Deux Arabesques, and many others.
• Frederick Delius (1862–1934), English composer, used chromaticism in many of his compositions
• Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945), Italian opera composer, known for Cavalleria rusticana
• Ricardo Castro (1864-1907), Mexican composer of piano music
•  Richard Strauss (1864–1949), German composer, known for Also sprach Zarathustra, ("Thus Spoke Zarathustra"), wrote many tone poems and operas
• Paul Dukas (1865–1935), French composer, known for his piece of program music The Sorcerer's Apprentice
• Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer, influenced by Wagner and Liszt
• Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), Danish composer of six symphonies
• Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Finnish nationalist composer of seven symphonies, known for the symphonic poem Finlandia
• Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), Italian composer and pianist, known for his opera Turandot and his many transcriptions and arrangements of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Umberto Giordano (1867–1948), Italian opera composer
• Enrique Granados (1867–1916), Spanish composer and pianist
• Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867–1942), Swedish composer, wrote symphonies, operas, vocal and piano music
• Amy Beach (1867–1944), American composer and pianist
• Franz Lehár (1870–1948), Hungarian composer mainly known for his operettas
• Henry Kimball Hadley (1871-1937), American composer and conductor, his opera Cleopatra's Night appeared at the Met in 1920.
• Oreste Ravanello (1871–1938), Italian composer, wrote for choir and for organ
• Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942), teacher of Schoenberg and Korngold
• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), English composer of nine symphonies, Fantasia on Greensleeves, and other orchestral poems
• Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960), Swedish composer, known forSwedish Rhapsody, contributions to choral music, and five symphonies
• Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915), Russian, known for his harmonically adventurous piano sonatas and theatrical orchestral works
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943), Russian composer, conductor, and virtuoso pianist, wrote three symphonies, four piano concertos, and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
• Max Reger (1873–1916), prolific German composer, known for his Variations on a Theme of Mozart
• Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947), Venezuelan composer known for his strikingly beautiful and unabashedly tonal melodies
• Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), Austrian composer, whose early works are influenced by Mahler, but subsequently developed atonalism and serialism
• Franz Schmidt (1874–1939), Austrian composer influenced by Brahms and Bruckner
• Reinhold Glière (1875–1956), Russian who wrote pieces in a romantic style well into the 20th century
• Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876–1909), Polish composer in the late romantic and nationalist styles
• Manuel de Falla (1876–1946), Spanish composer, best known for The Three-Cornered Hat
• Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936), Italian composer known for symphonic poems The Fountains of Rome and The Pines of Rome)
• Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951), Russian composer best known for his piano sonatas and concertos.

(source : en.wikipedia.org)