List of 20th-century classical composers

This list is by no means complete. Only composers of significant fame and importance are included. The most influential composers are listed in bold type. The style of the composer's music is given where possible, bearing in mind that some defy simple classification.

1850s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Vincent d'Indy	1851-1931	French	Symphony on a French Mountain Air; Ishtar
Charles Villiers Stanford	1852-1924	Irish	7 symphonies	Romanticism
Leoš Janáček	1854-1928	Czech	Sinfonietta; Taras Bulba; operas; 2 string quartets	folk-influenced
Moritz Moszkowski	1854-1925	German
Christian Sinding	1856-1941	Norwegian	The Rustle of Spring	Romanticism
Cécile Chaminade	1857-1944	French
Edward Elgar	1857-1934	British	Symphony No. 1 and No. 2; Violin Concerto; Cello Concerto; The Dream of Gerontius (oratorio); Pomp and Circumstance Marches	Romanticism
Giacomo Puccini	1858-1924	Italian	La Bohème (opera); Tosca (opera); Madama Butterfly (opera)	Romanticism
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov	1859-1935	Russian	Caucasian Sketches

1860s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Gustave Charpentier	1860-1956	French
Gustav Mahler	1860-1911	Austrian	Symphony No. 1, No. 5, No. 6, and No. 9; Das Lied von der Erde; Kindertotenlieder	Romanticism
Ignacy Jan Paderewski	1860-1941	Polish
Claude Debussy	1862-1918	French	Clair de lune; La Mer; Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun; Préludes	Impressionism
Frederick Delius	1862-1934	British	The Walk to the Paradise Garden from A Village Romeo and Juliet (opera); On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring	Impressionism
Pietro Mascagni	1863-1945	Italian	Cavalleria Rusticana (opera)	Romanticism
Eugen d'Albert	1864-1932	Russian		Romanticism
Alexander Gretchaninov	1864-1956	Russian	5 symphonies; Passion Week	Romanticism, later Neo-classicism
Joseph Guy Ropartz	1864-1955	French		Impressionism
Richard Strauss	1864-1949	German	Alpine Symphony; Also sprach Zarathustra; Till Eulenspiegel; Der Rosenkavalier (opera); Salome (opera); Ein Heldenleben	Romanticism
Paul Dukas	1865-1935	French	The Sorcerer's Apprentice; La Peri (ballet)
Alexander Glazunov	1865-1936	Russian	Symphony No. 4 and No. 5; The Seasons; Violin Concerto; Saxophone Concerto	Romanticism
Albéric Magnard	1865-1914	French
Carl Nielsen	1865-1931	Danish	Symphony No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5; Masquerade (opera); Clarinet Concerto	father of Danish classical music
Jean Sibelius	1865-1957	Finnish	Symphony No. 1, No. 2, No. 5, and No. 7; Violin Concerto; The Swan of Tuonela; Finlandia	father of Finnish classical music
Ferruccio Busoni	1866-1924	Italian	Fantasia Contrappuntistica; Turandot Suite; Piano Concerto
Erik Satie	1866-1925	French	Gymnopédies; Gnossiennes; Vexations; other piano music
Amy Beach	1867-1944	American
Enrique Granados	1867-1916	Spanish
Charles Koechlin	1867-1950	French
Oskar Merikanto	1868-1924	Finnish
Hans Pfitzner	1869-1949	German
Albert Roussel	1869-1937	French	Symphony No. 3 and No. 4; Bacchus et Ariane (ballet)	Neo-classicism

1870s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Leopold Godowsky	1870-1938	Polish
Alfred Hill	1870-1960	Australian
Franz Lehár	1870-1948	Hungarian	operettas
Vitezslav Novak	1870-1949	Czech
Florent Schmitt	1870-1958	French
Charles Tournemire	1870-1939	French	8 symphonies, organ music
Wilhelm Stenhammar	1871-1927	Swedish		Romanticism
Alexander von Zemlinsky	1871-1942	Austrian	Lyric Symphony	Romanticism; mentor of Arnold Schoenberg
Hugo Alfven	1872-1960	Swedish	Symphony No. 4: From the Outermost Skerries; Midsummer Vigil	Romanticism
Alexander Scriabin	1872-1915	Russian	The Poem of Ecstasy; Prometheus: The Poem of Fire; 10 piano sonatas	Mysticism
Ralph Vaughan Williams	1872-1958	British	A Sea Symphony; A London Symphony; Sinfonia Antartica; Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis; Fantasia on Greensleeves	folk-influenced
Joseph Jongen	1873-1953	Belgian	Symphonie Concertante for organ and orchestra
Sergei Rachmaninoff	1873-1943	Russian	Piano Concerto No. 2 and No. 3; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Symphony No. 2; Prelude in C-sharp minor	Romanticism; also a formidable pianist
Jean Roger-Ducasse	1873-1954	French
Nikolai Tcherepnin	1873-1945	Russian		father of Alexander Tcherepnin
Max Reger	1873-1916	German	organ music	Romanticism
Charles Ives	1874-1954	American	The Unanswered Question; Central Park in the Dark; Variations on America; Three Places in New England; Concord Sonata	Avant-garde, folk-influenced
Gustav Holst	1874-1934	British	The Planets; Beni Mora; Egdon Heath
Franz Schmidt	1874-1939	Austrian
Arnold Schoenberg	1874-1951	Austrian	Gurre-Lieder; Verklärte Nacht; Variations for Orchestra; Pierrot Lunaire; Five Pieces for Orchestra	Romanticism, later Expressionism and Serialism; founder of the Second Viennese School
Josef Suk	1874-1935	Czech	Asrael Symphony; A Winter's Tale
Reinhold Glière	1875-1956	Russian	Symphony No. 3: Ilya Muromets	Romanticism
Albert Ketelbey	1875-1959	British	In a Persian Market
Erkki Melartin	1875-1937	Finnish
Maurice Ravel	1875-1937	French	Daphnis et Chloe; Valses nobles et sentimentales; Rapsodie espagnole; Tzigane; Piano Concerto; Bolero; piano music	Impressionism, Neo-classicism
Julián Carrillo	1875-1965	Mexican	13th sound	Microtonal music
Havergal Brian	1876-1972	British	more than 30 symphonies, including the Gothic Symphony
Manuel de Falla	1876-1946	Spanish	The Three-Cornered Hat; Nights in the Gardens of Spain	Impressionism, Neo-classicism
Carl Ruggles	1876-1971	American
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari	1876-1948	Italian
Ernő Dohnányi	1877-1960	Hungarian	Variations on a Nursery Tune	Romanticism
Joseph Holbrooke	1878-1958	British
Franz Schreker	1878-1934	Austrian
Joseph Canteloube	1879-1957	French	Chants d'Auvergne
Jean Cras	1879-1932	French
Frank Bridge	1879-1941	British	Enter Spring; The Sea	Impressionism, later Expressionism; mentor of Benjamin Britten
Hamilton Harty	1879-1941	Irish	An Irish Symphony; With the Wild Geese
John Ireland	1879-1962	British
Ottorino Respighi	1879-1936	Italian	The Fountains of Rome; The Pines of Rome	Impressionism, Neo-Baroque
Cyril Scott	1879-1970	British

1880s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Ernest Bloch	1880–1959	Swiss	Schelomo; Suite hébraïque
Nikolay Medtner	1880–1951	Russian	3 piano concertos	Romanticism
Ildebrando Pizzetti	1880–1968	Italian
Béla Bartók	1881–1945	Hungarian	Concerto for Orchestra; The Miraculous Mandarin; Piano Concerto No. 3; Viola Concerto; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion	Neo-classicism, folk-influenced
George Enescu	1881–1955	Romanian	Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Sonata no. 3 for Violin and Piano ("In the Romanian Popular Style"), Oedip	folk-influenced; father of Romanian classical music
Jan van Gilse	1881–1944	Dutch	Thijl, 5 symphonies
Nikolay Myaskovsky	1881–1950	Russian	27 symphonies	Romanticism; father of the Russian symphony
Mykola Roslavets	1881–1944	Russian
Percy Grainger	1882–1961	Australian	Country Gardens, Irish Tune from County Derry, Lincolnshire Posy	folksong-influenced, mostly piano solo & wind band
Zoltán Kodály	1882–1967	Hungarian	Háry János; Dances of Galanta	folk-influenced
Gian Francesco Malipiero	1882–1973	Italian	11 symphonies
Geoffrey O'Hara	1882–1967	Canadian
Manuel Maria Ponce	1882–1948	Mexican
Igor Stravinsky	1882–1971	Russian	The Rite of Spring; The Firebird; Petrushka; Pulcinella; The Soldier's Tale; Symphony of Psalms; Symphonies of Wind Instruments	Neo-classicism, Neo-Baroque, later Serialism
Karol Szymanowski	1882–1937	Polish	Symphony No. 3 and No. 4; Violin Concerto No. 1 and No. 2	Impressionism, later folk-influenced
Joaquin Turina	1882–1949	Spanish
Arnold Bax	1883–1953	British	Symphony No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6; Tintagel	Romanticism, Impressionism
Alfredo Casella	1883–1947	Italian
George Dyson	1883–1964	British	Symphony in G major
Manolis Kalomiris	1883–1962	Greek
Edgard Varèse	1883–1965	French	Amériques; Ionisation; Arcana; Density 21.5	Musique concrète, Electronic music
Anton Webern	1883–1945	Austrian	Symphony; Passacaglia; Six Pieces for Orchestra	Serialism; pupil of Arnold Schoenberg
Charles Griffes	1884–1920	American		impressionism
Louis Gruenberg	1884–1964	Russian	Violin Concerto; 5 symphonies
Ture Rangström	1884–1947	Swedish	4 symphonies; 3 operas
Alban Berg	1885–1935	Austrian	Violin Concerto; Wozzeck; Lyric Suite	Serialism, Romanticism; pupil of Arnold Schoenberg
George Butterworth	1885–1916	British
Wallingford Riegger	1885–1961	American
Egon Wellesz	1885–1974	Austrian	9 symphonies
Marcel Dupré	1886–1971	French	organ music
Jesus Guridi	1886–1961	Spanish	Sinfonia pirenaica
Othmar Schoeck	1886–1957	Swiss
Kurt Atterberg	1887–1974	Swedish	Symphony No. 6: Dollarsymphony
Nadia Boulanger	1887–1979	French		mentor of many composers
Leevi Madetoja	1887–1947	Finnish
Ernst Toch	1887–1964	German	7 symphonies
Heitor Villa-Lobos	1887–1959	Brazilian	Bachianas brasileiras; guitar music	Neo-classicism, folk-influenced
Matthijs Vermeulen	1888–1967	Dutch	7 symphonies
Vladimir Shcherbachov	1889–1952	Russian

1890s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Luís de Freitas Branco	1890–1955	Portuguese	4 symphonies
Jacques Ibert	1890–1962	French	Escales; Bacchanale	neoclassicism
Frank Martin	1890–1974	Swiss
Bohuslav Martinů	1890–1959	Czech	Symphony No. 3 and No. 6; Gilgamesh (oratorio); chamber music	neoclassicism, folk-influenced
Gösta Nystroem	1890–1966	Swedish
Arthur Bliss	1891–1975	British	A Colour Symphony
Marcel Grandjany	1891–1975	French
Sergei Prokofiev	1891–1953	Russian	Romeo and Juliet (ballet); The Love for Three Oranges (opera); Classical Symphony; Symphony No. 5 and No. 6; Violin Concerto No. 1 and No. 2; Piano Concerto No. 2 and No. 3; Alexander Nevsky; Lieutenant Kije; 9 piano sonatas; Peter and the Wolf	neoclassicism
Kaikhosru Sorabji	1892–1988	British	Opus Clavicembalisticum	neoclassical, new age
Hendrik Andriessen	1892–1981	Dutch		father of Louis Andriessen
Ferde Grofé	1892–1972	American	Grand Canyon Suite
Arthur Honegger	1892–1955	Swiss	Symphony No. 3: Liturgique; Pacific 231; Les Miserables (film music)	neoclassicism
Herbert Howells	1892–1983	British	Hymnus paradisi
László Lajtha	1892–1963	Hungarian	9 symphonies
Darius Milhaud	1892–1974	French	La Création du Monde; Le Bœuf sur le toit	jazz-influenced, neoclassical
Hilding Rosenberg	1892–1985	Swedish	8 symphonies; Violin Concerto
Germaine Tailleferre	1892–1983	French
Jean Absil	1893–1974	Belgian
Arthur Benjamin	1893–1960	British
Alois Hába	1893–1973	Czech	Matka (opera)	microtonal
Rued Langgaard	1893–1952	Danish	16 symphonies
Federico Mompou	1893–1987	Spanish	piano music
Douglas Moore	1893–1969	British
Leo Ornstein	1893–2002	American	Wild Mens Dance, Suicide in an Airplane, 5 piano sonatas, Piano Quintet, 3 String Quartets	Avant-garde
Robert Russell Bennett	1894–1981	British
Ernest John Moeran	1894–1950	British	Symphony in G minor	folk-influenced
Willem Pijper	1894–1947	Dutch	3 symphonies; Six Adagios; Piano Concerto	atonal
Walter Piston	1894–1976	American	The Incredible Flutist (ballet); Symphony No. 2 and No. 6	Neo-classicism
Erwin Schulhoff	1894–1942	Czech	6 symphonies
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco	1895–1968	Italian	guitar music
Johann Nepomuk David	1895–1977	Austrian	8 symphonies	neoclassical
Paul Hindemith	1895–1963	German	Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber; Mathis der Maler (opera); Ludus Tonalis; chamber music	Neo-Baroque, neoclassicism
Gordon Jacob	1895–1984	British
Borys Lyatoshynsky	1895–1968	Ukrainian	5 symphonies
Carl Orff	1895–1982	German	Carmina Burana
Leo Sowerby	1895–1968	American
Roberto Gerhard	1896–1970	Spanish	4 symphonies
Howard Hanson	1896–1981	American	7 symphonies	Romanticism
Roger Sessions	1896–1985	American	9 symphonies	serialism
Virgil Thomson	1896–1989	American	Four Saints in Three Acts, The Mother of Us All; Louisiana Story	folk-influenced, eclectic
Henry Cowell	1897–1965	American		eclectic, experimental
Erich Wolfgang Korngold	1897–1957	Austrian	Violin Concerto; film music
Quincy Porter	1897–1966	American
Gaspar Cassado	1897–1966	Spanish	Toccata, Requiebros
Alexandre Tansman	1897–1986	Polish
George Gershwin	1898–1937	American	Rhapsody in Blue; Piano Concerto; An American in Paris; Porgy and Bess (opera)	jazz-influenced
Roy Harris	1898–1979	American	Symphony No. 3
Lev Knipper	1898–1974	Russian
Vittorio Rieti	1898–1994	Italian
Georges Auric	1899–1983	French
Carlos Chávez	1899–1978	Mexican	6 symphonies	folk-music influenced
George Frederick McKay	1899–1970	American
Francis Poulenc	1899–1963	French	Babar the Elephant; Stabat Mater; chamber music	neoclassicism
Silvestre Revueltas	1899–1940	Mexican	Sensemayá
Alexander Tcherepnin	1899–1977	Russian		son of Nikolai Tcherepnin
Randall Thompson	1899–1984	American

1900s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
George Antheil	1900-1959	American	Ballet mécanique; Symphony No. 4	Avant-garde, later Neo-classicism
Alan Bush	1900-1995	British
Aaron Copland	1900-1990	American	Appalachian Spring (ballet); Billy the Kid (ballet); Rodeo (ballet); Fanfare for the Common Man; Clarinet Concerto	Neo-classicism, later Serialism
Uuno Klami	1900-1961	Finnish	Sea Pictures; Kalevala Suite
Ernst Krenek	1900-1991	Austrian
Alexander Mosolov	1900-1973	Russian	Iron Foundry	Avant-garde
Kurt Weill	1900-1950	German	Symphony No. 2; musicals	Neo-classicism
Gerald Finzi	1901-1956	British	Cello Concerto; songs	Romanticism
Joaquin Rodrigo	1901-1999	Spanish	Concierto de Aranjuez; guitar music	Neo-classicism
Edmund Rubbra	1901-1986	British	11 symphonies; Violin Concerto
Henri Sauguet	1901-1989	French	4 symphonies
Henri Tomasi	1901-1971	French
Maurice Duruflé	1902-1986	French	Requiem; organ music
Vissarion Shebalin	1902-1963	Russian
William Walton	1902-1983	British	Symphony No. 1; Violin Concerto; Viola Concerto; Variations on a Theme by Hindemith; Belshazzar's Feast (oratorio)	Neo-classicism
Stefan Wolpe	1902-1972	German		Serialism
Lennox Berkeley	1903-1989	British	4 symphonies	Neo-classicism, later Serialism
Boris Blacher	1903-1975	German
Vernon Duke	1903-1969	Russian		jazz-influenced
Vittorio Giannini	1903-1966	Italian		Neo-classicism
Aram Khachaturian	1903-1978	Armenian	Gayane (ballet, contains the famous Sabre Dance); Spartacus (ballet); concertos
Ervin Nyíregyházi	1903-1987	Hungarian
Mario Pilati	1903-1938	Italian	Piedigrotta (opera)
Luigi Dallapiccola	1904-1975	Italian
Dmitri Kabalevsky	1904-1987	Russian	The Comedians
Goffredo Petrassi	1904-2003	Italian
Gavriil Nikolayevich Popov	1904-1972	Russian	Chamber Symphony; Symphony No. 1
Nikolaos Skalkottas	1904-1949	Greek
William Alwyn	1905-1985	British	5 symphonies; Lyra Angelica; Elizabethan Dances	Romanticism
Karl Amadeus Hartmann	1905-1963	German	8 symphonies
André Jolivet	1905-1974	French
Constant Lambert	1905-1951	British
Alan Rawsthorne	1905-1971	British	3 symphonies; concertos; Symphonic Studies	Neo-classicism
Michael Tippett	1905-1998	British	The Midsummer Marriage; 4 symphonies; A Child of Our Time (oratorio)
Eduard Tubin	1905-1982	Estonian	11 symphonies
Paul Creston	1906-1985	American	6 symphonies
Klaus Egge	1906-1979	Norwegian
Benjamin Frankel	1906-1973	British
Jānis Ivanovs	1906-1983	Latvian	21 symphonies	Romanticism
Elisabeth Lutyens	1906-1983	British
Alexander Moyzes	1906-1984	Slovakian	12 symphonies
Dmitri Shostakovich	1906-1975	Russian	Symphony No. 5, No. 7, No. 9, and No. 10; Violin Concerto No. 1; Cello Concerto No. 1; Festive Overture; String Quartet No. 8; Piano Quintet; Romance from The Gadfly Suite	Neo-classicism
Louise Talma	1906-1996	American
Grace Williams	1906-1977	Welsh
Henk Badings	1907-1987	Dutch
Camargo Guarnieri	1907-1993	Brazilian
Elizabeth Maconchy	1907-1994	British
Miklós Rózsa	1907-1995	Hungarian	concertos; Ben-Hur (film music); Spellbound (film music)	folk-influenced
Ahmet Adnan Saygun	1907-1991	Turkish	5 symphonies
Martin Scherber	1907-1974
Leroy Anderson	1908-1975	American	Sleigh Ride; Blue Tango; Jazz Pizzicato; Irish Suite; Suites of Carols
Elliott Carter	1908-	American	Variations for Orchestra; A Symphony of Three Orchestras; 5 string quartets	Avant-garde
Herman David Koppel	1908-1998	Danish	13 symphonies	Neo-classicism
Lars-Erik Larsson	1908-1986	Swedish	3 symphonies
Olivier Messiaen	1908-1992	French	Turangalila Symphony; Quartet for the End of Time; Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus; Saint François d'Assise (opera)	Mysticism
Svend Erik Tarp	1908-1994	Danish
Geirr Tveitt	1908-1981	Norwegian	6 piano concertos	folk-influenced
Vagn Holmboe	1909-1996	Danish	13 symphonies	Neo-classicism

1910s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Samuel Barber	1910-1981	American	Adagio for Strings; Violin Concerto; Symphony in One Movement	Romanticism
Rolf Liebermann	1910-1999
Pierre Schaeffer	1910-1995	French		musique concrète
William Schuman	1910-1992	American	Symphony No. 3
Jehan Alain	1911-1940	French	organ music
Alan Hovhaness	1911-2000	American	more than 60 symphonies	mysticism
Gian Carlo Menotti	1911-2007	Italian	operas
Allan Pettersson	1911-1980	Swedish	17 symphonies	neo-romanticism
José Pablo Moncayo	1912-1958	Mexican	Huapango
John Cage	1912-1992	American	4'33"; Sonatas and Interludes	Aleatoric music, Extended technique
Jean Françaix	1912-1997	French
Peggy Glanville-Hicks	1912–1990	Australian	Etruscan Concerto; The Transposed Heads (opera); Nausicaa (opera)
Daniel Jones	1912-1993	Welsh
Igor Markevitch	1912-1983	Russian
Xavier Montsalvatge	1912-2002	Spanish
Conlon Nancarrow	1912-1997	American-Mexican
Benjamin Britten	1913-1976	British	Sinfonia da Requiem; Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; War Requiem; Cello Symphony; Peter Grimes (opera)	Neo-classicism
Morton Gould	1913-1996	American
George Lloyd	1913-1998	British	12 symphonies
Witold Lutosławski	1913-1994	Polish	Concerto for Orchestra; Musique funebre; Jeux vénitiens; Preludes and a Fugue; Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3	Neo-classicism, folk-influenced, later Aleatoric music
Maurice Ohana	1913-1992	French
Irving Fine	1914–1963	American		serial
Wilfrid Mellers	1914–2008	British
Andrzej Panufnik	1914–1991	Polish	10 symphonies
Harold Truscott	1914–1992
David Diamond	1915–2005	American	11 symphonies	neoclassicism
Douglas Lilburn	1915–2001	New Zealand	3 symphonies; Aotearoa
Vincent Persichetti	1915–1987	American		neoclassicism
Milton Babbitt	1916–	American	Composition for Four Instruments; six string quartets; Philomel	serialism, electronic music
Henri Dutilleux	1916–	French	2 symphonies; Tout un Monde Lointain; Timbres, espace, mouvement	Neo-impressionism
Einar Englund	1916–1999	Finnish	Symphony No. 2
Alberto Ginastera	1916–1983	Argentine	Panambi (ballet); Malambo; 2 piano concertos; 3 piano sonatas
Richard Arnell	1917-	British	6 symphonies
John Gardner	1917-	British	3 symphonies; Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day
Isang Yun	1917-1995	Korean	5 symphonies	folk-influenced
Lou Harrison	1917-2003	American
Leonard Bernstein	1918-1990	American	West Side Story (musical); Candide; Serenade	jazz and popular music influence
Gottfried von Einem	1918-1996	Austrian	operas	eclectic
Gara Garayev	1918-1982	Azerbaijani
George Rochberg	1918-2005	American	6 symphonies; 7 string quartets	serialism, later neo-romanticism
Bernd Alois Zimmermann	1918-1970	German	Die Soldaten; Musique pour les soupers du Roi Ubi; Tratto; Tempus loquendi	serialism, musical quotation, collage, electronic music, jazz-influenced, eclectic
Jacob Avshalomov	1919-			son of Aaron Avshalomov
Leon Kirchner	1919-	American
Galina Ustvolskaya	1919-2006	Russian
Mieczyslaw Weinberg	1919-1996	Polish	22 symphonies; 17 string quartets

1920s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Geoffrey Bush	1920-1998	British
Peter Racine Fricker	1920-1990	British
Earl Kim	1920-1998	Korean
Bruno Maderna	1920-1973	Italian	Satyricon (opera)	avant-garde, electronic music
Harold Shapero	1920-	American
Malcolm Arnold	1921-2006	British	Symphony No. 5 and No. 7; English Dances; film music
Chaya Arbel	1921–	Israeli
Karel Husa	1921–	Czech
Andrew Imbrie	1921–2007	American		serialism, neoclassicism
Joonas Kokkonen	1921–1996	Finnish
Ástor Piazzolla	1921–1992	Argentine	tangos
Ralph Shapey	1921–2002	American
Robert Simpson	1921–1997	British	11 symphonies
Raffaello de Banfield	1922–2008	British
Iain Hamilton	1922–2000	Scottish
Kazimierz Serocki	1922–1981	Polish
Iannis Xenakis	1922–2001	Greek	Metastasis	avant-garde
Chou Wen-chung	1923–	Chinese/American	Landscapes	student of Edgar Varese
Karel Goeyvaerts	1923–1993	Belgian	Aquarius (opera)	serialism, minimalism, postminimalism, mysticism, electronic music
Gyorgy Ligeti	1923-2006	Hungarian	Atmosphères	avant-garde
Peter Mennin	1923-1983	American	9 symphonies
Ned Rorem	1923-	American	songs
Joly Braga Santos	1924-1988	Portuguese	6 symphonies
Benjamin Lees	1924-	American
Luigi Nono	1924-1990	Italian		Avant-garde
Luciano Berio	1925–2003	Italian	Sequenza; Sinfonia	Avant-garde
Pierre Boulez	1925-	French	Le marteau sans maître; ...explosante-fixe...	Avant-garde, serialism, aleatory
Andrei Yakovlevich Eshpai	1925-	Russian
Aldo Clementi	1925-	Italian
Julián Orbón	1925–1991	Spanish/Cuban	Three Symphonic Versions
Gunther Schuller	1925–	American		jazz influence
Boris Tchaikovsky	1925–1996	Russian	4 symphonies
Mikis Theodorakis	1925-	Greek
Earle Brown	1926–2002	American
Morton Feldman	1926–1987	American
Hans Werner Henze	1926–	German	10 symphonies
Lee Hoiby	1926–	American
György Kurtág	1926–	Hungarian
Franco Donatoni	1927-2000	Italian
Donald Erb	1927–2008	American	Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra; Concerto for Violin and Orchestra	jazz-influenced, aleatory, electronic music, eclectic
John Joubert	1927–	British
Tadeusz Baird	1928-1981	Polish
Jacob Druckman	1928-1996	American
Nicolas Flagello	1928-1994	American		Neo-classicism
Robert Helps	1928–2001	American
Ennio Morricone	1928-	Italian
Thea Musgrave	1928-	Scottish
Einojuhani Rautavaara	1928-	Finnish	Cantus Arcticus; Symphony No. 7: Angel of Light; The Gift of Dreams	Mysticism
Karlheinz Stockhausen	1928–2007	German	Gruppen; Kontakte; Hymnen; Stimmung; Mantra; Tierkreis; Licht	Avant-garde, electronic music, serialism, aleatory, world music, intuitive music, formula composition
Antonio Braga	1929–	Italian
George Crumb	1929–	American	Ancient Voices of Children	Extended technique
Edison Denisov	1929-1996	Russian
Alun Hoddinott	1929–	Welsh
Kenneth Leighton	1929–1988	British
Theo Bruins	1929–1993	Dutch
Frédéric Devreese	1929–	Belgian
André Previn	1929–	German		also a conductor
Henri Pousseur	1929–	Belgian	Scambi; Votre Faust; Trois visages à Liège; Couleurs croisées	serialism, aleatory, eclectic, electronic music, world music, popular music influence
Bogusław Schaeffer	1929-	Polish
Peter Sculthorpe	1929-	Australian	Kakadu; Earth Cry	world music

1930s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Cristóbal Halffter	1930–	Spanish	Líneas y puntos; Don Quixote	avant-garde, eclectic, electronic music
Theo Loevendie	1930-	Dutch
William Perry	1930-
Tōru Takemitsu	1930-1996	Japanese	A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden; Toward the Sea	Neo-impressionism
Sofia Gubaidulina	1931-	Russian	Offertorium
Derek Holman	1931-
Mauricio Kagel	1931-2008	Argentine	Staatstheater
André Laporte	1931–	Belgian	Das Schloss	eclectic
Arne Nordheim	1931-	Norwegian
Ib Nørholm	1931-	Danish
Makoto Shinohara	1931–	Japanese	Fragmente	electronic music, influence of traditional Japanese music
Malcolm Williamson	1931-2003	Australian
Wojciech Kilar	1932-	Polish	Krzesany; Dracula (film music)	Holy minimalism
Niccolò Castiglioni	1932-1996	Italian
Alexander Goehr	1932–	English (German born)	Behold the Sun Romanza for cello and orchestra	twelve-tone, later modal, eclectic
Richard Meale	1932-	Australian	Voss	avant-garde
Per Nørgård	1932-	Danish	7 symphonies; Voyage into the Golden Screen
Rodion Shchedrin	1932-	Russian
Gilles Tremblay	1932–	Canadian	Sonorisation du Pavillion du Québec; Fleuves	electronic music, serialism
John Williams	1932-	American	Jaws (film music); Star Wars (film music)
Leonardo Balada	1933-	Spanish	6 symphonies; concertos	Avant-garde, later folk-influenced
Henryk Górecki	1933-	Polish	Symphony of Sorrowful Songs	Holy minimalism
Bo Linde	1933-1970	Swedish		Neo-romanticism
Krzysztof Penderecki	1933-	Polish	Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima; St. Luke Passion; A Polish Requiem; Symphony No. 2: Christmas	Avant-garde, Extended technique, later Neo-romanticism
Yves Prin	1933-	French		Neo-impressionism
Harrison Birtwistle	1934-	British	The Mask of Orpheus
William Mathias	1934-1992	Welsh	3 symphonies
Peter Maxwell Davies	1934-	British	Eight Songs for a Mad King; 8 symphonies
Alfred Schnittke	1934-1998	Russian	10 symphonies	Polystylism
Giya Kancheli	1935-	Georgian	7 symphonies	Holy minimalism
Helmut Lachenmann	1935-	German	Schwankungen am Rand; Gran Torso; Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (opera)	extended technique
François-Bernard Mâche	1935-	French
Nicholas Maw	1935-	British	Odyssey; The World in the Evening
Arvo Pärt	1935-	Estonian	Tabula Rasa; Fratres; Summa; Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten	Holy minimalism
Terry Riley	1935-	American	In C	Minimalism
Aulis Sallinen	1935-	Finnish	8 symphonies; The King Goes Forth to France (opera)
Peter Schat	1935–2003	Dutch
La Monte Young	1935–	The Well-Tuned Piano	minimalism, microtonal music, improvisation, Asian-music influence
Gilbert Amy	1936–	French		serialism, film music, electronic music; also a noted conductor
Richard Rodney Bennett	1936-	British
Cornelius Cardew	1936–1981	British	Treatise; The Great Learning	serialism, improvisation, aleatory
Frans Geysen	1936–	Belgian	Periferisch-Diagonaal-Concentrisch; Twee orgels	twelve-tone technique, minimalism, atonal
Steve Reich	1936–	American	Piano Phase; Music for 18 Musicians	Minimalism
Aribert Reimann	1936–	German
Osvaldas Balakauskas	1937–	Lithuanian	5 symphonies; concertos
Azio Corghi	1937-	Italian	Divara - Wasser und Blut (opera)
David Del Tredici	1937-	American	Child Alice
Philip Glass	1937-	American	Violin Concerto; operas; 8 symphonies	Minimalism
Walter Hekster	1937-
Nikolai Kapustin	1937-	Russian
Bo Nilsson	1937-	Swedish
Valentin Silvestrov	1937-	Ukrainian	Symphony No. 5
Yehuda Yannay	1937-
Gregory Short	1938-1998
Bart Berman	1938-
William Bolcom	1938-	American	Songs of Experience; Songs of Innocence
Gloria Coates	1938-	American	Music on Open Strings; 15 symphonies
John Corigliano	1938-	American	Symphony No. 2; A Dylan Thomas Trilogy; The Red Violin (film music)	Polystylism
John Harbison	1938-	American
Lorenzo Palomo	1938-	Spanish	Andalusian Nocturnes	folk-influenced
Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee	1938-	American
Frederic Rzewski	1938-	American	The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Joan Tower	1938-	American	Concerto for Orchestra
Jan Vriend	1938-	Dutch
Charles Wuorinen	1938-	American	8 symphonies; chamber music	Serialism
Louis Andriessen	1939-	Dutch		son of Hendrik Andriessen
Wendy Carlos	1939-
Heinz Holliger	1939-	Swiss	Schneewittchen (opera)
John McCabe	1939-	British
Tomas Svoboda	1939-	Czech
Boris Tishchenko	1939-	Russian	7 symphonies
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich	1939-	American	4 symphonies

1940s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Jorge Peixinho	1940–1995	Portuguese		electronic music
Frank Zappa	1940–1993	American	The Yellow Shark	also an electric guitarist
Stephen Albert	1941–1992	American	Symphony No. 1: Riverrun	Pulitzer Prize winner
Konrad Boehmer	1941–	Dutch (born in Germany)	Aspekt, Apocalipsis cum figuris, Doktor Faustus (opera)	serialism, jazz and rock music influence, electronic music
Paul Alan Levi	1941–
Emmanuel Nunes	1941–	Portuguese	Machina Mundi; Quodlibet	electronic music
Jonathan Kramer	1942–2004	American		postmodernism
Jon Lord	1942-	British	Concerto for Group and Orchestra; Durham Concerto	member of Deep Purple
Paul McCartney	1942-	British	Ecce Cor Meum	member of Beatles
John McGuire	1942–	American	Pulse Music III; A Capella	electronic music, fusion of serialism and minimalism, postminimalism
Tomás Marco	1942–	Spanish	Concierto del agua, for guitar and orchestra; 5 symphonies; String Quartet No. 3 ("Anatomía fractal de los ángeles"); Ojos verdes de luna	avant-garde, neoclassical, folk-music influence, eclectic
Horaţiu Rădulescu	1942–2008	Romanian/French	six string quartets	spectralism
Gavin Bryars	1943-
Dennis Eberhard	1943-2005	American
Margriet Ehlen	1943-
Brian Ferneyhough	1943-	British	Etudes Transcendantales	New Complexity
Rolf Gehlhaar	1943–	American	Sub rosa; Five German Dances	electronic music, sound installations
Robin Holloway	1943-	British
Krzysztof Meyer	1943-	Polish	12 string quartets
Joseph Schwantner	1943-	American	Aftertones of Infinity; A Sudden Rainbow
Roger Smalley \| 1943–	Australian (born British)	Pulses; 2 piano concertos	serialism, eclectic
Ivan Tcherepnin	1943-1998	Russian		son of Alexander Tcherepnin
Peter Eötvös	1944–	Hungarian	Love and Other Demons (opera)	eclectic, extended technique, electronic music, folk-music influence
York Höller	1944–	German	Schwarze Halbinseln; Der Meister und Margarita (opera)	electronic music, serialism, Gestalt composition
Pehr Henrik Nordgren	1944-	Finnish
Michael Nyman	1944-	British	The Piano (film music)	Minimalism
Leif Segerstam	1944-	Finnish	more than 150 symphonies	also a conductor
John Tavener	1944-	British		Holy minimalism
Luca Lombardi \| 1945–	Italian
Barry Schrader	1945-	American		electro-acoustic
Keith Jarrett	1945-	American		also a jazz pianist
John Rutter	1945-	British	choral music
Michael Finnissy	1946-	British		New Complexity
Gérard Grisey	1946–1998	French	Transitoires; Modulations	spectral music
Ulrich Leyendecker	1946-	German	5 symphonies
Robert Xavier Rodriguez	1946-
Peteris Vasks	1946-	Latvian
John Coolidge Adams	1947-	American	Harmonielehre; Nixon in China (opera); Shaker Loops, Short Ride in a Fast Machine; Violin Concerto	Post-minimalism
John Hilliard	1947-
Tristan Murail	1947–	French	Gondwana	spectral music
Karl Aage Rasmussen	1947-	Danish
Emil Tabakov	1947-	Bulgarian
Michael Berkeley	1948-	British		son of Lennox Berkeley
Claude Vivier	1948–	Canadian	Kopernikus: Rituel de la Mort (opera)	spectral music, Asian-music influence
Andrew Lloyd Webber	1948-	British	Cats (musical); Phantom of the Opera (musical)
Kalevi Aho	1949-	Finnish	14 symphonies
Daniel Catan	1949-	Mexican	Florencia en el Amazonas (opera); Rappaccini's Daughter (opera)	Neo-impressionism
Dan Locklair	1949-	American
Christopher Rouse	1949-	American
Poul Ruders	1949-	Danish
Steven Stucky	1949-	American	Concerto for Orchestra No. 2
Kevin Volans	1949-	South African	Hunting Gathering

1950s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Arturo Márquez	1950-	Mexican	Danzon No. 2
Laurent Petitgirard	1950-	French	The Elephant Man (opera)
Lorenzo Ferrero	1951-	Italian
George Tsontakis	1951-	American
Oliver Knussen	1952-	British	Symphony No. 2; Where the Wild Things Are (opera)
Philippe Manoury	1952-	French	60th Parallel (opera)
Dominic Muldowney	1952-	British
Alla Pavlova	1952-	Russian
Wolfgang Rihm	1952-	German	12 string quartets; Die Eroberung von Mexico (opera)	New Simplicity, expressionism
Kaija Saariaho	1952-	Finnish
Hsueh-Yung Shen	1952-	Chinese
Reza Vali	1952-	Iranian
Peter-Jan Wagemans	1952-	Dutch
John Luther Adams	1953-	American		not to be confused with John Coolidge Adams
Peter Scott Lewis	1953-
Roberto Sierra	1953-	Puerto Rican	Missa Latina
Takashi Yoshimatsu	1953-	Japanese	Symphony No. 2
Michael Daugherty	1954-	American	UFO
Elliot Goldenthal	1954-
Pawel Szymanski	1954-	Polish
Kyle Gann	1955–	American		Just intonation
Toshio Hosokawa	1955-	Japanese	Circulating Ocean	Neo-impressionism
Bright Sheng	1955-	Chinese	The Silver River (opera)	folk-influenced
Dror Elimelech	1956-
Michael Gordon	1956-
Jouni Kaipainen	1956-	Finnish
Alessandro Solbiati	1956-	Italian
Graham Koehne	1956-	Australian
David Lang	1957-	American	The Little Match Girl Passion
Paul Moravec	1957-	American
Tan Dun	1957-	Chinese	Water Passion after St. Matthew; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (film music)	Extended technique, folk-influenced
Oscar van Dillen	1958-
Magnus Lindberg	1958-	Finnish	Kraft; Clarinet Concerto
Esa-Pekka Salonen	1958-	Finnish		also a conductor
Thomas Simaku	1958-
Davide Zannoni	1958-
James MacMillan	1959-	British
Shigeru Kan-no	1959-	Japanese

1960s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works	Remarks
Yelena Eckemoff	1960-	Dutch
George Benjamin	1960-	British
Osvaldo Golijov	1960-	Argentine		Mysticism
Alexander Shchetynsky	1960-	Ukrainian
Mark-Anthony Turnage	1960-	British
Jake Heggie	1961-	American
Hanna Kulenty	1961-	Polish
Roman Turovsky	1961-	Ukranian/American
Michael Torke	1961-	American	Javelin
Alexander Kaloian	1962-	Armenian
Jennifer Higdon	1962-	American
Luca Belcastro	1964-	Italian
Rozalie Hirs	1965-	Dutch
Mats Wendt	1965-	Swedish	Eddan - The Invincible Sword of the Elf-Smith
Juan J. Colomer	1966-	Spanish	La complicidad del espectro
Roberto Carnevale	1966-	Italian
Klaus Ib Jørgensen	1967-	Danish	Moon-pain (2003-08)
Andreas Kunstein	1967-	Dutch
Olga Neuwirth	1968–	Austrian	Lost Highway	avant-garde
Roxanna Panufnik	1968-	British		daughter of Andrzej Panufnik

1970s

Name	Years	Nationality	Notable works
Daniel Felsenfeld	1970–	United States	Insomnia Redux
Marina Leonardi	1970-	Italian
Thomas Adès	1971–	British	Powder Her Face (opera); Asyla
Pawel Mykietyn	1971-	Polish
Lera Auerbach	1973–	Russian
Jorg Widmann	1973-	German	Implosion fur Orchester; Lichtstudie