classical music artists
831 published classical music artists, led by Paul McCartney, Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven. The list below shows the 120 most famous.
At a glance
831 published classical music artists; 17,255 studio albums have verified cover art.
- Published artists4 tier 1 · 177 tier 2 · 650 tier 3
- 831
- Release groups
- 29,748
- Studio albums
- 21,601
- Albums with cover artverified Cover Art Archive
- 17,255
- Timeline events
- 24,015
- Monthly listenerssum across artists
- 146.2M
- Claimed salessum of stored claims; implausible values excluded
- 100M
- Average career spanfirst to last dated release
- 39.1 years
- Full biographies
- 544
- Biography words
- 1,729,518
When they started
Debut decade from each artist's earliest dated release. Most debuts fell in the 1990s (155 artists).
| Decade | Artists |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 |
| 1910s | 4 |
| 1920s | 5 |
| 1930s | 7 |
| 1940s | 19 |
| 1950s | 59 |
| 1960s | 60 |
| 1970s | 60 |
| 1980s | 123 |
| 1990s | 155 |
| 2000s | 77 |
| 2010s | 42 |
| 2020s | 16 |
Where they come from
Countries with the most classical music artists. France leads with 107.
Often paired with
Genres that share artists with classical music. The most shared is opera, with 212 artists in both.
Covers from classical music
17,255 studio albums have verified cover art. The 12 shown come from the most famous artists.
The Boys of Dungeon Lane
Paul McCartney · 2026
The Demo Sessions
Paul McCartney · 2023
McCartney III
Paul McCartney · 2020
Give Us That Knowing Wink
Paul McCartney · 2019
Egypt Station
Paul McCartney · 2018
Love Is Long (The Ultimate RAM Anthology)
Paul McCartney · 2018
New
Paul McCartney · 2013
Kisses on the Bottom
Paul McCartney · 2012
Press To Play Sessions / Press To Play Album Party
Paul McCartney · 2012
Ocean’s Kingdom
Paul McCartney · 2011
In the 80's
Paul McCartney · 2009
Memory Almost Full
Paul McCartney · 2007
Leaders
A. R. Rahman has the most release groups (399); Charles Gounod the longest career (120 years); A. R. Rahman the most awards (268).
Most prolific
| Artist | release groups |
|---|---|
| A. R. Rahman | 399 |
| Paul McCartney | 305 |
| Tori Amos | 300 |
| Frank Zappa | 299 |
| André Previn | 292 |
Longest careers
first to last dated release
| Artist | years |
|---|---|
| Charles Gounod | 120 |
| Daniel François Esprit Auber | 113 |
| Jules Massenet | 113 |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | 108 |
| Jascha Heifetz | 106 |
Most decorated
| Artist | awards |
|---|---|
| A. R. Rahman | 268 |
| Pierre Boulez | 64 |
| Vladimir Horowitz | 64 |
| Herbie Hancock | 60 |
| Paul McCartney | 52 |
Most famous classical music artists
Paul McCartney
United Kingdom · Person · born 1942
rock music, rock and roll, beat music, psychedelic rock, pop rock, art rock, classical music
13.4M listeners · 149 wikis
Johann Sebastian Bach
Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach · Person · born 1685
classical music, Baroque music
8M listeners · 259 wikis
Ludwig van Beethoven
Electorate of Cologne · Person · born 1770
classical music, opera, art music, symphony, sonata
7.5M listeners · 274 wikis
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Russian Empire · Person · born 1840
classical music, opera, symphony, ballet, Romantic music
6.3M listeners · 192 wikis
A. R. Rahman
India · Person · born 1966
pop music, pop rock, dance music, electronic music, soft rock, electronic dance music, classical music, folk-pop, world music, Carnatic music, Indian classical music, experimental music
46.7M listeners · 66 wikis
Richard Wagner
Kingdom of Saxony · Person · born 1813
classical music, opera, choral symphony
206 wikis
Giuseppe Verdi
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza · Person · born 1813
classical music, opera
179 wikis
Franz Schubert
Austria · Person · born 1797
classical music
174 wikis
Udit Narayan Jha
India · Person · born 1955
classical music, Indian film music, ghazal, Indian pop
33.5M listeners · 41 wikis
George Frideric Handel
Brandenburg-Prussia · Person · born 1685
classical music, opera, concerto, oratorio, anthem, coronation anthem
160 wikis
Joseph Haydn
Archduchy of Austria · Person · born 1732
classical music
158 wikis
Sufjan Stevens
United States · Person · born 1975
electronic music, alternative rock, classical music, folk-pop, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi music, baroque pop, indie folk, chamber pop
15.7M listeners · 41 wikis
More classical music artists
Showing 1–108 of 108 artists
Gustav Mahler
Austrian Empire · Person · born 1860
classical music, symphony, chamber music
152 wikis · Tier 2
Antonín Dvořák
Kingdom of Bohemia · Person · born 1841
classical music, opera
151 wikis · Tier 2
Giacomo Puccini
Kingdom of Italy · Person · born 1858
classical music, opera, religious music, verismo
147 wikis · Tier 2
Hector Berlioz
France · Person · born 1803
classical music, opera, symphony, Romantic music
135 wikis · Tier 2
Mukesh
British Raj · Person · born 1923
classical music, ghazal, bhajan
7.1M listeners · 36 wikis · Tier 2
Claude Debussy
France · Person · born 1862
classical music, opera, impressionist music
131 wikis · Tier 2
Frank Zappa
United States · Person · born 1940
rock music, psychedelic rock, experimental rock, jazz, progressive rock, alternative rock, jazz fusion, classical music, experimental music, avant-garde music, proto-punk, comedy rock, avant-pop, avant-prog, art music, musique concrète
110 wikis · Tier 2
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
United Kingdom · Group · 1946–present
classical music
8.1M listeners · 29 wikis · Tier 3
Franz Liszt
Kingdom of Hungary · Person · born 1811
classical music, symphony, symphonic poem, Hungarian folk music
127 wikis · Tier 2
Felix Mendelssohn
Kingdom of Saxony · Person · born 1809
classical music, opera, symphonic music
124 wikis · Tier 2
Edvard Grieg
Norway · Person · born 1843
classical music, sardana
111 wikis · Tier 2
Gioachino Rossini
Kingdom of Italy · Person · born 1792
classical music, opera, cantata
108 wikis · Tier 2
Maurice Ravel
France · Person · born 1875
classical music, opera, impressionism in music
106 wikis · Tier 2
Jacques Offenbach
Germany · Person · born 1819
classical music, opera, operetta, opéra bouffe
105 wikis · Tier 2
Jean Sibelius
Finland · Person · born 1865
classical music, opera, symphony, 20th-century classical music, art song, incidental music
105 wikis · Tier 2
Theodor W. Adorno
United States · Person · born 1903
classical music
104 wikis · Tier 2
Béla Bartók
Hungary · Person · born 1881
classical music, opera
104 wikis · Tier 2
Sergei Prokofiev
Russian Empire · Person · born 1891
classical music, opera, symphony, ballet
95 wikis · Tier 2
John Cale
United Kingdom · Person · born 1942
rock music, folk rock, experimental rock, pop rock, art rock, alternative rock, classical music, avant-garde music, proto-punk, spoken word, drone music
84 wikis · Tier 2
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Russian Empire · Person · born 1844
classical music, opera, symphony
93 wikis · Tier 2
Bedřich Smetana
Austrian Empire · Person · born 1824
classical music, opera, symphonic poem
93 wikis · Tier 2
Richard Strauss
Germany · Person · born 1864
classical music, opera, symphony, sardana
93 wikis · Tier 2
Alexander Borodin
Russian Empire · Person · born 1833
classical music, opera, symphony, chamber music, romance
92 wikis · Tier 2
Anton Bruckner
Austrian Empire · Person · born 1824
classical music, symphony
92 wikis · Tier 2
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Russian Empire · Person · born 1873
classical music, opera, symphony
92 wikis · Tier 2
Leonard Bernstein
United States · Person · born 1918
classical music, opera, symphony
82 wikis · Tier 2
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky
Russian Empire · Person · born 1839
classical music, opera
89 wikis · Tier 2
George Gershwin
United States · Person · born 1898
jazz, classical music, opera
85 wikis · Tier 2
Arnold Schoenberg
Austria · Person · born 1874
classical music, opera, 20th-century classical music, serialism, atonality, twelve-tone technique, Expressionism
85 wikis · Tier 2
Carl Maria von Weber
Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck · Person · born 1786
classical music, opera
82 wikis · Tier 2
Christoph Willibald von Gluck
Kingdom of Bohemia · Person · born 1714
classical music, opera, ballet
81 wikis · Tier 2
Arthur Rubinstein
Poland · Person · born 1887
classical music
71 wikis · Tier 2
Camille Saint-Saëns
France · Person · born 1835
classical music, opera, concerto, symphony
80 wikis · Tier 2
Charles Gounod
France · Person · born 1818
classical music, opera, symphony, oratorio
79 wikis · Tier 2
Herbie Hancock
United States · Person · born 1940
funk, rhythm and blues, pop rock, jazz, electro, jazz fusion, classical music, jazz-funk, post-bop, bebop, modal jazz, hard bop
60 wikis · Tier 2
Arturo Toscanini
Italy · Person · born 1867
classical music
68 wikis · Tier 2
John Cage
United States · Person · born 1912
electronic music, classical music, opera, experimental music, avant-garde music, musique concrète, 20th-century classical music, performance art, aleatoric music
76 wikis · Tier 2
Herbert von Karajan
Austria · Person · born 1908
classical music
76 wikis · Tier 2
Edward Elgar
United Kingdom · Person · born 1857
classical music, symphony
75 wikis · Tier 2
Pau Casals
Spain · Person · born 1876
classical music, sardana
64 wikis · Tier 2
Rouget de Lisle
France · Person · born 1760
classical music
72 wikis · Tier 2
Alexander Rybak
Norway · Person · born 1986
pop music, folk rock, country music, pop rock, adult contemporary music, classical music, indie pop, baroque pop, crossover, symphonic rock
72 wikis · Tier 2
Pierre Boulez
France · Person · born 1925
classical music
62 wikis · Tier 2
Vladimir Horowitz
United States · Person · born 1903
classical music
60 wikis · Tier 2
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Kingdom of France · Person · born 1632
classical music, opera, ballet
69 wikis · Tier 2
Benjamin Britten
United Kingdom · Person · born 1913
classical music, opera, symphony
68 wikis · Tier 2
Bobby McFerrin
United States · Person · born 1950
jazz, classical music, world music, smooth jazz, vocal music, a cappella
50 wikis · Tier 3
Arcangelo Corelli
Papal States · Person · born 1653
classical music, Baroque music
66 wikis · Tier 2
Gabriel Fauré
France · Person · born 1845
classical music, opera, Romantic music
66 wikis · Tier 2
Leoš Janáček
Austrian Empire · Person · born 1854
classical music, opera
65 wikis · Tier 2
Glenn Gould
Canada · Person · born 1932
classical music
55 wikis · Tier 2
Tori Amos
United States · Person · born 1963
art rock, alternative rock, classical music, baroque pop
64 wikis · Tier 2
Jenny Lind
Sweden · Person · born 1820
classical music, opera
62 wikis · Tier 2
Aaron Copland
United States · Person · born 1900
classical music, opera, symphony, ballet
61 wikis · Tier 2
Gustav Holst
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland · Person · born 1874
classical music, opera
61 wikis · Tier 2
Jules Massenet
France · Person · born 1842
classical music, opera, operetta, ballet, oratorio, incidental music
61 wikis · Tier 2
Itzhak Perlman
Israel · Person · born 1945
classical music
51 wikis · Tier 3
Johann Pachelbel
Germany · Person · born 1653
classical music, fugue, canon, chaconne
60 wikis · Tier 2
Chet Atkins
United States · Person · born 1924
traditional folk music, country music, jazz, classical music
41 wikis · Tier 2
Jascha Heifetz
Russian Empire · Person · born 1901
classical music
50 wikis · Tier 2
César Franck
United Kingdom of the Netherlands · Person · born 1822
classical music, opera, symphony
58 wikis · Tier 2
Jerry Goldsmith
United States · Person · born 1929
contemporary classical music, classical music
58 wikis · Tier 2
Alessandro Scarlatti
Person · born 1660
classical music, opera, liturgical music
58 wikis · Tier 2
Tarja Turunen
Finland · Person · born 1977
traditional heavy metal, glam metal, classical music, operatic pop, power metal, symphonic metal
58 wikis · Tier 3
Andrés Segovia
Spain · Person · born 1893
classical music
48 wikis · Tier 2
Guillaume Dufay
Kingdom of France · Person · born 1397
classical music, polyphony
57 wikis · Tier 2
Alexander Glazounov
Russian Empire · Person · born 1865
classical music, symphony
57 wikis · Tier 2
Francis Poulenc
France · Person · born 1899
classical music, opera, religious music, choral music
57 wikis · Tier 2
Martha Argerich
Argentina · Person · born 1941
classical music
57 wikis · Tier 3
RZA
United States · Person · born 1969
horrorcore, hardcore hip-hop, chipmunk soul, East Coast hip-hop, classical music, film score, underground hip-hop
47 wikis · Tier 3
Luigi Boccherini
Republic of Lucca · Person · born 1743
classical music
56 wikis · Tier 2
Nadia Boulanger
France · Person · born 1887
classical music
56 wikis · Tier 2
Mike Oldfield
United Kingdom · Person · born 1953
pop music, traditional folk music, pop rock, progressive rock, classical music, ambient music, world music, new age music, Celtic fusion
56 wikis · Tier 3
Johann Strauss I
Austrian Empire · Person · born 1804
classical music
56 wikis · Tier 2
Manuel de Falla
Spain · Person · born 1876
classical music, orchestra
55 wikis · Tier 2
Airat Ichmouratov
Soviet Union · Person · born 1973
classical music, klezmer
55 wikis · Tier 3
Adolphe Adam
France · Person · born 1803
classical music, opera
54 wikis · Tier 2
Joe Hisaishi
Japan · Person · born 1950
classical music, film score, minimalist music
54 wikis · Tier 3
George Martin
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland · Person · born 1926
rock music, pop music, classical music
53 wikis · Tier 2
Daniel François Esprit Auber
France · Person · born 1782
classical music, opera, grand opera, opéra comique
53 wikis · Tier 2
Władysław Szpilman
Russian Empire · Person · born 1911
classical music
53 wikis · Tier 2
Georg Solti
Hungary · Person · born 1912
classical music
43 wikis · Tier 2
André Previn
Germany · Person · born 1929
jazz, classical music, opera
43 wikis · Tier 2
Carl Czerny
Austrian Empire · Person · born 1791
classical music
52 wikis · Tier 2
Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Russian Empire · Person · born 1885
classical music, opera, mugham
52 wikis · Tier 2
Zoltán Kodály
Hungary · Person · born 1882
classical music
52 wikis · Tier 2
Nino Rota
Kingdom of Italy · Person · born 1911
classical music, opera, symphony, 20th-century classical music
52 wikis · Tier 2
Sofia Gubaidulina
Soviet Union · Person · born 1931
classical music
51 wikis · Tier 2
Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky
Russian Empire · Person · born 1904
classical music, opera, symphony, chamber music, 20th-century classical music, incidental music
51 wikis · Tier 2
Max Reger
Kingdom of Bavaria · Person · born 1873
classical music
51 wikis · Tier 2
Isaac Stern
United States · Person · born 1920
classical music
41 wikis · Tier 2
Ralph Vaughan Williams
United Kingdom · Person · born 1872
classical music, opera, symphony
50 wikis · Tier 2
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Holy Roman Empire · Person · born 1710
classical music
49 wikis · Tier 2
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
Russian Empire · Person · born 1875
classical music
49 wikis · Tier 2
William Byrd
United Kingdom · Person · born 1543
classical music
48 wikis · Tier 2
Witold Lutosławski
Poland · Person · born 1913
classical music
48 wikis · Tier 2
Miklós Rózsa
Hungary · Person · born 1907
classical music
48 wikis · Tier 2
André Rieu
Kingdom of the Netherlands · Person · born 1949
classical music, waltz
47 wikis · Tier 2
Arrigo Boito
Kingdom of Italy · Person · born 1842
classical music, opera
47 wikis · Tier 2
Steve Winwood
United Kingdom · Person · born 1948
rock music, blues rock, psychedelic rock, blues, soft rock, progressive rock, jazz fusion, blue-eyed soul, classical music
37 wikis · Tier 3
Bohuslav Martinů
United States · Person · born 1890
classical music, opera, symphony, ballet
46 wikis · Tier 2
Fanny Mendelssohn
Hamburg · Person · born 1805
classical music
45 wikis · Tier 2
Karol Szymanowski
Russian Empire · Person · born 1882
classical music, opera, symphony
45 wikis · Tier 2
Rick Wakeman
United Kingdom · Person · born 1949
hard rock, progressive rock, classical music, ambient music, new age music, Christian music
35 wikis · Tier 3
Giovanni Gabrieli
Republic of Venice · Person · born 1557
classical music
44 wikis · Tier 2
Amilcare Ponchielli
Kingdom of Italy · Person · born 1834
classical music, opera
44 wikis · Tier 2
Edgard Varèse
France · Person · born 1883
classical music, opera
44 wikis · Tier 2
Alfred Brendel
Austria · Person · born 1931
classical music
44 wikis · Tier 2