List of Romantic-era composers  

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Classical/Romantic era transition composers (born 1770-1800)

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), German regarded by many as the first Romantic composer, famous for his nine symphonies and thirty-two piano sonatas
• 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
• Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775–1838), Finnish composer and clarinet player
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837), German whose music bridged the Classical and Romantic eras
• Fernando Sor (1778–1839), Spanish composer for the classical guitar
• Mauro Giuliani (1781–1828), Italian composer and virtuoso guitarist
• 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
• Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840), Italian composer and virtuoso violinist, wrote the 24 Caprices for violin
• Louis Spohr (1784 - 1859),German composer, violinist and conductor.
• 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
• Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), German opera composer (Il crociato in Egitto, Les Huguenots)
• Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868), Italian opera composer, best known for The Barber of Seville and overtures to various other operas
• 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
• Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), Italian opera composer, known for Lucia di Lammermoor and L'elisir d'amore among others
• Franz Schubert (1797–1828), Austrian composer, regarded as the first significant Lieder writer, also known for his chamber music, piano works and symphonies

Early Romantic era composers (born 1800-1820)

• 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 a number of Polish dances such as mazurkas, nocturnes, 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 opera Mignon
• 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
• Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888), French composer and virtuoso pianist
• Zigrid Petautchnig (1813-1874), Austrian composer, most famous for his concerto pieces
• 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 and wife of Robert Schumann, one of the leading pianists of the Romantic era

Middle Romantic era composers (born 1820-1840)

• Joachim Raff (1822-1882), Swiss-born German composer, best known for 11 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 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 whom he admired)
• 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 who wrote many waltzes and polkas, known as "The Waltz King", composer of The Blue Danube and the opera Die Fledermaus
• 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.
• Alexander Borodin (1833–1887), Russian chemist and nationalist composer, wrote the opera Prince Igor
• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), German composer who worked under the onus of being compared to Beethoven, his Symphony No. 1 is often nicknamed "Beethoven's tenth", also famous for Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn and piano works
• Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886), Italian opera composer (La Gioconda)
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921), French composer perhaps best known for The Carnival of the Animals and his Organ Symphony
• Henryk Wieniawski (1835–1880), Polish composer and violinist, famous for his two concertos and character pieces of exceptional difficulty
• Léo Delibes (1836–1891), one of the first significant ballet composers since the baroque, known for his 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 famous for his opera Carmen
• Max Bruch (1838–1920), German composer, known for his Violin Concerto No. 1, Scottish Fantasy, and Kol Nidre for cello and orchestra
• Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881), Russian known for his intensely nationalist, original works; famous for 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 1840-1860)

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), Russian composer, famous for his ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake), his operas (Eugene Onegin), the 1812 Overture, and his symphonies.
• Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), French composer who influenced Maurice Ravel, Les Six, Jean Françaix and many other French composers, wrote the opera L'étoile
• Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904), Czech composer, famous 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 Meditation for violin from the opera Thaïs
• Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), English composer known for his collaborations 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 who wrote a famous Piano Concerto and several books of Lyric Pieces for the piano as well as Morning Mood from his incidental music to Peer Gynt
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908), Russian composer and member of The Five, best known for The 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, noted for his works for the organ
• Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924), French composer, known for his chamber music and a requiem among other pieces
• Ernesto Köhler (1849-1907), Italian flautist and composer, known by flautists for his "Progress in Flute Playing" Op.33 study books
• Henri Duparc (1848-1933), French composer, noted for seventeen mélodies
• Vincent d'Indy (1851–1931), French composer, teacher of Erik Satie and Darius Milhaud among others
• Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921), German opera composer influenced by Richard Wagner, famous for Hänsel und Gretel
• Leoš Janáček (1854–1928), Czech composer, remembered for his orchestral pieces Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba
• 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
• Ruggiero Leoncavallo (1858–1919), Italian opera composer known almost exclusively for Pagliacci
• Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), late Romantic Italian opera composer (La bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly)

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

• Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909), Spanish composer, wrote nationalist piano works such as Iberia
• Gustave Charpentier (1860–1956), French composer best known for his opera Louise
• Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), Austrian composer of nine innovative large-scale and sometimes programmatic symphonies
  
• Edward MacDowell (1860–1908), American composer best known for his piano concertos
• Hugo Wolf (1860–1903), Austrian composer of lieder, influenced by Richard Wagner
• Claude Debussy (1862–1918), French composer, his music is often described as impressionist, although he dismissed the term, wrote 'Clair de Lune' from Suite bergamasque
• 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, inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's book, wrote many tone poems and operas
• Paul Dukas (1865–1935), French composer, noted for his piece of program music, The Sorcerer's Apprentice
• Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian, influenced by Wagner and Liszt
• Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), Danish composer of six symphonies
• Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Finnish nationalist composer of seven symphonies, famous 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
• Erik Satie (1866-1925), French composer of Gymnopedies
• Umberto Giordano (1867–1948), Italian opera composer
• Enrique Granados (1867–1916), Spanish composer and pianist
• Amy Beach (1867–1944), American composer and pianist
• Albert Roussel (1869–1937), French composer, wrote four symphonies, ballets, and chamber music
• Franz Lehár (1870–1948), Hungarian composer mainly known for his operettas
• 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), British composer of nine symphonies, the famous Fantasia on Greensleeves, and other orchestral poems
• 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 concerti as well as Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
• Max Reger (1873–1916), prolific German composer, known for his Variations on a Theme of Mozart
• 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
• Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), French composer in the impressionist and neoclassicist styles
• Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876–1909), Polish composer in the late romanticism and nationalism styles, He is an unknown composer but his symphonic poems very important works for Orchestra. Also he called as Polish Strauß (Richard)at the time .
• 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)
• Wanda Landowska (1879–1959), a Polish harpsichordist whose performances and writings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 20th century.
• Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951), Russian composer best known for his piano sonatas and concertos.

See also List of 20th century classical composers by birth date.