Music Eras and Composers

Medieval Era

Period: Jan 1, 1150 to Dec 31, 1400

Religious/secular music
Sometimes dance music
Troubadours and Trouveres
Medieval Era

Hildegard von Bingen

Sep 17, 1179

Hildegard von Bingen

Guilliaume de Machaut

Jan 1, 1300

Guilliaume de Machaut

Guillaume Dufay

Aug 5, 1397

Guillaume Dufay

Renaissance Era

Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Dec 31, 1600

Age of curiosity, individualism, and humanism
Motet
More harmonies
Renaissance Era

Josquin des Prez

Aug 27, 1455

Josquin des Prez

Claudio Monteverdi

May 15, 1567

Claudio Monteverdi

Baroque Era

Period: Jan 1, 1600 to Dec 31, 1750

Contrast is huge
Melody and harmony
Basso continuo, different instrumental sounds
Baroque Era

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Nov 28, 1642

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Henry Purcell

Sep 10, 1659

Henry Purcell

Antonio Vivaldi

Mar 4, 1678

Antonio Vivaldi

George Frideric Handel

Feb 23, 1685

George Frideric Handel

Johann Sebastian Bach

Mar 31, 1685

Johann Sebastian Bach

Joseph Haydn

Mar 31, 1732

Joseph Haydn

Classical Era

Period: Jan 1, 1750 to Dec 31, 1800

Chamber music
Concertos
Symphonies and dynamic contrast
Classical Era

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Jan 27, 1756

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ludwig van Beethoven

Dec 17, 1770

Ludwig van Beethoven

Franz Schubert

Jan 1, 1797

Franz Schubert

Romantic Era

Period: Jan 1, 1800 to Dec 31, 1900

Larger orchestras, emotion, longer pieces, dynamics
Romantic Era

Giacomo Puccini

Dec 22, 1858

Giacomo Puccini

Claude Debussy

Aug 22, 1862

Claude Debussy

Johannes Brahms

May 7, 1883

Johannes Brahms

20th/21st Centuries

Period: Jan 1, 1900 to Dec 31, 2016

No rules!
Modern Era

Dmitri Schostakovich

Sep 25, 1906

Dmitri Schostakovich

Oliver Messiaen

Dec 10, 1908

Oliver Messiaen

John Cage

Sep 5, 1912

John Cage

John Williams

Feb 8, 1932

John Williams

Philip Glass

Jan 31, 1937

Philip Glass