The Master Lists
Musoc.org's unique Master Lists provide music lovers with an authoritative, quality-controlled index of every key and significant composer across the entire history of art music. The Master Lists are drawn from musoc.org's own database, probably the largest non-commercial database of composers and their music in the world, and based on authoritative sources, including (for living composers in particular) critical volumes on individual composers and music reviews, but above all the New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians.
Uniquely, all composers in all lists have been critically evaluated, both qualitatively and quantitatively: every composer's known body of works (including unpublished music) has been assessed for accordance with musoc.org's definition of art music, as well as for size and compass. Composers have then been assigned to one of three classifications:
- KEY — history's most important musical figures; marked in bold in the tables and lists
- SIGNIFICANT — important, but (for various reasons) less so than those in the above category
- OTHER — all others
The majority of composers known to musicology fall into musoc.org's 'Other' category, in that their work is lacking either in sustained quality and/or quantity; or, from the late 20th century onwards, their work is what musoc.org defines as Pop 'Music' or not music at all (but para-music or noise). None of these composers are included in the tables, although some Key and Significant composers have also written 'music' falling into these categories.
The Master Lists are quite different from almost all other composer lists (whether in print or online), which tend to adhere overwhelmingly to a time-hallowed inventory of standard repertoire composers or (in the case of living composers) be almost randomly constituted (according to personal or institutional tastes or interests) or indiscriminate (particularly true of lists of living composers).
The Master Lists may be used by music lovers as reliable and comprehensive pointers to broaden or deepen their knowledge of music.
Note: Categories are not necessarily fixed - composers may be 'promoted' (occasionally even 'demoted'), either as further primary research reveals previously undiscovered works, or as the careers of living composers progress. If you'd like to be notified of any future alterations to any list you download, simply drop a line to gro.cosum@ofni.
Conditions of Use
All lists are free for personal and educational use. The copyright remains musoc.org's, so please make this clear if you use the lists in any public or educational environment.
Errors/Omissions
Please don't hesitate to email gro.cosum@ofni if you disagree with any items in any of the lists, or you think something or someone is missing, or you find any errors.