List of piano composers

This is a list of piano composers.

Baroque period

Classical period

Romantic period

20th century

Composer Born Died Nationality Notable works for piano Remarks
Agnew, RoyRoy Agnew 1891 1944 Australian
Akimenko, TheodoreTheodore Akimenko (ru) 1876 1945 Russian, Ukrainian
Arnold, MalcolmMalcolm Arnold 1921 2006 English
  • Sonata for Piano (1942)
  • Variations on a Ukrainian Folk Song, Op. 9
Andriessen, WillemWillem Andriessen 1887 1964 Dutch
Bartók, BélaBéla Bartók 1881 1945 Hungarian Folksong-influenced, Centric, Modal, Polymodal/Polytonal
Bax, ArnoldArnold Bax 1883 1953 English
  • Piano Sonata No. 1 (1910, 1917–1920)
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 (1919)
  • Piano Sonata in E-flat (1921)
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 (1926)
  • Piano Sonata No. 4 (1932)
 Romantic, Impressionist
Blanchet, Emile-RobertEmile-Robert Blanchet 1877 1943 Swiss
Bowen, YorkYork Bowen 1884 1961 English Romantic
Bridge, FrankFrank Bridge 1879 1941 English Late-Romantic, hints of Second Viennese School
Busoni, FerruccioFerruccio Busoni 1866 1924 Italian Mature works of indeterminate key; Late in career, neoclassical
Casella, AlfredoAlfredo Casella 1883 1947 Italian
Chaminade, CécileCécile Chaminade 1857 1944 French
Čiurlionis, Mikalojus KonstantinasMikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis 1875 1911 Lithuanian
  • Piano Sonata in F major
  • Nocturne in C-sharp minor
  • Nocturne in F minor
  • Impromptu in F-sharp minor
Copland, AaronAaron Copland 1900 1990 American
  • Appalachian Spring
  • Salon Mexico
  • Quiet City
Debussy, ClaudeClaude Debussy 1862 1918 French Impressionist
Ellington, DukeDuke Ellington 1899 1974 American Jazz
Feinberg, SamuilSamuil Feinberg 1890 1962 Russian
Gabrilowitsch, OssipOssip Gabrilowitsch 1878 1936 Russian, American
Gershwin, GeorgeGeorge Gershwin 1898 1937 American Jazz-influenced
Ginastera, AlbertoAlberto Ginastera 1916 1983 Argentine Earlier works often integrate Argentine folk themes; later works increasingly abstracted
Glazunov, AlexanderAlexander Glazunov 1865 1936 Russian Romantic
Godowsky, LeopoldLeopold Godowsky 1870 1938 Polish, American
Grainger, PercyPercy Grainger 1882 1961 Australian, English, American
Granados, EnriqueEnrique Granados 1867 1916 Spanish Distinctly Spanish
Grovlez, GabrielGabriel Grovlez 1879 1944 French
Joplin, ScottScott Joplin 1867 1917 American Ragtime
Kabalevsky, DmitriDmitri Kabalevsky 1904 1987 Russian, Soviet
Khachaturian, AramAram Khachaturian 1903 1978 Soviet, Armenian
Kosenko, ViktorViktor Kosenko 1896 1938 Ukrainian
Lamb, JosephJoseph Lamb 1887 1960 American Ragtime
Lambert, ConstantConstant Lambert 1905 1951 English
  • Piano Sonata (1928–1929)
  • Suite in 3 Movements (1925)
  • Elegiac Blues (1927)
Lecuona, ErnestoErnesto Lecuona 1895 1963 Cuban
Medtner, NikolaiNikolai Medtner 1880 1951 Russian
Melartin, ErkkiErkki Melartin 1875 1937 Finnish
Messiaen, OlivierOlivier Messiaen 1906 1992 French
Mompou, FedericoFederico Mompou 1893 1987 Catalan, Spanish
Monk, TheloniousThelonious Monk 1917 1982 American Jazz
Myaskovsky, NikolaiNikolai Myaskovsky 1881 1950 Russian, Soviet
Nazareth, ErnestoErnesto Nazareth 1863 1934 Brazilian Eclectic influences; primarily dance music (tangos, waltzes, polkas, etc.), influenced by African and Argentine styles
Niemann, WalterWalter Niemann 1876 1953 German Impressionist and exotic influences
Paderewski, Ignacy JanIgnacy Jan Paderewski 1860 1941 Polish
Palm, JacoboJacobo Palm 1887 1982 Curaçao-born
Palm, JohnJohn Palm 1885 1925 Curaçao-born
Palm, RudolphRudolph Palm 1880 1950 Curaçao-born
Palmgren, SelimSelim Palmgren 1878 1951 Finnish
Philipp, IsidorIsidor Philipp 1863 1958 French, Hungarian
Poulenc, FrancisFrancis Poulenc 1899 1963 French
Prokofiev, SergeiSergei Prokofiev 1891 1953 Russian
Rachmaninoff, SergeiSergei Rachmaninoff 1873 1943 Russian Romantic
Ravel, MauriceMaurice Ravel 1875 1937 French Impressionist; sometimes jazz-influenced
Rebikov, VladimirVladimir Rebikov 1866 1920 Russian Impressionist, Romantic
Rhené-Baton, EmmanuelEmmanuel Rhené-Baton 1879 1940 French
Roger-Ducasse, JeanJean Roger-Ducasse 1873 1954 French
Satie, ErikErik Satie 1866 1925 French Impressionist; Minimalist (precursor)
Saygun, Ahmed AdnanAhmed Adnan Saygun 1907 1991 Turkish Neoclassical, traditional Turkish folksong influence
Schmitt, FlorentFlorent Schmitt 1870 1958 French Impressionist, Late-Romantic
Schoenberg, ArnoldArnold Schoenberg 1874 1951 Austrian, American Serial (mature/late career), Late-Romantic (early career)
Scott, JamesJames Scott 1885 1938 American, African-American Ragtime
Scriabin, AlexanderAlexander Scriabin 1872 1915 Russian
  • 10 piano sonatas
 Late-Romantic (early); Atonal, Mystical (mature)
Shostakovich, DmitriDmitri Shostakovich 1906 1975 Russian, Soviet Post-Romantic; neoclassical; elements of grotesque
Sibelius, JeanJean Sibelius 1865 1957 Finnish
  • Sonata in F major, Op. 12
  • Three Sonatinas, Op. 67
 Late-Romantic; post-Romantic
Sorabji, Kaikhosru ShapurjiKaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji 1892 1988 English
  • Opus clavicembalisticum
  • Études transcendantes (100)
  • Sequentia cyclica super "Dies irae" ex Missa pro defunctis
  • Piano Symphony No. 2
  • "Gulistān"—Nocturne for Piano
Neoclassical, neoromantic, postimpressionistic
Stanchinsky, AlexeiAlexei Stanchinsky 1888 1914 Russian Post-Romantic, modal
Stenhammar, WilhelmWilhelm Stenhammar 1871 1927 Swedish
Strauss, RichardRichard Strauss 1864 1949 German
Stravinsky, IgorIgor Stravinsky 1882 1971 Russian, French, American Post-Romantic (early); Neoclassical (middle); Serial (late career)
Stravinsky, SoulimaSoulima Stravinsky 1910 1994 Swiss, American
Takemitsu, TōruTōru Takemitsu 1930 1996 Japanese Eclectic, with influences ranging from jazz, popular music, avant-garde procedures, and traditional Japanese music; strongly influenced by Debussy and Messiaen
Turina, JoaquinJoaquin Turina 1882 1949 Spanish
Ustvolskaya, GalinaGalina Ustvolskaya 1919 2006 Russian Eclectic
Villa-Lobos, HeitorHeitor Villa-Lobos 1887 1959 Brazilian
Villoldo, AngelÁngel Villoldo 1861 1919 Argentine Tango
Vladigerov, PanchoPancho Vladigerov 1899 1978 Bulgarian
Waller, FatsFats Waller 1904 1943 American

Contemporary