Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Music Maker Inductees (March 2021)

Originally posted 3/22/2021. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog! To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This ninth class of music maker inductees is comprised of the top 10 classical composers according to Dave’s Music Database. See the full list of music maker inductees here.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer born in Eisenach, Germany. Recordings of his Cello Suites and Goldberg Variations have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Those two and his Mass in B Minor are also in the National Recording Registry. Those works as well as his Brandenburg Concertos and St. Matthew Passion all rank amongst the top 100 classical works of all time and the DMDB’s top 1000 albums/works of all time. Read more.

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer and pianist born in Germany. Recordings of his Violin Concerto in D Major, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Piano Concerto No. 5, Symphony No. 7, Piano Sonatas (32), and The String Quartets (16) have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Those works, as well as Symphony No. 3 in E-flat "Sinfonia Eroica" Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral", and Symphony No. 9 all rank amongst the top 100 classical works of all time and the DMDB’s top 1000 albums/works of all time. Read more.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer born in Hamburg, Germany. His Symphony No. 4 in E minor ranks as one of the top 100 classical works of all time and the DMDB’s top 1000 albums/works of all time. A recording of his Piano Trio No. 1 in B major been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer and pianist born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin in Duchy of Warsaw, Poland. Recordings of his Nocturnes for Piano, Waltzes, and Mazurkas have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. A recording of Polonaise, op. 40, no. 1 ("Polonaise Miltaire") is in the National Recording Registry. Read more.

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer and pianist born in Rohrau, Austria. He has been called “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet.” He composed more than 100 symphonies and nearly 70 string quartets. He was influential in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio. Read more.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer and pianist born Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart in Salzburg, Austria. His operas The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Don Giovanni, and Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) rank among the top 50 operas of all time. Those works as well as Symphony No. 40 in G minor, Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter", Requiem Mass in D minor, Clarinet Concerto in A major, and his Piano Concertos (27) all rank amongst the top 100 classical works of all time and the DMDB’s top 1000 albums/works of all time. Read more.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer and pianist born in Himmelpfortgrund, Vienna, Austria. His works Piano Quintet in A major ("Trout"), Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"), Winterreise, Symphony No. 9 in C major ("The Great"), and String Quintet in C major all rank amongst the top 100 classical works of all time. Read more.

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer born Oranienbaum, Russia. His ballets Pétrouchka (aka "Petrushka") and Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Those and The Firebird (L’Oiseau de Feu) rank amongst the top 100 classical works of all time. Rite of Spring is also one of the DMDB’s top 1000 albums/works of all time and is in the National Recording Registry. Read more.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer (Swan Lake) born in Votkinsk, Russia. Wrote Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, and the 1812 Overture, which all rank amongst the top 100 classical works of all time as does his Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, which is also one of the DMDB’s top 1000 albums/works of all time and is in the National Recording Registry and Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Inducted March 2021 as a “Top Classical Composer”

Classical composer and pianist born Wilhelm Richard Wagner in Leipzig, Germany. His operas Tristan Und Isolde and The Ring Cycle (Der Ring Des Nibelungen) rank among the top 50 operas of all time, the the top 100 classical works of all time, and the DMDB’s top 1000 albums/works of all time. They are also both in the National Recording Registry and Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.