Composers Famous Composers from Italy

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List of notable or famous composers from Italy, with bios and photos, including the top composers born in Italy and even some popular composers who immigrated to Italy. If you're trying to find out the names of famous Italian composers then this list is the perfect resource for you. These composers are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known composer from Italy is included when available.

List is made up of a variety of people, including Joe Satriani and Jean-Baptiste Lully.

This historic composers from Italy list can help answer the questions "Who are some Italian composers of note?" and "Who are the most famous composers from Italy?" These prominent composers of Italy may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected Italian composers.

Use this list of renowned Italian composers to discover some new composers that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. (389 items)

1
Gioacchino Rossini is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 76 (1792-1868)
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces. His best-known operas include the ...more

2
Ennio Morricone is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
age 90
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI is an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor and former trumpet player, who has written music for more than 500 motion pictures and television series, as ...more

3
Jean-Baptiste Lully is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 55 (1632-1687)
Jean-Baptiste Lully was an Italian-born French composer, instrumentalist, and dancer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of ...more

4
Luciano Berio is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 78 (1925-2003)
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.

5
Ferruccio Busoni is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 58 (1866-1924)
Ferruccio Dante Michelangelo Benvenuto Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and piano teacher.

6
Muzio Clementi is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 80 (1752-1832)
Muzio Clementi was an Italian-born English composer, pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer. Born in Rome, he spent most of his life in England. ...more

7
Claudio Monteverdi is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 76 (1567-1643)
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was an Italian composer, gambist, singer and Roman Catholic priest. Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the change from the Renaissance ...more

8
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 26 (1710-1736)
Giovanni Battista Draghi, best known as Pergolesi or Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, was an Italian composer, violinist and organist.

9
Luigi Boccherini is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 62 (1743-1805)
Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini was an Italian classical era composer and cellist whose music retained a courtly and galante style while he matured somewhat apart from the major European musical ...more

10
Ottorino Respighi is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 57 (1879-1936)
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral music, particularly the three Roman tone poems: Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, and ...more

11
Giacomo Puccini is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 66 (1858-1924)
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas are among the important operas played as standards. Puccini has been called "the greatest ...more

12
Domenico Scarlatti is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 72 (1685-1757)
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer ...more

13
Tomaso Albinoni is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 80 (1671-1751)
Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian Baroque composer. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is mainly remembered today for his instrumental music, such as the concertos, some of ...more

14
Bud Spencer is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
age 89
Bud Spencer is an Italian actor, filmmaker and a former professional swimmer. He is known for past roles in action-comedy films together with his long-time film partner Terence Hill. Growing ...more

15
Jerry Gray is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 61 (1915-1976)
Jerry Gray was an American violinist, arranger, composer, and leader of swing dance orchestras bearing his name. He is widely known for his work with popular music during the Swing era. His name ...more

16
Bill Conti is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
age 76
William "Bill" Conti is an American composer and conductor best known for his film scores, including Rocky, For Your Eyes Only, Dynasty and The Right Stuff, the latter of which earned ...more

17
Sylvano Bussotti is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
age 87
Sylvano Bussotti is an Italian composer of contemporary music whose work is unusually notated and often creates special problems of interpretation.

18
Joe Satriani is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
age 62
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former ...more

19
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestri... is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 69 (1525-1594)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition. He has had a ...more

20
Giuseppe Sinopoli is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 55 (1946-2001)
Giuseppe Sinopoli was an Italian conductor and composer.

21
Vincenzo Bellini is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 34 (1801-1835)
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years ...more

22
Rinaldo di Capua is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 75 (1705-1780)
Rinaldo di Capua was an Italian composer. Little is known of him with any certainty, including his name, although he was known to Charles Burney. He may have been the father of composer Marcello ...more

23
Giovanni Battista Draghi is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Giovanni Battista Draghi Dec. at 68 (1640-1708)
Giovanni Battista Draghi was an Anglo-Italian composer and keyboard player. He may have been the brother of the composer Antonio Draghi. Draghi was brought to London in the 1660s by King Charles ...more

24
Pietro Mascagni is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Dec. at 82 (1863-1945)
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and ...more

25
Giovanni Salvatore is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Famous Composers from Italy
Giovanni Salvatore Dec. at 68 (1620-1688)
Giovanni Salvatore was a Neapolitan composer and organist. Salvatore was born in Castelvenere. He is thought to have studied under Giovanni Maria Sabino and Erasmo di Bartolo at the ...more