It’s amazing what a dispute about composers’ dates can do. In an attempt to prove that Mozart was still alive when Beethoven was born, I entered “composers timeline” into Google and chanced upon a great resource at Classical.net, compiled by Dave Lampson and a healthy team of reviewers and contributors.

On this very scholarly website, composers are categorised in:
master index, quick reference or a list of lists e.g. nationality, anniversary of birth/death, age at death etc.

There are pdf graphical timelines (very impressive - a feast for the eyes on a classroom wall) and text timelines (lists of dates). There is information on composers (including photos/portraits and biographical information) and a guide to basic repertoire - 7 historical periods: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century & Modern (the final two of which enjoy something of an overlap).

The site also sports links to books, book reviews and websites. For anyone interested in the history of western music, this site is well worth a visit.

Categories: Digital Literacy, History, Music