Grade 8 Music Theory - Naming Composers and Eras in Scores
As in earlier grades, you may be asked to guess the composer or era of the score you are analysing. The choice of composers given at grade 8 is usually a little wider than in previous grades, but will still include well-known names.
The best way to improve your chances at this question is to listen to a wide variety of music. Tune into your local classical music radio station, or use Youtube to find some playlists by genre, for example. Look up any unfamiliar names and check which era they belong to, and the also type of composition they are best known for writing.
Here are some names that are worth learning, their eras, and in some cases the genre they are best known for.
For further details about the stylistic characteristics of each era, see the MyMusicTheory Guide to Classical Music Series of blog posts.
| Bach | Baroque |
| Bartok | 20th C, atonal, string quartets |
| Beethoven | Classical, Early romantic |
| Brahms | Romantic |
| Bruckner | Romantic, large orchestra |
| Chopin | Romantic, piano |
| Couperin | Baroque |
| Debussy | 20th C, impressionism, whole tone |
| Gershwin | 20th C, jazz |
| Handel | Baroque |
| Haydn | Classical |
| Liszt | Romantic, showy piano |
| Mozart | Classical |
| Mahler | Romantic, large orchestra, 8 French horns! |
| Mendelssohn | Romantic |
| Prokofiev | 20th C |
| Puccini | Romantic, opera |
| Rachmaninov | Romantic, piano and orchestral |
| Rossini | Classical, opera & vocal |
| Satie | 20th C, piano, quiet |
| Schoenberg | 20th C, atonal |
| Schubert | Classical, Lieder (German songs with piano) |
| Schumann | Romantic |
| Shostakovich | 20th C, piano, sharp contrasts, atonality |
| Strauss | Classical, orchestral waltzes |
| Stravinsky | 20th C, non-diatonic, rhythmically diverse |
| Tchaikovsky | Romantic, orchestral |
| Wagner | Late Romantic, opera |
| Verdi | Early Romantic, opera |
| Vivaldi | Baroque, violin works |
Other Clues
The harpsichord faded away by the classical era. Piano and clarinet exist from the classical era. Piano pedal was used from the Romantic era. Performance directions in French, English or German will reflect the nationality of the composer.
