The project
About
LesCompositeurs.eu is a music library presenting 100 composers, from the Middle Ages to today. Every page comes in two versions: adult and kids.
What each page offers
A timeline placing the composer’s life in its time: life and career milestones, works, journeys, contemporaries and major world events. Music excerpts from freely licensed recordings. A full biography, or a simple story to read and listen to in the kids’ version, with fun facts, a quiz and instruments to hear.
Two ways of reading
Adult version: detailed biographies, historical context, major works and links to complete recordings. Kids’ version (age 6+): short texts read aloud by the browser, flip cards, quizzes with stars and music games. The “Adult / Kids” switch at the top of the page lets you change at any time.
Listening while respecting rights
Copyright in a composition and related rights in a recording are separate. The excerpts offered here therefore meet two conditions: the composition is in the public domain in Europe (composer dead for more than 70 years) and the recording is published under a free licence (public domain, CC0, Creative Commons BY or BY-SA, GFDL) on Wikimedia Commons. Files are streamed directly from Wikimedia Commons; each excerpt shows its performer, its licence and a link to the file page, where you will find the complete recording and its reuse conditions.
For the 20 composers whose music is still protected, no excerpt is streamed: the page says so and offers a search on Wikimedia Commons.
Audio credits (214 recordings)
Thank you to the musicians and Wikimedia Commons contributors who share their recordings under free licences.
| Composer | Work | Performer / source | Licence | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hildegard von Bingen | O frondens virga (antiphon) | Makemi | Public domain | Commons |
| Hildegard von Bingen | O frondens virga — another performance | Makemi | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Léonin | Breves dies hominis (Notre-Dame school) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Pérotin | Sederunt principes (organum excerpt) | Digital rendering (Tetraktys) | Public domain | Commons |
| Pérotin | Organum “Quid tu vides” | Digital rendering (Tetraktys) | Public domain | Commons |
| Philippe de Vitry | Vos qui admiramini (motet) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Philippe de Vitry | Gratissima virginis species (motet) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Guillaume de Machaut | Messe de Nostre Dame — Kyrie | Digital rendering (Tetraktys) | Public domain | Commons |
| Guillaume de Machaut | Douce dame jolie (virelai) | Future Perfect at Sunrise | Public domain | Commons |
| Guillaume de Machaut | Riches d’amour et mendians d’amie (ballade) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| John Dunstaple | O rosa bella (attributed to Dunstaple) | Digital rendering (Tetraktys) | Public domain | Commons |
| Guillaume Dufay | Se la face ay pale (chanson) | Ecume (Wikipedia) | CC BY-SA 2.5 | Commons |
| Guillaume Dufay | Ave regina caelorum | Future Perfect at Sunrise | CC0 | Commons |
| Josquin des Prez | Mille regretz (chanson) | Collegium Musicum | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Josquin des Prez | El grillo (traditionally attributed frottola) | dwsChorale | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Josquin des Prez | Tu pauperum refugium (motet) | Kat Walsh | GFDL 1.2 | Commons |
| Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | Pope Marcellus Mass — Gloria | European Archive | CC0 | Commons |
| Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | Vestiva i colli (madrigal) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 4.0 | Commons |
| Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | Sicut lilium inter spinas (motet) | The Tudor Consort | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Orlando di Lasso | Matona mia cara (villanella) | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Orlando di Lasso | Hodie completi sunt (motet) | dwsChorale | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Orlando di Lasso | Bonjour mon cœur (chanson) | Collegium Musicum | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| William Byrd | Mass for Four Voices — Gloria | Ensemble Morales | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| William Byrd | Browning a 5 (viol consort) | Phillip W. Serna | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| William Byrd | Fantasia a 4 (1611) | Phillip W. Serna | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Tomás Luis de Victoria | O vos omnes (Holy Week responsory) | The Tudor Consort | CC BY 2.5 | Commons |
| Tomás Luis de Victoria | Caligaverunt oculi mei | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Tomás Luis de Victoria | Amicus meus | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Claudio Monteverdi | L’Orfeo — opening Toccata | Trisdee na Patalung | Public domain | Commons |
| Claudio Monteverdi | Lamento della ninfa | Trisdee na Patalung | CC BY 2.5 | Commons |
| Claudio Monteverdi | Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda — battle music | Trisdee na Patalung | CC BY 2.5 | Commons |
| Claudio Monteverdi | Cruda Amarilli (madrigal) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Girolamo Frescobaldi | Toccata No. 3 | Sylvia Kind | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Girolamo Frescobaldi | Fiori musicali — Toccata before the Sunday Mass | Random pipings | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Heinrich Schütz | Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich (1928 recording) | 1928 recording | Public domain | Commons |
| Heinrich Schütz | Musikalische Exequien — part 2 | Cantus Polonicus (Luk wolf) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Barbara Strozzi | Dialogo in partenza | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Baptiste Lully | Le Bourgeois gentilhomme — March for the Turkish Ceremony | Advent Chamber Orchestra | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Jean-Baptiste Lully | Le Bourgeois gentilhomme — Overture | Advent Chamber Orchestra | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Jean-Baptiste Lully | Le Bourgeois gentilhomme — Minuets | Advent Chamber Orchestra | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Marc-Antoine Charpentier | Te Deum H. 146 — Prelude | Ian Dollins | CC0 | Commons |
| Marc-Antoine Charpentier | Super flumina Babylonis | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Johann Pachelbel | Canon in D major | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 4.0 | Commons |
| Johann Pachelbel | Chaconne in F minor (organ) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Johann Pachelbel | Toccata in E minor (organ) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Marin Marais | The Bells of Sainte-Geneviève-du-Mont (1723) | New Comma Baroque | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Marin Marais | Chaconne — First Book of Viol Pieces | Phillip W. Serna | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Henry Purcell | Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary — March | Erinaceus | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Henry Purcell | Toccata in A major (harpsichord) | Sylvia Kind | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Henry Purcell | In Nomine a 7 (viols) | Phillip W. Serna | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| François Couperin | Les Barricades mystérieuses | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| François Couperin | Le Tic-toc-choc ou les Maillotins (piano, M. Meyer) | Marcelle Meyer (1954) | Public domain | Commons |
| François Couperin | Prelude, La Tromba, Air du diable | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Antonio Vivaldi | The Four Seasons — Spring, I. Allegro | John Harrison (violin) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Antonio Vivaldi | The Four Seasons — Summer, III. Presto (the storm) | John Harrison (violin) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Antonio Vivaldi | The Four Seasons — Autumn, I. Allegro | John Harrison (violin) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Antonio Vivaldi | The Four Seasons — Winter, I. Allegro non molto | John Harrison (violin) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Georg Philipp Telemann | Viola Concerto in G major — Largo | Advent Chamber Orchestra, Elias Goldstein | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Georg Philipp Telemann | Viola Concerto in G major — Allegro | Advent Chamber Orchestra, Elias Goldstein | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Georg Philipp Telemann | Fantasia in B minor | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Philippe Rameau | Les Sauvages | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Philippe Rameau | La Poule — The Hen (piano, M. Meyer) | Marcelle Meyer (1953) | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Philippe Rameau | Tambourin (Suite in E) | Richard D. Siegel | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Jean-Philippe Rameau | Les Tourbillons (piano, M. Meyer) | Marcelle Meyer (1953) | Public domain | Commons |
| Georg Friedrich Haendel | Messiah — Hallelujah Chorus | MIT Concert Choir | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Georg Friedrich Haendel | Water Music — Overture (Suite in F) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Georg Friedrich Haendel | The Harmonious Blacksmith (Suite No. 5) | Musopen | CC0 | Commons |
| Georg Friedrich Haendel | Serse — Ombra mai fu (Enrico Caruso) | Enrico Caruso | Public domain | Commons |
| Johann Sebastian Bach | The Well-Tempered Clavier — Prelude in C major, BWV 846 | Kimiko Ishizaka | CC0 | Commons |
| Johann Sebastian Bach | Goldberg Variations — Aria | Kimiko Ishizaka | Public domain / CC0 | Commons |
| Johann Sebastian Bach | Cello Suite No. 1 — Prelude | Fopseh | CC0 | Commons |
| Johann Sebastian Bach | Cantata BWV 147 — Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring | Orchestra Gli Armonici | CC0 | Commons |
| Johann Sebastian Bach | Prelude in A minor, BWV 543 (Silbermann organ) | Robert Köbler | CC BY 1.0 | Commons |
| Jean-Baptiste Pergolèse | Violin Concerto in B-flat — 1st movement (mandolin transcription) | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Baptiste Pergolèse | Flute Concerto in G (traditional attribution) | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach | Solfeggietto in C minor | Nieb | Public domain | Commons |
| Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach | Flute Concerto in G major — Presto | Advent Chamber Orchestra, Constance Schoepflin | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Christoph Willibald Gluck | Orfeo ed Euridice — Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Toscanini) | NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini | Public domain | Commons |
| Christoph Willibald Gluck | Orfeo — “Che farò senza Euridice” (1907) | Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1907) | Public domain | Commons |
| Joseph Haydn | Symphony No. 94 “Surprise” — Andante | Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky | Public domain | Commons |
| Joseph Haydn | Symphony No. 100 “Military” — Allegretto | Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Fritz Weidlich | Public domain | Commons |
| Joseph Haydn | The Creation — The Representation of Chaos | St Matthew's Choir, Phiroz Dalal | Public domain | Commons |
| Luigi Boccherini | String Quintet Op. 11 No. 5 — the famous Minuet | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC0 | Commons |
| Muzio Clementi | Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1 — Allegro | Alessio Cesaroni | CC0 | Commons |
| Muzio Clementi | Sonatina Op. 36 No. 3 — Spiritoso | Bernd Krueger | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Eine kleine Nachtmusik — Allegro | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Sonata No. 11 — Turkish March | Bernd Krueger | CC BY-SA 3.0 DE | Commons |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter” — Finale | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Requiem — Lacrimosa (1960) | Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker (1960) | Public domain | Commons |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | Für Elise | V. Gao | Public domain | Commons |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | “Moonlight” Sonata — 1st movement | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 DE | Commons |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | Symphony No. 5 — Allegro con brio | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | The Ruins of Athens — Turkish March | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Niccolò Paganini | Caprice No. 24 | Steinaco | Public domain | Commons |
| Niccolò Paganini | Moto perpetuo, Op. 11 (Yehudi Menuhin) | Yehudi Menuhin, Adolph Baller | Public domain | Commons |
| Franz Schubert | Impromptu in E-flat major, D. 899 No. 2 | Chiara Bertoglio | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Franz Schubert | Ellens dritter Gesang (“Ave Maria”) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Franz Schubert | Octet in F major — Scherzo | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Franz Schubert | Impromptu in A-flat major, D. 899 No. 4 | Chiara Bertoglio | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Hector Berlioz | Symphonie fantastique — II. A Ball | Igor Markevitch, Orchestre Lamoureux (1962) | Public domain | Commons |
| Hector Berlioz | Symphonie fantastique — IV. March to the Scaffold | Igor Markevitch, Orchestre Lamoureux (1962) | Public domain | Commons |
| Hector Berlioz | Roman Carnival Overture | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Felix Mendelssohn | A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Wedding March | European Archive | Public domain | Commons |
| Felix Mendelssohn | “Italian” Symphony — Saltarello | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Felix Mendelssohn | Piano Concerto No. 1 — Andante | José Iturbi, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra | Public domain | Commons |
| Frédéric Chopin | Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 | Membeth | CC0 | Commons |
| Frédéric Chopin | Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66 | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Frédéric Chopin | Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC0 | Commons |
| Frédéric Chopin | Étude Op. 10 No. 1 | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Robert Schumann | Scenes from Childhood — Träumerei | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Robert Schumann | Scenes from Childhood — Of Foreign Lands and Peoples | Leonard Vertighel | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Robert Schumann | Piano Concerto in A minor — Allegro affettuoso | Musopen | CC0 | Commons |
| Robert Schumann | Liederkreis Op. 39 — Mondnacht | Elisabeth Schumann | Public domain | Commons |
| Franz Liszt | La Campanella | Greiss | Public domain | Commons |
| Franz Liszt | Liebestraum No. 3 | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Franz Liszt | Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Franz Liszt | Consolation No. 3 | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Giuseppe Verdi | Rigoletto — La donna è mobile | Ferruccio Giannini (Berliner Gramophone) | Public domain | Commons |
| Giuseppe Verdi | Il trovatore — Di quella pira | Antonio Salvarezza (1948) | Public domain | Commons |
| Giuseppe Verdi | La traviata — Prelude to Act III | La Scala Orchestra, Carlo Sabajno | Public domain | Commons |
| Giuseppe Verdi | Messa da Requiem — Sanctus | ICBSA | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Richard Wagner | Die Walküre — Ride of the Valkyries | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Richard Wagner | Lohengrin — Bridal Chorus | Kevin MacLeod | CC BY 2.0 | Commons |
| Richard Wagner | Die Meistersinger — Prize Song (Leo Slezak) | Leo Slezak | Public domain | Commons |
| Charles Gounod | Ave Maria (on Bach’s Prelude) | Jgmo30 | CC0 | Commons |
| Charles Gounod | Funeral March of a Marionette | San Francisco Symphony, Alfred Hertz | Public domain | Commons |
| Charles Gounod | Petite Symphonie for winds — I | Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| César Franck | Violin Sonata — Finale | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| César Franck | Symphonic Variations (opening) | Géza Anda, Eduard van Beinum | Public domain | Commons |
| César Franck | Harmonium piece in C | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Bedřich Smetana | Má vlast — Vltava (The Moldau) | Musopen Symphony Orchestra | CC0 | Commons |
| Bedřich Smetana | The Bartered Bride — Overture | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Alexandre Borodine | In the Steppes of Central Asia | Musopen Symphony Orchestra | CC0 | Commons |
| Alexandre Borodine | String Quartet No. 2 — Notturno | Musopen String Quartet | Public domain | Commons |
| Johannes Brahms | Hungarian Dance No. 1 — played by Brahms himself (1889) | Johannes Brahms (Edison cylinder, 1889) | Public domain | Commons |
| Johannes Brahms | Lullaby (Wiegenlied), Op. 49 No. 4 | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Johannes Brahms | Variations on a Theme by Haydn — theme | Neal and Nancy O'Doan | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Johannes Brahms | Symphony No. 1 — III. Un poco allegretto | Musopen Symphony Orchestra | CC0 | Commons |
| Georges Bizet | Carmen — Prelude | Musopen | CC0 | Commons |
| Georges Bizet | Carmen — Toreador Song | Pasquale Amato | Public domain | Commons |
| Georges Bizet | L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1 — Prelude | hr-Sinfonieorchester | Public domain | Commons |
| Modeste Moussorgski | Pictures at an Exhibition — Promenade | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Modeste Moussorgski | Pictures at an Exhibition — Gnomus | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Modeste Moussorgski | Pictures at an Exhibition — The Great Gate of Kiev | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Modeste Moussorgski | Night on Bald Mountain | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski | Swan Lake — Act I excerpt | Ballet Française Symphony Orchestra | Public domain | Commons |
| Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski | The Nutcracker — the Sugar Plum Fairy’s celesta | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski | 1812 Overture | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski | Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Antonín Dvořák | “New World” Symphony — Largo | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Antonín Dvořák | Humoresque No. 7 | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Antonín Dvořák | Cello Concerto — Adagio (P. Fournier) | Pierre Fournier, George Szell, Berliner Philharmoniker (1962) | Public domain | Commons |
| Edvard Grieg | Peer Gynt — Morning Mood | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Edvard Grieg | Peer Gynt — In the Hall of the Mountain King | Musopen Symphony Orchestra | Public domain | Commons |
| Edvard Grieg | Wedding Day at Troldhaugen — played by Grieg (1903) | Edvard Grieg (1903) | Public domain | Commons |
| Edvard Grieg | Piano Concerto in A minor — I | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov | Flight of the Bumblebee | U.S. Army Band | Public domain | Commons |
| Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov | Scheherazade — The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship | Musopen | CC0 | Commons |
| Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov | Sadko — Song of India (violin, 1929) | Váša Příhoda (1929) | CC0 | Commons |
| Edward Elgar | Pomp and Circumstance — March No. 1 | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.5 | Commons |
| Edward Elgar | Enigma Variations — Nimrod | John Barbirolli, Hallé Orchestra | Public domain | Commons |
| Edward Elgar | Salut d’amour | Emanuel Salvador, Pau Casan | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 5 — Funeral March | Peabody Symphony Orchestra | CC0 | Commons |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 9 — I (Bruno Walter, 1938) | Bruno Walter, Vienna Philharmonic (1938) | Public domain | Commons |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 3 — the great trombone solo | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Claude Debussy | Suite bergamasque — Clair de lune | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Claude Debussy | Second Arabesque | Patrizia Prati | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Claude Debussy | Children’s Corner | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Claude Debussy | Préludes, Book I — Voiles | Marcelle Meyer (1956) | Public domain | Commons |
| Richard Strauss | Also sprach Zarathustra — Introduction | Kevin MacLeod | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Richard Strauss | Don Juan (excerpt) | hr-Sinfonieorchester | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Richard Strauss | Piano Sonata Op. 5 — I | Tjako van Schie | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Erik Satie | Gymnopédie No. 1 | Teknopazzo | CC0 | Commons |
| Erik Satie | Gnossienne No. 1 | La Pianista | Public domain | Commons |
| Erik Satie | Gymnopédie No. 2 (guitar) | Michael Laucke | Public domain | Commons |
| Alexandre Scriabine | Prelude Op. 11 No. 1 | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Alexandre Scriabine | Étude Op. 8 No. 12 | Awadagin Pratt (White House, 2009) | Public domain | Commons |
| Alexandre Scriabine | Prelude Op. 67 No. 1 | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Sergueï Rachmaninov | Prelude in C-sharp minor — played by Rachmaninoff | Sergueï Rachmaninov | Public domain | Commons |
| Sergueï Rachmaninov | Piano Concerto No. 2 — Moderato | Musopen | Public domain | Commons |
| Sergueï Rachmaninov | Vocalise (violin and piano) | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Arnold Schönberg | String Quartet No. 2 — Entrückung | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Charles Ives | “Concord” Sonata — The Alcotts | Eric Xi Xin Liang | Public domain | Commons |
| Maurice Ravel | Boléro (1930 recording) | 1930 recording | Public domain | Commons |
| Maurice Ravel | Pavane for a Dead Princess | Thérèse Dussaut | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Maurice Ravel | Sonatine — Modéré (M. Meyer) | Marcelle Meyer (1954) | Public domain | Commons |
| Béla Bartók | Romanian Folk Dances | Advent Chamber Orchestra | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Béla Bartók | Sonatina | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Béla Bartók | Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (excerpt) | LittleJazzMan | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Serge Prokofiev | Toccata Op. 11 (Martha Argerich, 1962) | Martha Argerich (1962) | Public domain | Commons |
| Serge Prokofiev | Romeo and Juliet — Montagues and Capulets (piano) | Attila Szervác | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Serge Prokofiev | March Op. 99 (wind band) | U.S. Marine Band | Public domain | Commons |
| George Gershwin | Rhapsody in Blue — first recording with Gershwin at the piano (1924) | Paul Whiteman Orchestra, George Gershwin (1924) | Public domain | Commons |
| George Gershwin | Three Preludes — No. 1 | La Pianista | Public domain | Commons |
| George Gershwin | The Man I Love | Constantin Stephan | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Violin | Steinaco | Public domain | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Cello | Fopseh | CC0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Piano | V. Gao | Public domain | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Organ | Robert Köbler | CC BY 1.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Harpsichord | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Guitar | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Mandolin | Pracchia-78 | Public domain | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Viola da gamba | Phillip W. Serna | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Bassoon | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Recorder | Thparkth | Public domain | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Tuba | AntoineVE | Public domain | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Horn | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Trombone | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Timpani | Schrauber5 | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Snare drum | Clngre | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Cymbal | Clngre | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Celesta | Recording uploaded to Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Choir | European Archive | CC0 | Commons |
| Instrument sound | Tenor voice | Enrico Caruso | Public domain | Commons |
Portraits and illustrations
Each portrait is a pencil-and-wash drawing made for the site after a period portrait: a painting, engraving, illumination or photograph, all in the public domain or under a free licence on Wikimedia Commons. For musicians with no known portrait (Léonin, Pérotin, Philippe de Vitry, John Dunstaple, Johann Pachelbel, Francesca Caccini), the drawing shows a place, an illumination or a score linked to their life. Drawings made after a CC BY-SA source are shared under the same licence. The instrument drawings used in the games are original creations of the site.
| Composer | Drawing after | Source licence | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hildegard von Bingen | Illumination from the Liber Scivias (XIIeth c.) | Public domain | Commons |
| Léonin | J. H. Bertin, engraving de Notre-Dame de Paris | Public domain | Commons |
| Pérotin | Magnus liber organi, manuscript (photograph anonyme) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Philippe de Vitry | Master of the Roman de Fauvel, miniature (XIVeth c.) | Public domain | Commons |
| Guillaume de Machaut | Illumination from Machaut’s works (XIVeth c.) | Public domain | Commons |
| John Dunstaple | R. Rolfe, engraving (window of St Albans) | Public domain | Commons |
| Guillaume Dufay | Martin Le Franc, Le Champion des dames (XVeth c.) | Public domain | Commons |
| Johannes Ockeghem | Miniature (c. 1523, BnF), photograph Cantakukuruz | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Josquin des Prez | Woodcut (1611) | Public domain | Commons |
| Jacob Obrecht | Quentin Metsys (attributed), 1496 | Public domain | Commons |
| Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | Anonymous portrait | Public domain | Commons |
| Orlando di Lasso | Anonymous portrait (XVIeth c.) | Public domain | Commons |
| William Byrd | Gerard Vandergucht, engraving | Public domain | Commons |
| Tomás Luis de Victoria | Anonymous portrait | Public domain | Commons |
| Claudio Monteverdi | Bernardo Strozzi, c. 1630 | Public domain | Commons |
| Girolamo Frescobaldi | Claude Mellan, engraving (1619) | Public domain | Commons |
| Heinrich Schütz | Christoph Spetner, c. 1650 | Public domain | Commons |
| Francesca Caccini | Title page of the Primo libro delle musiche (1618) | Public domain | Commons |
| Barbara Strozzi | Bernardo Strozzi, La Joueuse de viole | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Baptiste Lully | Paul Mignard | Public domain | Commons |
| Marc-Antoine Charpentier | Anonymous portrait | Public domain | Commons |
| Johann Pachelbel | Johann Graff, St Sebaldus Church, Nuremberg (1693) | Public domain | Commons |
| Marin Marais | André Bouys (photograph Renetroost) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Henry Purcell | John Closterman | Public domain | Commons |
| François Couperin | Anonymous painter | Public domain | Commons |
| Antonio Vivaldi | Anonymous painter (1723) | Public domain | Commons |
| Georg Philipp Telemann | Valentin Daniel Preisler, engraving | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Philippe Rameau | Attributed to Joseph Aved, c. 1728 | Public domain | Commons |
| Georg Friedrich Haendel | Balthasar Denner (attributed) | Public domain | Commons |
| Johann Sebastian Bach | Elias Gottlob Haussmann, 1748 | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean-Baptiste Pergolèse | Domenico Antonio Vaccaro | Public domain | Commons |
| Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach | Franz Conrad Löhr | Public domain | Commons |
| Christoph Willibald Gluck | Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, 1775 | Public domain | Commons |
| Joseph Haydn | Thomas Hardy, 1791 | Public domain | Commons |
| Luigi Boccherini | Antoine-Achille Bourgeois de la Richardière (photograph) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| Muzio Clementi | Thomas Hardy | Public domain | Commons |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Johann Nepomuk della Croce | Public domain | Commons |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 | Public domain | Commons |
| Johann Nepomuk Hummel | Anonymous portrait | Public domain | Commons |
| Niccolò Paganini | Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1819 | Public domain | Commons |
| Franz Schubert | Wilhelm August Rieder | Public domain | Commons |
| Hector Berlioz | August Prinzhofer, 1845 | Public domain | Commons |
| Louise Farrenc | Luigi Rubio | Public domain | Commons |
| Fanny Mendelssohn | Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, 1842 | Public domain | Commons |
| Felix Mendelssohn | Eduard Magnus, 1833 | Public domain | Commons |
| Frédéric Chopin | Louis-Auguste Bisson | Public domain | Commons |
| Robert Schumann | Josef Kriehuber, 1839 | Public domain | Commons |
| Franz Liszt | Herman Biow, 1843 | Public domain | Commons |
| Giuseppe Verdi | Ferdinand Mulnier | Public domain | Commons |
| Richard Wagner | Franz Hanfstaengl | Public domain | Commons |
| Charles Gounod | Bayard & Bertall | Public domain | Commons |
| Clara Schumann | Franz Hanfstaengl, 1857 | Public domain | Commons |
| César Franck | Pierre Petit | Public domain | Commons |
| Bedřich Smetana | Bain News Service | Public domain | Commons |
| Alexandre Borodine | Anonymous photograph | Public domain | Commons |
| Johannes Brahms | C. Brasch, Berlin | Public domain | Commons |
| Georges Bizet | Étienne Carjat | Public domain | Commons |
| Modeste Moussorgski | Ilia Répine, 1881 | Public domain | Commons |
| Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski | Émile Reutlinger | Public domain | Commons |
| Antonín Dvořák | Anonymous photograph | Public domain | Commons |
| Edvard Grieg | Bergen Public Library | Public domain | Commons |
| Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov | Valentin Serov, 1898 | Public domain | Commons |
| Edward Elgar | Anonymous photograph | Public domain | Commons |
| Gustav Mahler | Moritz Nähr | Public domain | Commons |
| Claude Debussy | Atelier Nadar | Public domain | Commons |
| Richard Strauss | Anonymous Italian photographer | Public domain | Commons |
| Jean Sibelius | Daniel Nyblin | Public domain | Commons |
| Erik Satie | Henri Manuel | Public domain | Commons |
| Amy Beach | Bain News Service | Public domain | Commons |
| Alexandre Scriabine | Charles-Louis Klary, 1909 | Public domain | Commons |
| Ralph Vaughan Williams | Anonymous press photographer, 1954 | Public domain | Commons |
| Sergueï Rachmaninov | Kubey-Rembrandt Studios | Public domain | Commons |
| Arnold Schönberg | Richard Gerstl, 1906 | Public domain | Commons |
| Charles Ives | Anonymous photograph (c. 1898) | Public domain | Commons |
| Maurice Ravel | Anonymous photograph, 1925 | Public domain | Commons |
| Béla Bartók | Anonymous photograph, 1927 | Public domain | Commons |
| Igor Stravinsky | Bain News Service | Public domain | Commons |
| Anton Webern | Anonymous photograph, 1912 | Public domain | Commons |
| Alban Berg | Max Fenichel, c. 1930 | Public domain | Commons |
| Florence Price | George Nelidoff | Public domain | Commons |
| Nadia Boulanger | Edmond Joaillier (Gallica, BnF) | Public domain | Commons |
| Serge Prokofiev | Bain News Service, c. 1918 | Public domain | Commons |
| Germaine Tailleferre | Anonymous photograph | Public domain | Commons |
| Lili Boulanger | Henri Manuel | Public domain | Commons |
| George Gershwin | Bain News Service | Public domain | Commons |
| Francis Poulenc | Jacques-Émile Blanche, The Group of Six (1922) | Public domain | Commons |
| Aaron Copland | CBS Television, 1962 | Public domain | Commons |
| Dmitri Chostakovitch | Anonymous photograph | Public domain | Commons |
| Samuel Barber | Carl Van Vechten (Library of Congress) | Public domain (US) | Commons |
| John Cage | Rob Bogaerts / Anefo | CC0 | Commons |
| Benjamin Britten | Szalay Zoltán / Fortepan | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Commons |
| Leonard Bernstein | Jack Mitchell | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Commons |
| György Ligeti | Marcel Antonisse / Anefo | CC BY-SA 3.0 NL | Commons |
| Sofia Goubaïdoulina | Mikhail Kozlovsky | CC BY 4.0 | Commons |
| Arvo Pärt | Woesinger | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Terry Riley | Takahiro Kyono | CC BY 2.0 | Commons |
| Steve Reich | Hans Peters / Anefo | CC0 | Commons |
| Philip Glass | Pasquale Salerno | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Commons |
| Kaija Saariaho | French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs | CC BY 3.0 | Commons |
| Unsuk Chin | Villa Massimo | CC0 | Commons |
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