List of LGBT classical composers explained

Numerous composers of Western classical music were LGBT, from at least the 16th century to the modern day. Many of these composers faced persecution or violence as a result of their sexuality.

17th century

NameBornDiedNationalityDetails
Charles Coypeau d'Assoucy16051677Frenchd'Assoucy is believed to have been the lover of the French novelist Cyrano de Bergerac. He was arrested multiple times by the Holy Office for unspecified reasons.[2]
Jean-Baptiste Lully16321687Italian-FrenchLully was a composer of Baroque music employed in the court of then-king Louis XIV. He was discovered to have had sexual affairs with both men and women, and was subsequently expelled from the courtship at the orders of the king.
Johann Rosenmüller16191684GermanRosenmüller was a German composer who fled to Italy in 1658, after a scandal involving his homosexual activities came to light.[3]

19th century

NameBornDiedNationalityDetails
Clement Harris18711897English[4]
Adela Maddison18621929English[5]
Ella Overbeck18701919Russo-English
Camille Saint-Saëns18351921French
Ethel Smyth18581944English[6]
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky18401893Russian
Siegfried Wagner18691930German

20th century

NameBornDiedNationalityDetails
Walter Arlen19202023Austro-American
Ruth Anderson19282019American
Samuel Barber19101981American
Jean Barraqué19281973French
Stanley Bate19111959English
Arthur Benjamin18931960Australian
R. R. Bennett19362012Anglo-American
Lord Berners18831950English
Leonard Bernstein19181990American
Marc Blitzstein19051964American
Konrad Boehmer19412014German-Dutch
Henriëtte Bosmans18951952Dutch
Pierre Boulez19252016French
Paul Bowles19101999Moroccan
Benjamin Britten19131976English
Merton Brown19132001American
Sylvano Bussotti19312021Italian
John Cage19121992American
Wendy Carlos1931American[7]
Roger Sacheverell Coke19121971English
Aaron Copland19001990American
John Corigliano1938AmericanMarried to Mark Adamo
Henry Cowell18971965American
Ingolf Dahl19121970German-American
Peter Maxwell Davies19342016English
David Del Tredici1937American
David Diamond19152005American
Hubert du Plessis19222011South African
Julius Eastman19401990American
Joseph Fennimore1940American
William Flanagan19231969American
Wolfgang Fortner19071987German
Karel Goeyvaerts19231993Belgian
Charles Tomlinson Griffes18841920American
Clare Grundman19131996American
Reynaldo Hahn18741947Venezuelan-French
Lou Harrison19172003American
Hans Werner Henze19262012German
David Hogan19491996American
Lee Hoiby19262011American
Vladimir Horowitz19031989Russian
Jerry Hunt19431993American
Douglas Lilburn19152001New Zealander
Annea Lockwood1939New Zealander
Frederick May19111985Irish
Colin McPhee19001964Canadian-American
Gian Carlo Menotti19112007Italian-American
Noel Mewton-Wood19221953Australian-English
Zygmunt Mycielski19071997Polish
Dimitri Mitropoulos18961960Greek
Pauline Oliveros19322016American
Harry Partch19011974American
Thomas Pasatieri1941American
Daniel Pinkham19232006American
Francis Poulenc18991963French
Roger Quilter18771953English
Peer Raben19402007German
Aribert Reimann19362024German[8]
Ned Rorem19232022American
Henri Sauguet19011989French
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji18921988English
Conrad Susa19352013American
Karol Szymanowski18821937Polish
Virgil Thomson18961989American
Michael Tippett19051998English
Tui St. George Tucker19242004American
Claude Vivier19481983Canadian
Ben Weber19161979American
Juliusz Wertheim1880 1928Polish
Arnold van Wyk19161983South African
Charles Wuorinen19382020American

21st century

NameBornDiedNationalityDetails
Mark Adamo1962AmericanMarried to John Corigliano
Thomas Adès1971English
William Basinski1958American
Eve Beglarian1958American[9]
Iain Bell1980English
Chester Biscardi1948American
Roger Bourland1952American
Mark Carlson1952American[10]
David Conte1955American
Conrad Cummings1948American
Corey Dargel1977American
Don Davis1957American
Jeremy Dutcher1990Canadian
Mohammed Fairouz1985American
Gareth Farr1968New Zealander
Michael Finnissy1946English
Alan Fletcher1956American
Jake Heggie1961American
Jennifer Higdon1962American
Stephen Hough1961Anglo-Australian
Laura Karpman1959American
Lowell Liebermann1961American
Jonathan Mills1963Australian
Meredith Monk1942American
Nico Muhly1981American
Andrew Norman1979American
Patrick Nunn1969British
Thomas Pasatieri1941American
Albert Patron1969Italian
Tobias Picker1954American
Matthew Ricketts1986Canadian
Gil Shohat1973Israeli
Michael Tilson Thomas1944American
Philip Venables1979English
Šimon Voseček1978Austro-Czech
Rufus Wainwright1973American-Canadian

References

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jacob, Roger. Dominique Phinot. Grove Music Online. Macy. Laura.
  2. Dejean, Joan (1981). Libertine strategies: freedom and the novel in seventeenth-century France. Ohio State University Press. pp. 198–211.
  3. Book: Randel, Don Michael. The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. 1996. Harvard University Press. 978-0-674-37299-3. 762.
  4. Book: Carr. Jonathan. The Wagner Clan. 2007. Faber and Faber. London. 121.
  5. Book: Fuller, Sophie. Pandora Guide to Women Composers. Pandora. London. 1994. 203–206. 0-04-440897-8.
  6. Hind, Rolf (2015). "Queer Pitch: is there such a thing?" The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  7. Knoll, Brooke (2021). "10 contemporary queer composers to listen to in honor of Pride Month". Your Classical. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  8. https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=48857 Queer.de: Nachruf, Aribert Reimann
  9. Peterson, Catherine (2018). "10 Contemporary LGBTQ Composers You Should Know". Arts Boston. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  10. Web site: Meetings This Month | City of West Hollywood . 2 June 2012 .