Chronological list of French classical composers

The following is a chronological list of classical music composers who lived in, worked in, or were citizens of France.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Medieval

Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377)

Renaissance

Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397–1474)
Gilles Binchois (c. 1400–1460)
Loÿset Compère (c. 1445–1518)
Josquin des Prez (c. 1450–1521), born near Franco-Flemish border
Pierre de La Rue (c. 1452–1518)
Antoine Brumel (c. 1460–1512/1513)
Clément Janequin (c. 1485–1558)
Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490–1562)
Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495–c. 1560)
Ninot le Petit (fl. c. 1500–1520)
Claude Gervaise (fl. 1540–1560)

Baroque

Pierre Guédron (c. 1570–c. 1620)
Étienne Moulinié (c. 1600–after 1669)
Jacques Champion de Chambonnières (c. 1601–1672)
Denis Gaultier (1603–1672)
François Dufault (before 1604–c. 1672)
Jacques de Gouy (c. 1610–after 1650)
Michel Lambert (1610–1696)
Louis Couperin (c. 1626–1661)
Jean-Henri d'Anglebert (1629–1691)
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687)
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (c. 1640–c. 1700)
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643–1704)
Robert de Visée (c. 1655-1732/1733)
Marin Marais (1656–1728)
Michel Richard Delalande (1657–1726)
André Campra (1660–1744)
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729)
Jean-Féry Rebel (1666–1747)
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (1667–1737)
François Couperin (1668-1733)
Louis Marchand (1669–1732)
Louis de Caix d'Hervelois (c. 1670–c. 1760)
Antoine Forqueray (1671–1745)
Nicolas de Grigny (1672–1703)
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1674-1763)
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (1676–1749)
Jean-François Dandrieu (c. 1682–1738)
Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682–1738)
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764)
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689–1755)
Louis-Claude Daquin (1694–1772)
Jean-Marie Leclair the elder (1697–1764)
François Francoeur (1698–1787)
Michel Blavet (1700–1768)
Jean-Marie Leclair the younger (1703–1777)
Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer (c. 1705–1755)
Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705–1770)
Michel Corrette (1707–1795)
Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (1711–1772)

Classical era

François-André Danican Philidor (1726–1795)
François Joseph Gossec (1734–1829)
André Grétry (1741–1813)
Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799)
Nicolas Dalayrac (1753–1809)
Jean-Baptiste Bréval (1753–1823)
Ignaz Pleyel (1757–1831)
Jean-François Lesueur (1760-1837)
Étienne Méhul (1763–1817)
Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766–1831)
Louis-Emmanuel Jadin (1768–1853)
Hyacinthe Jadin (1776–1800)

Romantic

Charles Simon Catel (1773–1830)
François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775–1834)
Jacques Féréol Mazas (1782–1849)
Daniel Auber (1782–1871)
George Onslow (1784–1853)
Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789–1856)
Ferdinand Hérold (1791–1833)
Fromental Halévy (1799–1862)
Adolphe Adam (1803–1856)
Hector Berlioz (1803–1869)
Louise Farrenc (1804–1875)
Louise Bertin (1805–1877)
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Ambroise Thomas (1811–1896)
Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813–1888)
Eugène Louis-Marie Jancourt (1815–1901)
Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély (1817–1869)
Charles Dancla (1817–1907)
Charles Gounod (1818–1893)
Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880)
Charles-Louis Hanon (1819–1900)
Pauline Viardot (1821–1910)
Édouard Lalo (1823–1892)
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
Léo Delibes (1836–1891)
Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911)
Théodore Dubois (1837–1924)
Georges Bizet (1838–1875)
Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894)
Jules Massenet (1842–1912)
Claude-Paul Taffanel (1844–1908)
Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
Henri Duparc (1848–1933)
Benjamin Godard (1849–1895)
Vincent d'Indy (1851–1931)
André Messager (1853–1929)
Ernest Chausson (1855–1899)
Alfred Bruneau (1857–1934)
Cécile Chaminade (1857–1944)
Mélanie Bonis (1858–1937)
Gustave Charpentier (1860–1956)

Modern/Contemporary

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Maurice Emmanuel (1862–1938)
Gabriel Pierné (1863–1937)
Guy Ropartz (1864–1955)
Paul Dukas (1865–1935)
Albéric Magnard (1865–1914)
Erik Satie (1866–1925)
Charles Koechlin (1867–1950)
Jules Mouquet (1867–1946)
Albert Roussel (1869–1937)
Louis Vierne (1870–1937)
Charles Tournemire (1870–1939)
Florent Schmitt (1870–1958)
Henri Büsser (1872–1973)
Déodat de Séverac (1872–1921)
Jean Roger-Ducasse (1873–1954)
Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947)
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Henriette Renié (1875–1956)
Louis Aubert (1877–1968)
Gabriel Dupont (1878–1914)
André Caplet (1878–1925)
Jean Cras (1879–1932)
Philippe Gaubert (1879–1941)
Maurice Delage (1879–1961)
Marcel Tournier (1879–1951)
Joseph Canteloube (1879–1957)
Paul Le Flem (1881–1984)
Edgard Varèse (1883–1965)
Marcel Dupré (1886–1971)
Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979)
Louis Durey (1888–1979)
Jacques Ibert (1890–1962)
Marcel Grandjany (1891–1975)
Darius Milhaud (1892–1974)
Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983)
Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
Marcel Lanquetuit (1894–1985)
Jean Rivier (1896–1987)
Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
Georges Auric (1899–1983)
Henri Sauguet (1901–1989)
Henri Tomasi (1901–1971)
Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986)
Claude Arrieu (1903–1990)
Manuel Rosenthal (1904–2003)
Eugene Bozza (1905–1991)
André Jolivet (1905–1974)
Jean Langlais (1907–1991)
Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992)
Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur (1908–2002)
Jean Martinon (1910–1976)
Paule Maurice (1910–1967)
Jehan Alain (1911–1940)
Alfred Desenclos (1912–1971)
Jean Françaix (1912–1997)
Maurice Ohana (1913–1992)
Henri Dutilleux (1916–2013)
Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001)
Pierre Boulez (1925–2016)
Jean-Michel Damase (1928–2013)
Pierre Max Dubois (1930–1995)
Claude Bolling (born 1930)
Éliane Radigue (born 1932)
Yves Prin (born 1933)
Gilbert Amy (born 1936)
Jean-Pierre Leguay (born 1939)
Gérard Grisey (1946–1998)
Tristan Murail (born 1947)
Joël-François Durand (born 1954)
Pascal Dusapin (born 1955)
Nicolas Bacri (born 1961)