The Most Famous
COMPOSERS from Belarus
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Belarusian Composers of all time. This list of famous Belarusian Composers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Irving Berlin (1888 - 1989)
With an HPI of 60.84, Irving Berlin is the most famous Belarusian Composer. His biography has been translated into 57 different languages on wikipedia.
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; Yiddish: ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Gerald R. Ford in 1977. Broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite stated he "helped write the story of this country, capturing the best of who we are and the dreams that shape our lives". Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights, and became known as the composer of numerous international hits, starting with 1911's "Alexander's Ragtime Band". He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For much of his career, Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other than F-sharp. He was known for writing music and lyrics in the American vernacular: uncomplicated, simple and direct, with his stated aim being to "reach the heart of the average American," who he saw as the "real soul of the country". He wrote hundreds of songs, many becoming major hits, which made him famous before he turned thirty. During his 60-year career he wrote an estimated 1,500 songs, including the scores for 20 original Broadway shows and 15 original Hollywood films, with his songs nominated eight times for Academy Awards. Many songs became popular themes and anthems, including "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "Blue Skies", "Easter Parade", "Puttin' on the Ritz", "Cheek to Cheek", "White Christmas", "Happy Holiday", "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)", and "There's No Business Like Show Business". His Broadway musical This Is the Army (1942) was adapted into the 1943 film of the same name. Berlin's songs have reached the top of the US charts 25 times and have been extensively re-recorded by numerous singers. Berlin died in 1989 at the age of 101. Composer Douglas Moore sets Berlin apart from all other contemporary songwriters, and includes him instead with Stephen Foster, Walt Whitman, and Carl Sandburg, as a "great American minstrel"—someone who has "caught and immortalized in his songs what we say, what we think about, and what we believe." Composer George Gershwin called him "the greatest songwriter that has ever lived",: 117 and composer Jerome Kern concluded that "Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music."
2. Stanisław Moniuszko (1819 - 1872)
With an HPI of 60.18, Stanisław Moniuszko is the 2nd most famous Belarusian Composer. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.
Stanisław Moniuszko (Polish pronunciation: [stãˈɲiswaf mɔ̃ˈɲuʃkɔ] ; May 5, 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, and his music is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (mainly Poles, Lithuanians and Belarusians). He is generally referred to as "the father of Polish national opera". Since the 1990s Stanisław Moniuszko is being recognized in Belarus as an important figure to Belarusian culture as well.
3. Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876 - 1909)
With an HPI of 53.23, Mieczysław Karłowicz is the 3rd most famous Belarusian Composer. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.
Mieczysław Karłowicz ([miɛt͡ʂɨswaf ˈkarwɔvit͡ʂ], 11 December 1876 – 8 February 1909) was a Polish composer and conductor.
Pantheon has 3 people classified as composers born between 1819 and 1888. Of these 3, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased composers include Irving Berlin, Stanisław Moniuszko, and Mieczysław Karłowicz.
Deceased Composers
Go to all Rankings
Irving Berlin
1888 - 1989
HPI: 60.84
Stanisław Moniuszko
1819 - 1872
HPI: 60.18
Mieczysław Karłowicz
1876 - 1909
HPI: 53.23
Which Composers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Composers since 1700.
