This list is a collection of the final resting sites of notable composers and musicians in the history of classical music. It includes photographs of the graves alongside notes providing some context or additional information. In cases where the grave has not been preserved or has been lost, the list includes the current location of the tombstone, plaque or memorial commemorating the burial place of the respective classical musician, if such a commemoration exists. The list is limited to composers, conductors, instrumentalists and other figures of significant fame, notability or importance in the classical music tradition who also have current Wikipedia articles. This is not an exhaustive list.
The list can be sorted by clicking on the corresponding arrows in the column titles.
Name | Death | Occupation | Current place of burial | Images | Notes | ||||
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Claudio Abbado | 2014 | Conductor | Reformierte Kirche Fex Crasta , Sils im Engadin/Segl, Switzerland |
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Ten months after his death the urn containing his remains was buried in a cemetery belonging to a 15th-century church in Sils-Maria, a village in the Swiss canton of Graubünden where Abbado had a vacation home. [1] [2] [n 1] | ||||
Isaac Albéniz | 1909 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Hugo Alfvén | 1960 | Composer, violinist | Leksand Cemetery, Leksand, Sweden | ||||||
Charles-Valentin Alkan | 1888 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | His death has been wrongly linked to a falling bookcase reaching for a Talmud volume. Pianist Isidor Philipp circulated this story, but contemporary evidence suggests Alkan fainted in his kitchen under a heavy coat rack, possibly causing it to fall. He was found moaning and was carried to his bedroom where he later died. [3] | |||||
Leroy Anderson | 1975 | Composer | New North Cemetery, Woodbury, US |
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Victoria de los Ángeles | 2005 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | She was buried in the family grave of her husband and former manager Enrique Magriñá. | |||||
Anton Arensky | 1906 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Claudio Arrau | 1991 | Pianist | Cementerio Municipal de Chillán , Chillán, Chile | He died in Murzzuschlag, Austria. [4] His wish was to be buried in his hometown, and following his death the idea of a Patio de Artistas (Artists' Courtyard) was born to honor various local artists. [5] | |||||
Kurt Atterberg | 1974 | Composer | Norra begravningsplatsen, Solna, Sweden | ||||||
Daniel Auber | 1871 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Charles Avison | 1770 | Composer | St Andrew's Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach | 1788 | Composer | Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis, Hamburg, Germany | ||||||
Johann Christian Bach | 1782 | Composer | St. Pancras Old Churchyard, London, England | ||||||
Johann Sebastian Bach | 1750 | Composer | Thomaskirche, Leipzig, Germany | Initially buried at Alter Johannisfriedhof in Leipzig. His grave went unmarked for nearly 150 years. In 1894 his coffin was finally discovered and reburied in a vault within the Johanniskirche. This building was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II, and in 1950 Bach's remains were taken to their present resting place at Leipzig's Thomaskirche. [6] | |||||
Mily Balakirev | 1910 | Composer, pianist | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Samuel Barber | 1981 | Composer | Oaklands Cemetery, West Goshen Township, US | The plot on the right had been purchased for Gian Carlo Menotti; as he did not use it, a stone marked "To the Memory of Two Friends" was placed there instead. | |||||
John Barbirolli | 1970 | Conductor | St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, London, England |
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He was cremated and his ashes were buried in his parents grave. [7] | ||||
Béla Bartók | 1945 | Composer | Farkasréti Cemetery, Budapest, Hungary | His body was moved to Budapest in 1989 after the fall of the Iron Curtain, as he died and was buried in exile in the United States. [8] | |||||
Ettore Bastianini | 1967 | Opera singer | Cimitero del Laterino , Siena, Italy | ||||||
Mattia Battistini | 1928 | Opera singer | Battistini Estate at Collebaccaro, Contigliano, Italy | Upload photo
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Battistini planned to adapt his family villa into an ideal retreat for himself and his wife, the Spanish noblewoman Dolores Figueroa y Solis. The villa itself was rebuilt and decorated with frescoes by the famous local painter Antonino Calcagnadoro. A chapel was erected nearby in the Neo-Gothic style and was designed to house the tombs of Dolores and Mattia. [9] | ||||
Arnold Bax | 1953 | Composer | St. Finbarr's Cemetery, Cork, Ireland |
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Amy Beach | 1944 | Composer | Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, US |
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Ludwig van Beethoven | 1827 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | In 1863, 36 years after his death, his body was exhumed for study. In 1888 his remains were moved to the Zentralfriedhof. [10] Beethoven's first burial place was at the Währinger Ortsfriedhof, which turned into the Schubertpark in 1925, where his former tombstone still stands next to Schubert's old grave. | |||||
Vincenzo Bellini | 1835 | Composer | Cattedrale di Sant'Agata, Catania, Italy | The phrase "Ah! non credea mirarti / Sì presto estinto, o fiore" (I did not believe you would fade so soon, oh flower) from his opera La sonnambula is inscribed on the tomb. He was initially buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where a cenotaph still stands in his honor. | |||||
William Sterndale Bennett | 1875 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Alban Berg | 1935 | Composer | Friedhof Hietzing, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Carlo Bergonzi | 2014 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Vidalenzo, Parma, Italy |
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Hector Berlioz | 1869 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Leonard Bernstein | 1990 | Composer, conductor, pianist | Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York, US | He is buried next to his wife Felicia Montealegre and with a copy of Mahler's Fifth Symphony. [11] | |||||
Franz Berwald | 1868 | Composer | Norra begravningsplatsen, Solna, Sweden | ||||||
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber | 1704 | Composer | Petersfriedhof Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria | A monument was erected in his honour in his hometown Stráž pod Ralskem (called Wartenberg until 1946). | |||||
Georges Bizet | 1875 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | In 2006 the bust on top of the tomb was stolen. It has since been recovered and is in the possession of the cemetery. [12] | |||||
Jussi Björling | 1960 | Opera singer | Stora Tuna Cemetery, Borlänge, Sweden | ||||||
John Blow | 1708 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Luigi Boccherini | 1805 | Composer | Chiesa di San Francesco, Lucca, Italy |
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He was buried in the Pontifical Basilica of St. Michael in Madrid until 1927, when an agreement between Miguel Primo de Rivera and Benito Mussolini allowed his remains to be repatriated to his native Lucca. [13] | ||||
Karl Böhm | 1981 | Conductor | Steinfeld Friedhof, Graz, Austria | ||||||
Arrigo Boito | 1918 | Librettist, composer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | The tomb also contains the mortal remains of his brother, Camillo Boito. | |||||
Celestina Boninsegna | 1947 | Opera singer | Cimitero Nuovo, Sassuolo, Italy |
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Leo Borchard | 1945 | Conductor | Friedhof Steglitz , Berlin, Germany | He was accidentally killed when the driver of the car in which he was traveling failed to stop at a checkpoint in Berlin. [14] | |||||
Alexander Borodin | 1887 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Dmytro Bortniansky | 1825 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | Initually buried at the Smolensky Cemetery in St. Petersburg, his remains were transferred to the Tikhvin Cemetery in the 20th century. | |||||
Lili Boulanger | 1918 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | She suffered from chronic illness and died at the early age of 24. | |||||
Nadia Boulanger | 1979 | Music teacher, conductor, composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | She was buried in the same tomb as her sister Lili and their parents. [15] | |||||
Pierre Boulez | 2016 | Composer | Hauptfriedhof Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany | ||||||
Johannes Brahms | 1897 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | The monument was designed by Victor Horta and the sculpture was made by Ilse von Twardowski. | |||||
George Bridgetower | 1860 | Violinist | Kensal Green Cemetery, London, England |
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He was buried in the catacombs of the cemetery. His tomb erroneously states he died "aged 78 years" when, in fact, he lived to be 81 years old. | ||||
Benjamin Britten | 1976 | Composer | St Peter and St Paul's Church, Aldeburgh, England | Peter Pears, English tenor and Britten's partner, died in Aldeburgh on 1986 and was buried beside Britten. | |||||
Carlo Broschi (Farinelli) | 1782 | Opera singer | Cimitero della Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy | His original place of burial was destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars, and in 1810 Farinelli's great-niece Maria Carlotta Pisani had his remains transferred to the cemetery of La Certosa. Farinelli's remains were disinterred from the Certosa cemetery on 12 July 2006, in order to conduct bio-medical research on them. [16] | |||||
Max Bruch | 1920 | Composer | Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof, Berlin, Germany | His daughter Margaretha carved on the gravestone "Musik ist die Sprache Gottes" (Music is the language of God). [17] | |||||
Anton Bruckner | 1896 | Composer | Stift Sankt Florian, Sankt Florian, Austria | At his own request, Bruckner was buried in the crypt directly beneath the great organ. On the pedestal of the sarcophagus is the inscription "Non confundar in aeternum" (In eternity I will not be ashamed), the closing line of his Te Deum. | |||||
Alan Bush | 1995 | Composer | Golders Green Crematorium, London, England |
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Ferruccio Busoni | 1924 | Composer, pianist | Städtischer Friedhof III, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Dieterich Buxtehude | 1707 | Composer | Marienkirche, Lübeck, Germany | He was entombed in the Marienkirche, which was gutted by Allied bombing in 1942. [18] A plaque marks the approximate spot of his resting place. | |||||
William Byrd | 1623 | Composer | St. Peter and St. Paul Churchyard, Stondon Massey, England | He was buried in St. Peter's and St. Paul's churchyard, in an unmarked plot of unconsecrated ground. In 1923, on the 300th anniversary of Byrd's death, a cenotaph was built there in his honor. [19] | |||||
Montserrat Caballé | 2018 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Sant Andreu, Barcelona, Spain |
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Giulio Caccini | 1618 | Composer | Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, Florence, Italy | The floor of the basilica was completely redone in the years 1783–1795 and the graves were removed. Riccardo Gandolfi's attempt in 1896 to locate Caccini's tomb was unsuccessful, which was documented in his article published in Rivista Musicale Italiana. [20] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the basilica. The facade of the church was added in 1601 by Giulio Caccini's brother, Giovanni, imitating the Renaissance-style of Brunelleschi's facade of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, which defines the eastern side of the piazza. | |||||
Maria Callas | 1977 | Opera singer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | Her ashes were originally buried in the cemetery. After being stolen and later recovered, they were scattered into the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Greece. The empty urn remains in Père Lachaise. [21] | |||||
Giacomo Carissimi | 1674 | Composer | Basilica di Sant'Apollinare, Rome, Italy | He spent his last years as maestro di capella at Sant'Apollinare. His tomb was destroyed when the church was completely rebuilt in the 1740s. [22] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. | |||||
Enrico Caruso | 1921 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Santa Maria del Pianto , Naples, Italy |
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His crystal casket was taken to Del Pianto Cemetery and placed in a temporary chapel with continued viewing that lasted for eight years until his widow put a stop to the spectacle and sealed the vault. His body was re-dressed each year with a new suit. [23] | ||||
Pau Casals | 1973 | Cellist, composer, conductor | Cementiri del Vendrell , El Vendrell, Spain | ||||||
Alfredo Catalani | 1893 | Composer | Cimitero di Sant'Anna , Lucca, Italy |
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He was initially buried in Milan's Cimitero Monumentale, but his remains were moved to his native Lucca in 1894. | ||||
Francesco Cavalli | 1676 | Composer | Chiesa di San Lorenzo, Venice, Italy | He was buried alongside his sisters and his wife in the tomb of the bishop of Pula, his wife's uncle, Claudio Sozomeno. [24] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. | |||||
Feodor Chaliapin | 1938 | Opera singer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia |
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Cécile Chaminade | 1944 | Composer | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | She was initially buried in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Her grave was later moved to the Cimitière de Passy in Paris. [25] | |||||
Ruperto Chapí | 1909 | Composer | Cementerio de Villena, Villena, Spain | Initially buried in Cementerio de San Justo in Madrid, his remains were transferred to his hometown Villena in 2003. [26] The original tomb still stands in Madrid. | |||||
Gustave Charpentier | 1956 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Luigi Cherubini | 1842 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | His tomb was designed by the architect Achille Leclère and includes a figure by the sculptor Augustin-Alexandre Dumont representing "Music" crowning a bust of the composer with a wreath. | |||||
Frédéric Chopin | 1849 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | His heart is entombed within a pillar at the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. His sister, having learned from her brother's deathbed his wish that his body should return to Poland, smuggled the heart to Warsaw preserved in cognac. [27] | |||||
Francesco Cilea | 1950 | Composer | Cilea Memorial Mausoleum, Palmi, Italy | In 1962 the municipality of Palmi built an imposing mausoleum in his honor; inside it houses a crypt decorated with mosaics, where his remains and his wife's are kept. [28] | |||||
Muzio Clementi | 1832 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England | ||||||
Van Cliburn | 2013 | Pianist | Greenwood Memorial Park, Fort Worth, US | His tomb is located in the mausoleum called Independence Chapel, behind the statue of Alexander Hamilton. | |||||
Isabella Colbran | 1845 | Opera singer | Cimitero della Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy | She was the muse and first wife of composer Gioachino Rossini, and lived with Rossini's father until her death. She is buried next to his father and Rossini's parents. | |||||
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor | 1912 | Composer | Bandon Hill Cemetery, Wallington, England | ||||||
Aaron Copland | 1990 | Composer | Tanglewood Music Center, Lenox, US | His ashes were scattered over the Tanglewood Music Center near Lenox, Massachusetts. A monument honoring him is located in the formal garden on the grounds of Tanglewood Music Center, in the same area where the composer's ashes were scattered. [29] There also is a plaque showing the initial trumpet notes from his Fanfare for the Common Man. | |||||
Arcangelo Corelli | 1713 | Composer | Pantheon, Rome, Italy | ||||||
Franco Corelli | 2003 | Opera singer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | ||||||
Peter Cornelius | 1874 | Composer | Hauptfriedhof Mainz , Mainz, Germany | ||||||
Alfred Cortot | 1962 | Pianist | Cimetière de Le Villars, Le Villars, France |
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César Cui | 1918 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Carl Czerny | 1857 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
György Cziffra | 1994 | Pianist | Senlis Cemetery, Senlis-le-Sec, France |
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Claude Debussy | 1918 | Composer | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | He died on March 25, 1918, amidst the turmoil of World War I while Paris was subjected to ongoing aerial bombardments by German forces. The situation did not permit a public funeral with customary honors. | |||||
Léo Delibes | 1891 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Frederick Delius | 1934 | Composer | St Peter Churchyard, Limpsfield, England | ||||||
Anton Diabelli | 1858 | Music publisher, composer | Sankt Marxer Friedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Gaetano Donizetti | 1848 | Composer | Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo, Italy | ||||||
John Dowland | 1626 | Composer | St Ann Blackfriars, London, England |
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The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London and it was not rebuilt. The site of the church was retained for burials and the church's existing burial ground continued in use. [30] Both graveyards were closed to burials in 1849 and are now public gardens, still containing several tombstones. [31] | ||||
Carl Wilhelm Drescher | 1925 | Composer, violinist | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Guillaume Dufay | 1474 | Composer | Old Cambrai Cathedral, Cambrai, France | He was buried in the chapel of St. Étienne in the cathedral of Cambrai. After the destruction of the cathedral during the French Revolution the tomb was lost, but the tombstone was found in 1859 being used to cover a well and now is in the Palais des Beaux Arts in Lille. [32] [33]As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the cathedral. | |||||
Paul Dukas | 1935 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | He was cremated and his ashes were placed in the columbarium at Père Lachaise. | |||||
Henri Dutilleux | 2013 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | He was buried in the same grave as his wife, Geneviève Joy. | |||||
Antonín Dvořák | 1904 | Composer | Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Gottfried von Einem | 1996 | Composer | Friedhof Hietzing, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Hanns Eisler | 1962 | Composer | Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Edward Elgar | 1934 | Composer | St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church, Little Malvern, England | He had colorectal cancer that couldn't be treated. He told his doctor, Arthur Thomson, that he had no faith in an afterlife: "I believe there is nothing but complete oblivion." [34] | |||||
George Enescu | 1955 | Composer, violinist | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Manuel de Falla | 1946 | Composer | Catedral de Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain | After traveling to Buenos Aires to conduct concerts, he decided to stay in Argentina as an exile due to the rise of Franco in Spain and the outbreak of World War II in Europe. He died in poverty at his home in Alta Gracia, just before his 70th birthday. Initially buried in the St. Jerome Cemetery in Córdoba, his remains were later brought back to Spain in 1947 by Franco and given a state funeral. | |||||
Louise Farrenc | 1875 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | She was buried alongside her father Jacques-Edme Dumont, her brother Auguste Dumont and her husband Aristide Farrenc in the 10th division of Cimetière du Montparnasse. [35] | |||||
Gabriel Fauré | 1924 | Composer | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | ||||||
John Field | 1837 | Composer | Vvedenskoye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Edwin Fischer | 1960 | Pianist | Friedhof Friedental , Luzern, Switzerland | ||||||
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau | 2012 | Opera singer | Friedhof Heerstraße, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Miguel Fleta | 1938 | Opera singer | Cementerio de Torrero , Zaragoza, Spain | ||||||
Friedrich von Flotow | 1883 | Composer | Alter Friedhof , Darmstadt, Germany | ||||||
Stephen Foster | 1864 | Composer | Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, US |
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César Franck | 1890 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | The tomb was designed by his friend, architect Gaston Redon. A number of Franck's students, led by Augusta Holmès, commissioned a bronze bust from Auguste Rodin, which in 1893 was placed on the tomb. [36] | |||||
Mirella Freni | 2020 | Opera singer | Cimitero di San Cataldo , Modena, Italy |
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Girolamo Frescobaldi | 1643 | Composer | Santi Apostoli, Rome, Italy |
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The tomb was lost during the church's late 18th-century reconstruction. A memorial grave and a plaque were placed in the church in his honor. [37] | ||||
Ferenc Fricsay | 1963 | Conductor | Ermatinger Friedhof, Ermatingen, Switzerland | On the initiative of his daughter, his grave was declared a memorial site by the city. [38] | |||||
Johann Jakob Froberger | 1667 | Composer | Château d'Héricourt , Héricourt, France | The castle was dismantled in the 18th century and only the main tower remains. [39] A memorial was erected in his memory. | |||||
Julius Fučík | 1916 | Composer | Vinohrady Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Wilhelm Furtwängler | 1954 | Conductor, composer | Bergfriedhof Heidelberg , Heidelberg, Germany | ||||||
Giovanni Gabrieli | 1612 | Composer | Chiesa di Santo Stefano, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Manuel García | 1832 | Opera singer, composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Julián Gayarre | 1890 | Opera singer | Cementerio de El Roncal, Roncal, Spain | His larynx was preserved and studied by specialists interested in understanding the physical basis of his exceptional vocal abilities, and is now on display in a museum located in his hometown, Roncal. [40] In 1901, his grave was embellished with a marble and bronze monument made by the sculptor Mariano Benlliure, who enjoyed a close friendship with Gayarre. [41] [n 2] | |||||
Nicolai Gedda | 2017 | Opera singer | Galärvarvskyrkogården, Stockholm, Sweden | — | He died after a heart attack at his home in Tolochenaz in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. His death was not announced by his family until one month later, 9 February 2017. [42] He was buried in an unmarked memorial plot ( minneslund ) in Galärvarvskyrkogården. [43] | ||||
George Gershwin | 1937 | Composer | Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, US | ||||||
Carlo Gesualdo | 1613 | Composer | Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, Naples, Italy |
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Nicolai Ghiaurov | 2004 | Opera singer | Cimitero di San Cataldo , Modena, Italy |
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Orlando Gibbons | 1625 | Composer | Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England | He died suddenly while travelling to Canterbury to prepare for the reception of Queen Henrietta Maria. [44] | |||||
Walter Gieseking | 1956 | Pianist | Nordfriedhof Wiesbaden , Wiesbaden, Germany |
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He was a lepidopterist, his private collection can be seen in the Museum Wiesbaden. | ||||
Beniamino Gigli | 1957 | Opera singer | Cimitero Civico Recanati, Recanati, Italy | It was Gigli himself who in 1930 commissioned the work to his brother, Prof. Catervo Gigli, a Fine Arts graduate and sculptor, who designed the family mausoleum inspired by the oldest funerary monuments in history, the pyramids of Egypt. [45] | |||||
Emil Gilels | 1985 | Pianist | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Umberto Giordano | 1948 | Composer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | ||||||
Carlo Maria Giulini | 2005 | Conductor | Cimitero Comunale di Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy |
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Alexander Glazunov | 1936 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Mikhail Glinka | 1857 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | Initially buried in Berlin, four months later his remains were moved to Saint Petersburg for reinterment. There is a memorial in the Russian Orthodox Cemetery, constructed in 1947 by the military of the Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. [46] | |||||
Christoph Willibald Gluck | 1787 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Tito Gobbi | 1984 | Opera singer | Cimitero del Verano, Rome, Italy |
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Karl Goldmark | 1915 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Anna Gottlieb | 1856 | Opera singer | Sankt Marxer Friedhof, Vienna, Austria | Her tombstone reads "Singer and actress, first performer of Pamina". | |||||
Louis Moreau Gottschalk | 1869 | Composer | Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York, US |
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He died in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. In 1870 his remains were returned to the United States and were interred at the Green-Wood Cemetery. His original burial spot, a marble monument topped by an "Angel of Music" statue, was irreparably damaged by vandals in 1959. [47] In October 2012 a new "Angel of Music" statue was unveiled. [48] | ||||
Glenn Gould | 1982 | Pianist | Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Canada | The first bars of Bach's Goldberg Variations, Gould's signature piece, are engraved on the tombstone. | |||||
Charles Gounod | 1893 | Composer | Cimetière d'Auteuil , Paris, France | ||||||
Percy Grainger | 1961 | Composer | West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, Australia | ||||||
Edvard Grieg | 1907 | Composer | Troldhaugen, Bergen, Norway | His ashes were united with his wife's in a cliffside tomb overlooking a fjord near their home at Troldhaugen, situated by Nordåsvannet bay. | |||||
Alfred Grünfeld | 1924 | Pianist | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | He was granted an Ehrengrab by the city of Vienna. The grave memorial was created by the sculptor Josef Müllner. | |||||
Francisco Guerrero | 1599 | Composer | Catedral de Sevilla, Seville, Spain | His tomb is located on the right side of the chapel of the Virgen de la Antigua , below the sarcophagus of Luis de Salcedo y Azcona . [49] | |||||
Friedrich Gulda | 2000 | Pianist | Steinbach am Attersee Cemetery, Steinbach am Attersee, Austria | ||||||
Fromental Halévy | 1862 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | He died leaving his last opera Noé unfinished. It was completed by his former student Georges Bizet, but was not performed until ten years after Bizet's death. | |||||
George Frideric Handel | 1759 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England | During his last years he was completely blind, following an eye surgery performed by the medical charlatan Chevalier John Taylor. [50] He never married, and his will bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his niece Johanna but also distributed much of his estate to other relations, servants, friends and charities. [51] On the wall above his grave, a monument by the sculptor Louis-François Roubiliac was unveiled in 1762. [52] | |||||
Nikolaus Harnoncourt | 2016 | Conductor | Friedhof an der Pfarrkirche, St. Georgen im Attergau, Austria |
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Johann Adolph Hasse | 1783 | Composer | San Marcuola, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Joseph Haydn | 1809 | Composer | Bergkirche, Eisenstadt, Austria | Haydn's remains were interred in the local Hundsturm cemetery until 1820, when they were moved to Eisenstadt by Prince Nikolaus. In 1932, Prince Paul Esterházy, Nikolaus's descendant, built a marble tomb for Haydn in the Bergkirche in Eisenstadt and his remains were moved there. His head took a different journey; it was stolen by phrenologists shortly after burial, and the skull was reunited with the other remains only in 1954. | |||||
Elvira de Hidalgo | 1980 | Opera singer | Valderrobres Cemetery, Valderrobres, Spain |
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She was initially buried in an unidentified grave at Cimitero Maggiore di Milano. Her remains were intended to be moved to a common grave in 1990 upon the expiration of her burial plot, but her pupils and friends funded the relocation of her remains within the same cemetery, with this arrangement set to last until 2020. [53] In 2018, thanks to the efforts of an academic researcher and several Spanish cultural organizations, her remains were exhumed and transported to Barcelona, later being reinterred in her birthplace, Valderrobres. [54] [55] | ||||
Paul Hindemith | 1963 | Composer | Cimetière de Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, Blonay – Saint-Légier, Switzerland | ||||||
Josef Hofmann | 1957 | Pianist | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, US |
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Imogen Holst | 1984 | Composer | St Peter and St Paul's Church, Aldeburgh, England |
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She was the musical assistant to Benjamin Britten and is buried just behind him. | ||||
Gustav Holst | 1934 | Composer | Chichester Cathedral, Chichester, England | His ashes were interred close to the memorial of Thomas Weelkes, his favourite Tudor period composer. In his funeral, Vaughan Williams conducted music by Holst and himself. [56] | |||||
Vladimir Horowitz | 1989 | Pianist | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | He was buried next to his daughter Sonia (1934–1975) in the Toscanini family tomb in the Cimitero Monumentale. [57] His wife Wanda Toscanini was buried beside them in 1998. In 2004 intruders broke into the family tomb opening her coffin and damaging her tombstone. [58] | |||||
Johann Nepomuk Hummel | 1837 | Composer | Historischer Friedhof Weimar , Weimar, Germany | ||||||
Engelbert Humperdinck | 1921 | Composer | Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf, Stahnsdorf, Germany | ||||||
Charles Ives | 1954 | Composer | Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, US |
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Leoš Janáček | 1928 | Composer | Brno Central Cemetery , Brno, Czech Republic | On the tombstone are verses from his choral piece " The Wandering Madman". | |||||
Joseph Joachim | 1907 | Violinist, conductor, composer | Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Scott Joplin | 1917 | Composer | St. Michael's Cemetery, New York, US | He was buried in a common grave. A memorial was erected in 1974, the year The Sting, which showcased his music, won Best Picture at the Oscars. [59] | |||||
Jane Joseph | 1929 | Composer | Willesden Jewish Cemetery, London, England | Upload photo
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Herbert von Karajan | 1989 | Conductor | Anif Cemetery, Anif, Austria | ||||||
Mieczysław Karłowicz | 1909 | Composer | Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Wilhelm Kempff | 1991 | Pianist | Friedhof Wernstein, Wernstein am Inn, Austria | He died in Positano, Italy. [60] | |||||
Albert Ketèlbey | 1959 | Composer | Golders Green Crematorium, London, England | Upload photo
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By the time of his death he had slipped into obscurity and only a handful of mourners attended his funeral. [61] | ||||
Aram Khachaturian | 1978 | Composer | Komitas Pantheon, Yerevan, Armenia | ||||||
Carlos Kleiber | 2004 | Conductor | Konjšica Cemetery, Konjšica, Slovenia | ||||||
Erich Kleiber | 1956 | Conductor | Friedhof Hönggerberg , Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||
Otto Klemperer | 1973 | Conductor, composer | Friedhof Oberer Friesenberg , Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||
Hans Knappertsbusch | 1965 | Conductor | Friedhof Bogenhausen , Munich, Germany | ||||||
Zoltán Kodály | 1967 | Composer | Farkasréti Cemetery, Budapest, Hungary | ||||||
Joonas Kokkonen | 1996 | Composer | Järvenpää Cemetery, Järvenpää, Finland |
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Erich Wolfgang Korngold | 1957 | Composer | Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, US | An excerpt from the duet Glück, das mir verblieb from his opera Die tote Stadt is inscribed on the tomb. | |||||
Alfredo Kraus | 1999 | Opera singer | Cementerio de Las Palmas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain |
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He was initially buried in the cemetery of Boadilla del Monte in Madrid, where his wife was buried. In 2009 both of their remains were relocated to their hometown, Las Palmas. [62] | ||||
Fritz Kreisler | 1962 | Violinist, composer | Woodlawn Cemetery, New York, US | ||||||
Rafael Kubelík | 1996 | Conductor | Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Édouard Lalo | 1892 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Constant Lambert | 1951 | Composer, conductor | Brompton Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
Rued Langgaard | 1952 | Composer | Holmen Cemetery, Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||||
Mario Lanza | 1959 | Opera singer | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, US | ||||||
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi | 1979 | Opera singer | Cementerio Municipal de Godella, Godella, Spain | ||||||
Hipólito Lázaro | 1974 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Ernesto Lecuona | 1963 | Composer | Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, US | He was interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery but his will instructed that his remains be repatriated after the Cuban communist regime changes. [63] | |||||
Franz Lehár | 1948 | Composer | Friedhof Bad Ischl, Bad Ischl, Austria | ||||||
Ruggero Leoncavallo | 1919 | Composer | Chiesa di Santa Maria di Ponte , Brissago, Switzerland |
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He was initially buried in Cimitero delle Porte Sante, Florence. In 1989 his remains and his wife Berthe's were moved, supported by his last descendant, to Brissago where he owned the summer residence Villa Myriam. [64] This decision was influenced by an unverified claim about his preference to be buried there and his casual mention of it in a 1904 speech. | ||||
György Ligeti | 2006 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Dinu Lipatti | 1950 | Pianist | Cimetière de Chêne-Bourg, Chêne-Bourg, Switzerland | ||||||
Franz Liszt | 1886 | Composer | Stadtfriedhof Bayreuth , Bayreuth, Germany | He died in Bayreuth during the 5th edition of the Bayreuth Festival. Various requests were made to claim his remains, the most powerful ones coming from the Duke Charles Alexander who wanted to transfer his body to Weimar, and from Princess Carolyne who proposed burying him in a Franciscan convent in Budapest. [n 3] His daughter Cosima, the Festival director and wife of the already deceased Wagner, wanted to keep Liszt's body in Bayreuth as it was deemed advantageous for the festival and would also serve Wagner's legacy. As his closest living relative, it was her will that prevailed. [65] | |||||
Pietro Locatelli | 1764 | Composer | English Reformed Church, Amsterdam, Netherlands | He was buried in front of the organ of the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof, one of the oldest hofjes in Amsterdam. [66] [67] The floor of the church was renovated in 1975 and the grave was lost. In 2024 a small monument was erected there in his honour. [68] | |||||
Max Lorenz | 1975 | Opera singer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Albert Lortzing | 1851 | Composer, opera singer | Friedhof II Sophienkirche, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Jean-Baptiste Lully | 1687 | Composer | Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris, France | Lully died from gangrene, having struck his foot with his long conducting staff during a performance of his Te Deum to celebrate Louis XIV's recovery from surgery. [69] | |||||
Witold Lutosławski | 1994 | Composer | Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Anatoly Lyadov | 1914 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Mykola Lysenko | 1912 | Composer | Baikove Cemetery, Kyiv, Ukraine | ||||||
Nikita Magaloff | 1992 | Pianist | Clarens-Montreux Cemetery, Montreux, Switzerland | ||||||
Gustav Mahler | 1911 | Composer | Friedhof Grinzing, Vienna, Austria | As he had requested, he was buried next to his daughter Maria and his tombstone was inscribed only with his name because "Any who come to look for me will know who I was, and the rest do not need to know." [70] | |||||
Maria Malibran | 1836 | Opera singer | Cimetière de Laeken, Brussels, Belgium | ||||||
Vicente Martín y Soler | 1806 | Composer | Smolensky Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | His grave was lost for many years, being rediscovered in 1984 by Irina Goncharova, who relates her adventure in the article "Почти детективная история" (An almost detective story) published in 1998 in the musicology journal Early music quarterly . The inscription on his tombstone reads: "Martini, Vicent, Spanish Court Conceiller, born in Valencia January 18, 1756. Admired in the principal cities and courts of Europe not only for his talent but also for his beautiful and noble moral qualities." [71] [72] | |||||
Pietro Mascagni | 1945 | Composer | Cimitero della Misericordia , Livorno, Italy |
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Jules Massenet | 1912 | Composer | Cimetière d'Egreville, Egreville, France | ||||||
Kurt Masur | 2015 | Conductor | Leipziger Südfriedhof, Leipzig, Germany | ||||||
Emilie Mayer | 1883 | Composer | Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I , Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Nikolai Medtner | 1951 | Composer | Hendon Cemetery, London, England |
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Nellie Melba | 1931 | Opera singer | Lilydale Lawn Cemetery, Lilydale, Australia |
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Lauritz Melchior | 1973 | Opera singer | Assistens Cemetery, Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||||
Fanny Mendelssohn | 1847 | Composer | Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I , Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Felix Mendelssohn | 1847 | Composer | Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I , Berlin, Germany | A monument was built in 1892 in Leipzig to commemorate his contribution to the city. The original statue was taken down by the Nazis in 1936 because of Mendelssohn's Jewish background and then melted down in 1940 for scrap metal during World War II. In 2008 a replica was unveiled commemorating the composer's 200th anniversary. [73] | |||||
Yehudi Menuhin | 1999 | Violinist | Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d'Abernon, England |
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Robert Merrill | 2004 | Opera singer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US |
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André Messager | 1929 | Composer, conductor | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | ||||||
Olivier Messiaen | 1992 | Composer | Cemetery of Saint Théoffrey, Saint Théoffrey, France |
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An extract from the song cycle Harawi - Chant d'amour et de mort is engraved on the tomb. The text reads "Tous les oiseaux des étoiles" (All the birds of the stars). [74] | ||||
Giacomo Meyerbeer | 1864 | Composer | Senerfelderplatz Jewish Cemetery , Berlin, Germany | He died in Paris on May 2, 1864. The next day, Rossini, unaware of the news, arrived at Meyerbeer's apartment to meet him, only to be shocked and faint. He subsequently composed a choral tribute, "Pleure, pleure, muse sublime!" [75] | |||||
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli | 1995 | Pianist | Cimitero di Pura, Pura, Switzerland |
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Lluís Millet | 1941 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Anna Moffo | 2006 | Opera singer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US | ||||||
Frederic Mompou | 1987 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Mario Del Monaco | 1982 | Opera singer | Cimitero Centrale di Pesaro, Pesaro, Italy |
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Initually buried in Treviso, his remains were moved to Pesaro in 1983. He was, at his request, buried in his Otello costume. [76] | ||||
Claudio Monteverdi | 1643 | Composer | Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1791 | Composer | Sankt Marxer Friedhof, Vienna, Austria | All attempts to locate his original grave have been unsuccessful. In 1859 a gravestone was erected at what was presumed to be the correct spot, and was later moved to the Central Cemetery in 1891, the 100th anniversary of Mozart's death. The current memorial at St. Marx was made in 1950, replacing a simple tombstone made by the cemetery caretaker which is preserved at the Bezirksmuseum Landstraße . | |||||
Georg Muffat | 1704 | Composer | St. Stephen's Cathedral, Passau, Germany | He was buried in the cathedral cloister. [77] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the cathedral. | |||||
Modest Mussorgsky | 1881 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Ginette Neveu | 1949 | Violinist | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | She was on board a flight from Paris to New York when it crashed on a mountain in São Miguel after two failed attempts to make a landing at the Santa Maria Airport in the Azores. All 48 people on board the flight died. Her violin, made by Omobono Stradivari in 1730, was also lost. [78] | |||||
Otto Nicolai | 1849 | Composer | Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Carl Nielsen | 1931 | Composer | Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen, Denmark | His wife, the sculptor Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, was commissioned to sculpt a monument to him. Facing disputes and funding issues, she subsidized the project herself and it was unveiled in 1939. The Carl Nielsen Monument depicts Pan, the god of music, on a wingless Pegasus. [79] | |||||
Birgit Nilsson | 2005 | Opera singer | Västra Karups Cemetery, Västra Karup, Sweden | ||||||
Luigi Nono | 1990 | Composer | Cimitero di San Michele, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Turlough O'Carolan | 1738 | Composer | Kilronan Cemetery, Keadue, Ireland | In 1874 a memorial was erected in St Patrick's Cathedral, a gift from the Irish novelist Sydney, Lady Morgan. [80] | |||||
Jacques Offenbach | 1880 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Carl Orff | 1982 | Composer | Klosterkirche Andechs, Andechs, Germany | His tombstone bears the Latin inscription Summus Finis (The Ultimate End), taken from the end of his last work, De temporum fine comoedia. | |||||
Johann Pachelbel | 1706 | Composer | Rochusfriedhof Nürnberg-Gostenhof, Nuremberg, Germany | ||||||
Niccolò Paganini | 1840 | Violinist, composer | Cimitero della Villetta , Parma, Italy | Since Paganini had refused the final sacrament, the church refused his body to be buried properly. His remains were kept in a basement in Nice for five years until his family petitioned to have them buried. He was finally buried in Parma in 1876. Later in 1896, after a viewing request by violinist František Ondříček, he was reinterred in a new tomb where he rests today. [81] | |||||
Giovanni Paisiello | 1816 | Composer | Santa Maria Donnalbina, Naples, Italy |
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He is buried in a marble tomb sculpted in 1817 by Angelo Viva. | ||||
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | 1594 | Composer | Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City | The inscription on his coffin read Ioannes Petrus Aloysius Praenestinus Musicae Princeps. [82] His tomb was later covered by new construction made under Paul V. [83] The original site is currently situated beneath the Chapel of the Presentation, at a depth corresponding to the Vatican Grottoes. Further attempts to locate his grave have been unsuccessful. [84] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the Basilica. A monument by the sculptor Arnaldo Zocchi was erected in 1921 in Palestrina commemorating him. | |||||
Osbert Parsley | 1585 | Composer | Norwich Cathedral, Norwich, England | ||||||
Adelina Patti | 1919 | Opera singer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Luciano Pavarotti | 2007 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Montale Rangone, Castelnuovo Rangone, Italy | ||||||
Robert Lucas Pearsall | 1856 | Composer | St Mary's Church, Bitton, England | He was initially buried in a private chapel at Schloss Wartensee , Switzerland. After several relocations due to changes in the castle's ownership and use, in 1957 his remains were reinterred at the nearby Kapelle Wilen Wartegg , which has since been renovated several times. [85] His original tombstone, after being stored in a shed for over fifty years, was brought in 2012 to St Mary's Church. [n 4] [86] | |||||
Felip Pedrell | 1922 | Composer | Cementiri de Sant Gervasi, Barcelona, Spain | In 1990 his remains were moved to a common grave for lack of payment. Later attempts were made to locate them but they could no longer be differentiated. [87] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the cemetery. | |||||
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi | 1736 | Composer | Chiesa dei Santi Francesco e Antonio , Pozzuoli, Italy |
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Since his gravesite could not be located, a cenotaph for him was dedicated at Pozzuoli Cathedral in 1913. The building was largely destroyed by fire in 1964. On the 250th anniversary of Pergolesi's death in 1986, his cenotaph was restored and moved to the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio. [88] | ||||
Jacopo Peri | 1633 | Composer | Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy | ||||||
Lorenzo Perosi | 1956 | Composer | Duomo di Tortona, Tortona, Italy | Originally interred inside the Cimitero del Verano of Rome, his remains (along with those of his brother Cardinal Carlo) were exhumed and transferred to the cathedral of Tortona in 1959. [89] | |||||
Aureliano Pertile | 1952 | Opera singer | Cimitero Maggiore di Padova , Padua, Italy | ||||||
Allan Pettersson | 1980 | Composer | Högalid Church, Stockholm, Sweden |
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He is buried in the church columbarium. | ||||
Hans Pfitzner | 1949 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Amilcare Ponchielli | 1886 | Composer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | After his death, the main theater in Cremona was renamed Teatro Ponchielli and his native town was renamed Paderno Ponchielli. | |||||
Rosa Ponselle | 1981 | Opera singer | Druid Ridge Cemetery, Pikesville, US |
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Francis Poulenc | 1963 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Michael Praetorius | 1621 | Composer | Marienkirche, Wolfenbüttel, Germany |
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He was buried in a vault beneath the organ of the church. [90] | ||||
Hermann Prey | 1998 | Opera singer | Friedhof Krailling, Krailling, Germany | ||||||
Josquin des Prez | 1521 | Composer | Notre-Dame de Condé , Condé-sur-l'Escaut, France | He was buried in front of the church's high altar. The church was destroyed in 1793 along with his tombstone. [91] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the area. | |||||
Sergei Prokofiev | 1953 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | He died on March 5, 1953, the same day as Stalin. His funeral faced challenges due to the mourning for Stalin, with about 30 attendees, including Shostakovich. His second wife, Mira Mendelson, died in 1968 and is buried beside him. [92] | |||||
Giacomo Puccini | 1924 | Composer | Villa Puccini, Torre del Lago, Italy | He was temporarily buried in Milan, in Toscanini's family tomb. In 1926 his son arranged for the transfer of his father's remains to a specially created chapel inside the Puccini villa at Torre del Lago. [93] | |||||
Henry Purcell | 1695 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Sergei Rachmaninoff | 1943 | Composer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US | Some Russian figures are demanding the return of his remains to Russia claiming it was his desire. His descendants, in particular his great-great-granddaughter Susan Rachmaninoff Volkonskaya Wanamaker, oppose it arguing that it would violate his privacy and dignity. [94] | |||||
Jean-Philippe Rameau | 1764 | Composer | Église Saint-Eustache, Paris, France | He was buried in the church of St. Eustache on the same day of his death, although the exact burial site is unknown to this day. [95] In 1883 a commemorative plaque and a bust were placed on the occasion of the bicentenary of his birth. They are located in the third chapel on the right-hand side, dedicated to Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. | |||||
Einojuhani Rautavaara | 2016 | Composer | Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki, Finland | ||||||
Maurice Ravel | 1937 | Composer | Cimetière de Levallois-Perret, Levallois-Perret, France | ||||||
Max Reger | 1916 | Composer | Waldfriedhof München, Munich, Germany | Six years after Reger's death, his funeral urn was transferred from his home in Jena to a cemetery in Weimar. In 1930, on the wishes of Reger's widow Elsa, his remains were moved to a grave of honour in Munich Waldfriedhof. Organ pipes are engraved on his gravestone. | |||||
Ottorino Respighi | 1936 | Composer | Cimitero della Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy | He was initially buried at Santa Maria del Popolo until the spring of 1937, when his remains were re-interred at the cemetery of La Certosa. [96] | |||||
Josef Rheinberger | 1901 | Composer, organist | Vaduz Cathedral, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | He was originally interred in Munich's Alter Südfriedhof, but was moved to his birthplace Vaduz in 1949. [97] His old grave, which was damaged during World War II, remains in Munich as a memorial. | |||||
Karl Richter | 1981 | Conductor, organist | Friedhof Enzenbühl , Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||
Sviatoslav Richter | 1997 | Pianist | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | 1908 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Joaquín Rodrigo | 1999 | Composer | Cementerio de Aranjuez, Aranjuez, Spain | The pantheon is decorated with a cubist guitar made by the sculptor Pablo Serrano. | |||||
Juventino Rosas | 1894 | Composer | Panteón de Dolores, Mexico City, Mexico | As a result of spinal myelitis, he died at the age of 26. [98] Fifteen years later, in 1909, his remains were brought back to Mexico. | |||||
Gioachino Rossini | 1868 | Composer | Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence, Italy | In 1887 Rossini's remains were relocated to the Santa Croce Basilica in Florence, but the crypt that once housed them, now dedicated to his memory, still stands in Perè Lachaise. | |||||
Mstislav Rostropovich | 2007 | Cellist, conductor | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mstislav_Rostrop%C3%B3vich_grave.jpg His wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, died in 2012 [99] and was buried beside him. | |||||
Ludomir Różycki | 1953 | Composer | Powązki Military Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Giovanni Battista Rubini | 1854 | Opera singer | Romano Cemetery, Romano di Lombardia, Italy | ||||||
Anton Rubinstein | 1894 | Pianist, composer, conductor | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | Originally buried in the Nikolskoe Cemetery, transferred to the Tikhvin in 1939. Monument is not original. | |||||
Arthur Rubinstein | 1982 | Pianist | Rubinstein Memorial, Jerusalem, Israel | His remains were cremated two days after his death. On the first anniversary of his death, an urn holding his ashes was buried, as specified in his will, in a dedicated plot next to Aminadav and the Kennedy Memorial, overlooking the Jerusalem Forest. [100] [101] | |||||
Victor de Sabata | 1967 | Conductor, composer | Cimitero di Gavarno Vescovado, Scanzorosciate, Italy | ||||||
Chevalier de Saint-Georges | 1799 | Composer, violinist | Cimetière Sainte-Marguerite, Paris, France | Contradicting previous accounts of a solitary death, latest research indicates that Saint-Georges' friends, including noted fencing masters, arranged for his body to be interred at the Temple de la Liberté et de l’Egalité, now known as Sainte-Marguerite Church. [102] The cemetery adjacent to the church was closed in 1806. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. | |||||
Camille Saint-Saëns | 1921 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | ||||||
Antonio Salieri | 1825 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Johann Peter Salomon | 1815 | Violinist, composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England | He is buried in the same grave as William Shield. | |||||
Pablo de Sarasate | 1908 | Violinist, composer | Cementerio Municipal de San José , Pamplona, Spain | He bequeathed his Stradivari violins, the Sarasate Stradivarius of 1724 and the Boissier of 1713, to the Musée de la Musique and to the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música respectively. | |||||
Erik Satie | 1925 | Composer | Cimetière d'Arcueil , Arcueil, France | ||||||
Alessandro Scarlatti | 1725 | Composer | Santa Maria di Montesanto, Naples, Italy |
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Domenico Scarlatti | 1757 | Composer | Convento de San Norberto, Madrid, Spain | He was buried in the now disappeared convent of San Norberto, which is currently the location of Plaza de los Mostenses . His grave disappeared along with the convent in 1810. His house, located in close proximity to the convent, features a plaque commemorating the composer, which was installed in 1991. | |||||
Tito Schipa | 1965 | Opera singer | Cimitero monumentale di Lecce , Lecce, Italy |
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Franz Schmidt | 1939 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Artur Schnabel | 1951 | Pianist | Schwyz Cemetery, Schwyz, Switzerland | In 2006 the town of Schwyz declared the grave a monument to be cared for in perpetuity. This exempts the site from the practice of removing the remains after a period of a ten to twenty years to free up the grave site. [103] | |||||
Alfred Schnittke | 1998 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | His gravestone shows a fermata over a whole rest, marked fff. | |||||
Arnold Schoenberg | 1951 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | His death was seemingly influenced by his superstitions, particularly his triskaidekaphobia. This fear intensified as he approached multiples of 13, including his 65th birthday in 1939. He altered the title of his opera Moses und Aron, specifically avoiding the two "A"s in Aaron's name, as the original title contained 13 letters. He regularly consulted astrologers for reassurance, and he received a note in 1950 pointing out that the sum of the digits of his age (76) equaled 13, which deeply disturbed him. He died in Los Angeles on Friday, July 13, 1951, just before midnight, after spending the day in bed feeling unwell and anxious. His ashes were interred in Vienna in 1974. [104] | |||||
Franz Schreker | 1934 | Composer, conductor | Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Franz Schubert | 1828 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | In 1888 Schubert's body was moved together with Beethoven's from Währinger Friedhof to Zentralfriedhof. The former gravestones remained in Währing (which turned into Schubertpark in 1925) and a copy was made for the Zentralfriedhof. | |||||
Clara Schumann | 1896 | Composer | Alter Friedhof, Bonn, Germany | According to her wishes she was buried next to her husband, Robert Schumann, who had died 40 years earlier. | |||||
Robert Schumann | 1856 | Composer | Alter Friedhof, Bonn, Germany | The marble monument was made in 1880 by Adolf von Donndorf, replacing a simpler grave. | |||||
Heinrich Schütz | 1672 | Composer | Frauenkirche, Dresden, Germany | He was buried in the old Dresden Frauenkirche, but his tomb was destroyed in 1727 when the church was torn down and replaced by a new, larger church. The church was completely destroyed in the Dresden bombings of World War II. Reconstruction of the current church began in 1994, where a plaque on the floor of the main hall commemorates the composer. [105] | |||||
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf | 2006 | Opera singer | Friedhof Zumikon, Zumikon, Switzerland | ||||||
Alexander Scriabin | 1915 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Tullio Serafin | 1968 | Conductor | Cimitero Comunale di Cavarzere, Cavarzere, Italy |
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William Shield | 1829 | Composer, violinist | Westminster Abbey, London, England | He is buried in the same grave as Johann Peter Salomon. Shield's friend John 'Mad Jack' Fuller commissioned Peter Rouw to create a memorial tablet for Shield. It was intended for Westminster Abbey but was finally installed at St Thomas à Becket Church in Brightling, after objections from the Abbey's dean over the use of the word "gentleman" in its inscription. In 1891 a cenotaph was erected in the churchyard of St. Mary's in Whickham, near Shield's native Swalwell. [106] | |||||
Dmitri Shostakovich | 1975 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | On his grave there is the note motif D, E-flat, C, B natural, or in German musical notation D, Es, C, H; thus standing for his initials in German transliteration (D. Sch). This musical cryptogram was used by him and by other composers several times. | |||||
Jean Sibelius | 1957 | Composer | Jean Sibelius' home, Järvenpää, Finland | His home is now a museum named Ainola after his wife Aino (literal English translation: "Aino's Place"). [107] | |||||
Beverly Sills | 2007 | Opera singer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US | ||||||
Bedřich Smetana | 1884 | Composer | Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Antonio Soler | 1783 | Composer | Monasterio del Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain | He spent his last years serving Infante Gabriel of Spain and tirelessly composing for him. He asked to be transferred to another monastery, which was not granted. [108] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the monastery. | |||||
Georg Solti | 1997 | Conductor | Farkasréti Cemetery, Budapest, Hungary | ||||||
Leo Spies | 1965 | Composer, conductor | Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji | 1988 | Composer | God's Acre Cemetery, Corfe Castle, England | ||||||
Pablo Sorozábal | 1988 | Composer | Cementerio de la Almudena, Madrid, Spain | ||||||
John Philip Sousa | 1932 | Composer | Congressional Cemetery, Washington D.C., US | ||||||
Gaspare Spontini | 1851 | Composer | Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, Maiolati Spontini, Italy |
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Charles Villiers Stanford | 1924 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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At the funeral, Adrian Boult conducted the Royal College of Music orchestra, performing Stanford's compositions including "Stabat Mater" prelude and his Symphony in D. [109] | ||||
Eleanor Steber | 1990 | Opera singer | Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling, US |
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Giuseppe Di Stefano | 2008 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Santa Maria Hoè, Santa Maria Hoè, Italy |
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He sustained severe injuries, leading to a coma, during a robbery at his residence in Diani Beach, Kenya, on December 3, 2004. [110] Despite multiple surgeries and a transfer to Italy, though emerging from the coma, he never fully recovered finally dying in 2008. [111] | ||||
Wilhelm Stenhammar | 1927 | Composer | Mariebergs Cemetery , Gothenburg, Sweden | ||||||
Isaac Stern | 2001 | Violinist | Morningside Cemetery, Gaylordsville, US |
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Karlheinz Stockhausen | 2007 | Composer | Friedhof Kürten, Kürten, Germany | ||||||
Leopold Stokowski | 1977 | Conductor | East Finchley Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
Alessandro Stradella | 1682 | Composer | Santa Maria delle Vigne, Genoa, Italy | On February 25, 1682, he was fatally stabbed by hired assassins during his stay in Genoa. [112] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. Stradella's fate caught the imagination of romantic composers and inspired four operas, including Flotow's " Alessandro Stradella". | |||||
Johann Strauss I | 1849 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | He was buried at the old Döblinger cemetery beside his friend Joseph Lanner. In 1904, both of their remains were transferred to the Zentralfriedhof. The old cemetery transformed to Strauss-Lanner Park in 1928, where both of their old graves remain. | |||||
Johann Strauss II | 1899 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Josef Strauss | 1870 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | He was buried in his mother's grave in the St. Marx Cemetery. On 1909 the remains of both were buried in an honorary grave in the Vienna Zentralfriedhof. | |||||
Richard Strauss | 1949 | Composer | Friedhof Garmisch , Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany |
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On his deathbed, Strauss said to his daughter-in-law: "It's a funny thing, Alice, dying is just the way I composed it in Tod und Verklärung". [113] | ||||
Igor Stravinsky | 1971 | Composer | Cimitero di San Michele, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Arthur Sullivan | 1900 | Composer | Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, England | ||||||
Conchita Supervía | 1936 | Opera singer | Liberal Jewish Cemetery, London, England |
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In 1936, following a pregnancy, she died in a London clinic shortly after her stillborn baby. [114] They were both buried in a grave designed by Edwin Lutyens. The grave, once in disrepair, was restored in 2006 by admirers. | ||||
Franz von Suppé | 1895 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Joan Sutherland | 2010 | Opera singer | Clarens-Montreux Cemetery, Montreux, Switzerland | Beside her grave is the future final resting place of her widower, conductor Richard Bonynge. | |||||
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck | 1621 | Composer | Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||||||
George Szell | 1970 | Conductor | Arlington Memorial Park, Sandy Springs, US |
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Joseph Szigeti | 1973 | Violinist | Clarens-Montreux Cemetery, Montreux, Switzerland | ||||||
Karol Szymanowski | 1937 | Composer | Skałka, Kraków, Poland | He died in Lausanne but his body was brought back to Poland by his sister and laid to rest at the Pantheon of the Distinguished Poles in Skałka. [115] | |||||
Thomas Tallis | 1585 | Composer | St. Alfege Church, Greenwich, England | His remains may have been discarded by labourers during the 1710s, when the church was rebuilt. [116] A brass memorial plaque, placed there after the death of his wife in 1589, is now lost. [117] His epitaph on that plaque was recorded by the English clergyman John Strype. [118] | |||||
Francesco Tamagno | 1905 | Opera singer | Cimitero monumentale di Torino , Turin, Italy | Initially buried in a family grave, he was later relocated to a 40-meter-tall mausoleum, inaugurated in 1912 and designed by the Milanese architect Raineri Arcaini. In 1986 it was struck by lightning, decapitating a sphinx and creating serious structural problems. The tenor's heirs did not have the means to cover the expenses related to the restoration, so the tomb was handed over to the Municipality of Turin, which completed the works in 1999. [119] | |||||
Francisco Tárrega | 1909 | Composer | Cementeri de Sant Josep , Castellón de la Plana, Spain | ||||||
Giuseppe Tartini | 1770 | Composer | Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Padua, Italy | ||||||
Richard Tauber | 1948 | Opera singer | Brompton Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
John Taverner | 1545 | Composer | St Botolph's Church, Boston, England | He is buried with his wife under the bell tower of the church. | |||||
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | 1893 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | The circumstances of his death have sparked various theories and speculations. While the official cause was reported as cholera, alternative theories include suicide, poisoning, and government intervention. It's also been suggested that his homosexuality and potential scandals may have played a role. The lack of conclusive evidence has perpetuated the mystery surrounding his death. [120] | |||||
Renata Tebaldi | 2004 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Langhirano, Langhirano, Italy |
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Georg Philipp Telemann | 1767 | Composer | Kloster St. Johannis , Hamburg, Germany | He was buried in the cemetery of the monastery of St. Johannis, where the Rathausmarkt stands today. There, a memorial plaque on the left of the entrance to the town hall commemorates him. [121] | |||||
Luisa Tetrazzini | 1940 | Opera singer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | She was initially interred in a mausoleum in the Cimitero Monumentale, which was later dismantled due to financial constraints. Her remains were temporarily relocated to the Cimitero Maggiore in 1993, before being permanently moved back to the Cimitero Monumentale, specifically to the Civico Mausoleo Palanti, designated for honorable citizens of Milan. [122] It wasn't until 2020 that a plaque bearing Tetrazzini's name was placed on the mausoleum, thereby formally acknowledging her burial site. | |||||
Ambroise Thomas | 1896 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France |
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Virgil Thomson | 1989 | Composer | Rehoboth Cemetery, Slater, US |
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Eduard Toldrà | 1962 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | Upload photo
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Arturo Toscanini | 1957 | Conductor | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | His epitaph is taken from one account of his remarks concluding the 1926 premiere of Puccini's unfinished Turandot: "Qui finisce l'opera, perché a questo punto il maestro è morto" ("Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro died"). [123] | |||||
Joaquín Turina | 1949 | Composer | Cementerio de la Almudena, Madrid, Spain | ||||||
Eva Turner | 1990 | Opera singer | St Wilfrid's Churchyard, Standish, England |
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Artemy Vedel | 1808 | Composer | Shchekavytsia Cemetery, Kyiv, Ukraine | The cemetery was destroyed when the area was redeveloped in the 1930s and the grave is now lost. [124] | |||||
Giuseppe Verdi | 1901 | Composer | Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, Milan, Italy | Verdi was originally buried next to Strepponi in Milan's Cimitero Monumentale. One month later their remains were moved to the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a charitable retirement home for musicians that Verdi had established shortly before his death. | |||||
Pauline Viardot | 1910 | Opera singer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Tomás Luis de Victoria | 1611 | Composer | Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, Madrid, Spain | According to his death certificate preserved in the archives of San Ginés Church he was buried at the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales, although the exact location of his remains is unknown. [125] A memorial plaque was placed there in 1990. | |||||
Francesc Viñas | 1933 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | His brother asked the sculptor Mariano Benlliure to create a special grave monument for him at Montjuïc Cemetery. In the monument, Benlliure sculpted Viñas as the three famous characters from Wagner's operas for which he was known: Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Tristan. [126] | |||||
Ramón Vinay | 1996 | Opera singer | Cementerio Municipal de Chillán , Chillán, Chile | ||||||
Antonio Vivaldi | 1741 | Composer | Bürgerspital-Gottesacker, Vienna, Austria | Vivaldi was buried in an unmarked grave at Vienna's Spitaller Gottsacker. This cemetery was abandoned in 1783, and the Vienna University of Technology was built on the grounds in 1818. In 1978, on the 300th anniversary of his birth, a plaque was installed there to indicate Vivaldi's long-lost gravesite. | |||||
Amadeu Vives | 1932 | Composer | Cementiri de Collbató, Collbató, Spain | Upload photo
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Initially buried in Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, in 2014 his remains were moved to his hometown Collbató. [127] The original tomb still stands in Montjuïc. | ||||
Richard Wagner | 1883 | Composer | Wahnfried, Bayreuth, Germany | The ashes of his second wife, Cosima Wagner, were buried alongside him in 1977, 47 years after her death. [128] | |||||
Bruno Walter | 1962 | Conductor | Cimitero di Sant'Abbondio, Gentilino, Switzerland | ||||||
William Walton | 1983 | Composer | La Mortella, Ischia, Italy | His ashes were interred in the garden of his home, La Mortella. [129] | |||||
Peter Warlock | 1930 | Composer | Nightingale Cemetery, Godalming, England |
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Leonard Warren | 1960 | Opera singer | Saint Mary's Cemetery, Greenwich, US | He died of a heart attack on stage at the Metropolitan Opera during a performance of " La forza del destino". He collapsed after singing Don Carlo's Act III aria Morir, tremenda cosa! ("To die, tremendous thing!"). [130] | |||||
Carl Maria von Weber | 1826 | Composer | Old Catholic Cemetery, Dresden, Germany | Weber died in London and was given a ceremonial burial there. His body was transferred to Dresden eighteen years later on the initiative of Richard Wagner, who composed the eulogy "An Weber's Grabe" WWV 72 for the reburial. [131] | |||||
Anton Webern | 1945 | Composer | Mittsersill Kirchhof, Mittsersill, Austria | On 15 September 1945, during the Allied occupation of Austria, Webern was smoking a cigar outside his home about one hour before curfew when he was shot and killed by US Army cook Raymond Norwood Bell. [132] [133] | |||||
Willoughby Weiss | 1867 | Opera singer | Highgate Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
Henryk Wieniawski | 1880 | Violinist, composer | Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Józef Wieniawski | 1912 | Pianist, composer | Ixelles Communal Cemetery, Ixelles, Belgium | ||||||
Mathilde Wildauer | 1878 | Opera singer | Friedhof Hietzing, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Ralph Vaughan Williams | 1958 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Fritz Wunderlich | 1966 | Opera singer | Waldfriedhof München, Munich, Germany | ||||||
Eugène Ysaÿe | 1931 | Violinist, composer | Ixelles Communal Cemetery, Ixelles, Belgium | ||||||
Virginia Zeani | 2023 | Opera singer | Solovăstru Cemetery, Solovăstru, Romania |
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She died in a Florida nursing home after an extended cardiac respiratory illness. [134] Some weeks later she was buried in her native Solovăstru. [135] | ||||
Jan Dismas Zelenka | 1745 | Composer | Old Catholic Cemetery, Dresden, Germany | Zelenka's original grave in the Old Catholic Cemetery has not been preserved. Since 1996 a cenotaph commemorates him on the cemetery. [136] | |||||
Alexander von Zemlinsky | 1942 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | After the Nazi occupation of Austria in 1938 he and his family emigrated to New York, where he died 4 years later in his house in Larchmont. [137] His remains were moved to Vienna in 1985. [138] |
This section contains the classical musicians for whom the passage of time and the lack of reliable historical records have left their burial sites undetermined. It also includes musicians whose unique circumstances of death or burial arrangements have left them without a traditional final resting place.
The list can be sorted by clicking on the corresponding arrows in the column titles.
Name | Death | Occupation | Images | Notes |
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Tomaso Albinoni | 1751 | Composer | Little information has remained about Albinoni's final years. A record from the parish of San Barnaba indicates he died in Venice in 1751, of diabetes. [139] | |
John Cage | 1992 | Composer | — | According to his wishes, his ashes were scattered in the Ramapo Mountains, near Stony Point, New York, at the same place where he had scattered the ashes of his parents. [140] |
Antonio Caldara | 1736 | Composer | He spent his last years as Vize-Kapellmeister to the Imperial Court in Vienna and it is believed that he was buried in St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna. | |
Marc-Antoine Charpentier | 1704 | Composer | It is believed he was buried in a cemetery just behind the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, where he had been maître de musique since 1698. The cemetery no longer exists. [141] | |
Domenico Cimarosa | 1801 | Composer | Probably buried in San Michele Arcangelo , Venice, Italy. Apparently no attempt was made to relocate his remains when this church was demolished in 1837. [142] | |
François Couperin | 1733 | Composer | He was supposedly buried in Cimetière Saint-Joseph in Paris, which closed in 1781 and was destroyed in 1796. It is believed that the remains were relocated to the Paris catacombs. [143] | |
Gerald Finzi | 1956 | Composer | — | He died in the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. His ashes were scattered on May Hill near Gloucester in 1973. [144] |
Enrique Granados | 1916 | Composer | On the return voyage from New York his ship, the SS Sussex, was torpedoed by a German submarine in the English Channel. [145] The Sussex broke in two and the front section sank. At least 50 passengers were left unaccounted for, including Granados and his wife Amparo. [146] Their bodies were never recovered. | |
Jascha Heifetz | 1987 | Violinist | — | He was cremated and the ashes were scattered from a plane over the ocean. [147] |
Alicia de Larrocha | 2009 | Pianist | — | She was cremated in the Cementiri de Collserola and her ashes were scattered in the Mediterranean sea. [148] |
Johannes Ockeghem | 1497 | Composer | It is believed that he died in Tours and was likely interred at the old Abbey of St. Martin, based on his will in which he bequeathed his substantial estate to that church. Burial records for him do not exist. The building was sacked by the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion in 1562 and was later mostly demolished in 1797 during the French Revolution. [149] The two towers that remained were classified as Monument historique in 1840. [150] | |
Manuel Penella | 1939 | Composer | — | He died in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, where he had moved to direct the music for the film El capitán aventurero based on his opera Don Gil de Alcalá . He was supposedly buried in Mexico City. [151] |
Johann Stamitz | 1757 | Composer | He is believed to have been buried in the old Katholischen Friedhof in Mannheim, Germany. This burial ground was demolished in the late 1880s, and while several of its notable graves were transferred to the newer main cemetery , Stamitz's was not. An apartment block now stands on the approximate place. | |
Barbara Strozzi | 1677 | Composer, opera singer | She is believed to have been buried at the Chiesa degli Eremitani in Padua, Italy. [152] The church was largely damaged by Allied bombing in World War II because it was located next to German headquarters. [153] | |
Iannis Xenakis | 2001 | Composer | — | He was cremated in Père Lachaise in Paris without a religious ceremony, in accordance with his last wishes. His ashes were given to his family. [154] |
This section includes maps highlighting the cities, towns and other locations covered in the list of known burial places.
This list is a collection of the final resting sites of notable composers and musicians in the history of classical music. It includes photographs of the graves alongside notes providing some context or additional information. In cases where the grave has not been preserved or has been lost, the list includes the current location of the tombstone, plaque or memorial commemorating the burial place of the respective classical musician, if such a commemoration exists. The list is limited to composers, conductors, instrumentalists and other figures of significant fame, notability or importance in the classical music tradition who also have current Wikipedia articles. This is not an exhaustive list.
The list can be sorted by clicking on the corresponding arrows in the column titles.
Name | Death | Occupation | Current place of burial | Images | Notes | ||||
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Claudio Abbado | 2014 | Conductor | Reformierte Kirche Fex Crasta , Sils im Engadin/Segl, Switzerland |
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Ten months after his death the urn containing his remains was buried in a cemetery belonging to a 15th-century church in Sils-Maria, a village in the Swiss canton of Graubünden where Abbado had a vacation home. [1] [2] [n 1] | ||||
Isaac Albéniz | 1909 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Hugo Alfvén | 1960 | Composer, violinist | Leksand Cemetery, Leksand, Sweden | ||||||
Charles-Valentin Alkan | 1888 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | His death has been wrongly linked to a falling bookcase reaching for a Talmud volume. Pianist Isidor Philipp circulated this story, but contemporary evidence suggests Alkan fainted in his kitchen under a heavy coat rack, possibly causing it to fall. He was found moaning and was carried to his bedroom where he later died. [3] | |||||
Leroy Anderson | 1975 | Composer | New North Cemetery, Woodbury, US |
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Victoria de los Ángeles | 2005 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | She was buried in the family grave of her husband and former manager Enrique Magriñá. | |||||
Anton Arensky | 1906 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Claudio Arrau | 1991 | Pianist | Cementerio Municipal de Chillán , Chillán, Chile | He died in Murzzuschlag, Austria. [4] His wish was to be buried in his hometown, and following his death the idea of a Patio de Artistas (Artists' Courtyard) was born to honor various local artists. [5] | |||||
Kurt Atterberg | 1974 | Composer | Norra begravningsplatsen, Solna, Sweden | ||||||
Daniel Auber | 1871 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Charles Avison | 1770 | Composer | St Andrew's Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach | 1788 | Composer | Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis, Hamburg, Germany | ||||||
Johann Christian Bach | 1782 | Composer | St. Pancras Old Churchyard, London, England | ||||||
Johann Sebastian Bach | 1750 | Composer | Thomaskirche, Leipzig, Germany | Initially buried at Alter Johannisfriedhof in Leipzig. His grave went unmarked for nearly 150 years. In 1894 his coffin was finally discovered and reburied in a vault within the Johanniskirche. This building was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II, and in 1950 Bach's remains were taken to their present resting place at Leipzig's Thomaskirche. [6] | |||||
Mily Balakirev | 1910 | Composer, pianist | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Samuel Barber | 1981 | Composer | Oaklands Cemetery, West Goshen Township, US | The plot on the right had been purchased for Gian Carlo Menotti; as he did not use it, a stone marked "To the Memory of Two Friends" was placed there instead. | |||||
John Barbirolli | 1970 | Conductor | St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, London, England |
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He was cremated and his ashes were buried in his parents grave. [7] | ||||
Béla Bartók | 1945 | Composer | Farkasréti Cemetery, Budapest, Hungary | His body was moved to Budapest in 1989 after the fall of the Iron Curtain, as he died and was buried in exile in the United States. [8] | |||||
Ettore Bastianini | 1967 | Opera singer | Cimitero del Laterino , Siena, Italy | ||||||
Mattia Battistini | 1928 | Opera singer | Battistini Estate at Collebaccaro, Contigliano, Italy | Upload photo
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Battistini planned to adapt his family villa into an ideal retreat for himself and his wife, the Spanish noblewoman Dolores Figueroa y Solis. The villa itself was rebuilt and decorated with frescoes by the famous local painter Antonino Calcagnadoro. A chapel was erected nearby in the Neo-Gothic style and was designed to house the tombs of Dolores and Mattia. [9] | ||||
Arnold Bax | 1953 | Composer | St. Finbarr's Cemetery, Cork, Ireland |
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Amy Beach | 1944 | Composer | Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, US |
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Ludwig van Beethoven | 1827 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | In 1863, 36 years after his death, his body was exhumed for study. In 1888 his remains were moved to the Zentralfriedhof. [10] Beethoven's first burial place was at the Währinger Ortsfriedhof, which turned into the Schubertpark in 1925, where his former tombstone still stands next to Schubert's old grave. | |||||
Vincenzo Bellini | 1835 | Composer | Cattedrale di Sant'Agata, Catania, Italy | The phrase "Ah! non credea mirarti / Sì presto estinto, o fiore" (I did not believe you would fade so soon, oh flower) from his opera La sonnambula is inscribed on the tomb. He was initially buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where a cenotaph still stands in his honor. | |||||
William Sterndale Bennett | 1875 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Alban Berg | 1935 | Composer | Friedhof Hietzing, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Carlo Bergonzi | 2014 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Vidalenzo, Parma, Italy |
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Hector Berlioz | 1869 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Leonard Bernstein | 1990 | Composer, conductor, pianist | Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York, US | He is buried next to his wife Felicia Montealegre and with a copy of Mahler's Fifth Symphony. [11] | |||||
Franz Berwald | 1868 | Composer | Norra begravningsplatsen, Solna, Sweden | ||||||
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber | 1704 | Composer | Petersfriedhof Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria | A monument was erected in his honour in his hometown Stráž pod Ralskem (called Wartenberg until 1946). | |||||
Georges Bizet | 1875 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | In 2006 the bust on top of the tomb was stolen. It has since been recovered and is in the possession of the cemetery. [12] | |||||
Jussi Björling | 1960 | Opera singer | Stora Tuna Cemetery, Borlänge, Sweden | ||||||
John Blow | 1708 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Luigi Boccherini | 1805 | Composer | Chiesa di San Francesco, Lucca, Italy |
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He was buried in the Pontifical Basilica of St. Michael in Madrid until 1927, when an agreement between Miguel Primo de Rivera and Benito Mussolini allowed his remains to be repatriated to his native Lucca. [13] | ||||
Karl Böhm | 1981 | Conductor | Steinfeld Friedhof, Graz, Austria | ||||||
Arrigo Boito | 1918 | Librettist, composer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | The tomb also contains the mortal remains of his brother, Camillo Boito. | |||||
Celestina Boninsegna | 1947 | Opera singer | Cimitero Nuovo, Sassuolo, Italy |
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Leo Borchard | 1945 | Conductor | Friedhof Steglitz , Berlin, Germany | He was accidentally killed when the driver of the car in which he was traveling failed to stop at a checkpoint in Berlin. [14] | |||||
Alexander Borodin | 1887 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Dmytro Bortniansky | 1825 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | Initually buried at the Smolensky Cemetery in St. Petersburg, his remains were transferred to the Tikhvin Cemetery in the 20th century. | |||||
Lili Boulanger | 1918 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | She suffered from chronic illness and died at the early age of 24. | |||||
Nadia Boulanger | 1979 | Music teacher, conductor, composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | She was buried in the same tomb as her sister Lili and their parents. [15] | |||||
Pierre Boulez | 2016 | Composer | Hauptfriedhof Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany | ||||||
Johannes Brahms | 1897 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | The monument was designed by Victor Horta and the sculpture was made by Ilse von Twardowski. | |||||
George Bridgetower | 1860 | Violinist | Kensal Green Cemetery, London, England |
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He was buried in the catacombs of the cemetery. His tomb erroneously states he died "aged 78 years" when, in fact, he lived to be 81 years old. | ||||
Benjamin Britten | 1976 | Composer | St Peter and St Paul's Church, Aldeburgh, England | Peter Pears, English tenor and Britten's partner, died in Aldeburgh on 1986 and was buried beside Britten. | |||||
Carlo Broschi (Farinelli) | 1782 | Opera singer | Cimitero della Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy | His original place of burial was destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars, and in 1810 Farinelli's great-niece Maria Carlotta Pisani had his remains transferred to the cemetery of La Certosa. Farinelli's remains were disinterred from the Certosa cemetery on 12 July 2006, in order to conduct bio-medical research on them. [16] | |||||
Max Bruch | 1920 | Composer | Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof, Berlin, Germany | His daughter Margaretha carved on the gravestone "Musik ist die Sprache Gottes" (Music is the language of God). [17] | |||||
Anton Bruckner | 1896 | Composer | Stift Sankt Florian, Sankt Florian, Austria | At his own request, Bruckner was buried in the crypt directly beneath the great organ. On the pedestal of the sarcophagus is the inscription "Non confundar in aeternum" (In eternity I will not be ashamed), the closing line of his Te Deum. | |||||
Alan Bush | 1995 | Composer | Golders Green Crematorium, London, England |
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Ferruccio Busoni | 1924 | Composer, pianist | Städtischer Friedhof III, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Dieterich Buxtehude | 1707 | Composer | Marienkirche, Lübeck, Germany | He was entombed in the Marienkirche, which was gutted by Allied bombing in 1942. [18] A plaque marks the approximate spot of his resting place. | |||||
William Byrd | 1623 | Composer | St. Peter and St. Paul Churchyard, Stondon Massey, England | He was buried in St. Peter's and St. Paul's churchyard, in an unmarked plot of unconsecrated ground. In 1923, on the 300th anniversary of Byrd's death, a cenotaph was built there in his honor. [19] | |||||
Montserrat Caballé | 2018 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Sant Andreu, Barcelona, Spain |
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Giulio Caccini | 1618 | Composer | Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, Florence, Italy | The floor of the basilica was completely redone in the years 1783–1795 and the graves were removed. Riccardo Gandolfi's attempt in 1896 to locate Caccini's tomb was unsuccessful, which was documented in his article published in Rivista Musicale Italiana. [20] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the basilica. The facade of the church was added in 1601 by Giulio Caccini's brother, Giovanni, imitating the Renaissance-style of Brunelleschi's facade of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, which defines the eastern side of the piazza. | |||||
Maria Callas | 1977 | Opera singer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | Her ashes were originally buried in the cemetery. After being stolen and later recovered, they were scattered into the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Greece. The empty urn remains in Père Lachaise. [21] | |||||
Giacomo Carissimi | 1674 | Composer | Basilica di Sant'Apollinare, Rome, Italy | He spent his last years as maestro di capella at Sant'Apollinare. His tomb was destroyed when the church was completely rebuilt in the 1740s. [22] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. | |||||
Enrico Caruso | 1921 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Santa Maria del Pianto , Naples, Italy |
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His crystal casket was taken to Del Pianto Cemetery and placed in a temporary chapel with continued viewing that lasted for eight years until his widow put a stop to the spectacle and sealed the vault. His body was re-dressed each year with a new suit. [23] | ||||
Pau Casals | 1973 | Cellist, composer, conductor | Cementiri del Vendrell , El Vendrell, Spain | ||||||
Alfredo Catalani | 1893 | Composer | Cimitero di Sant'Anna , Lucca, Italy |
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He was initially buried in Milan's Cimitero Monumentale, but his remains were moved to his native Lucca in 1894. | ||||
Francesco Cavalli | 1676 | Composer | Chiesa di San Lorenzo, Venice, Italy | He was buried alongside his sisters and his wife in the tomb of the bishop of Pula, his wife's uncle, Claudio Sozomeno. [24] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. | |||||
Feodor Chaliapin | 1938 | Opera singer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia |
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Cécile Chaminade | 1944 | Composer | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | She was initially buried in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Her grave was later moved to the Cimitière de Passy in Paris. [25] | |||||
Ruperto Chapí | 1909 | Composer | Cementerio de Villena, Villena, Spain | Initially buried in Cementerio de San Justo in Madrid, his remains were transferred to his hometown Villena in 2003. [26] The original tomb still stands in Madrid. | |||||
Gustave Charpentier | 1956 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Luigi Cherubini | 1842 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | His tomb was designed by the architect Achille Leclère and includes a figure by the sculptor Augustin-Alexandre Dumont representing "Music" crowning a bust of the composer with a wreath. | |||||
Frédéric Chopin | 1849 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | His heart is entombed within a pillar at the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. His sister, having learned from her brother's deathbed his wish that his body should return to Poland, smuggled the heart to Warsaw preserved in cognac. [27] | |||||
Francesco Cilea | 1950 | Composer | Cilea Memorial Mausoleum, Palmi, Italy | In 1962 the municipality of Palmi built an imposing mausoleum in his honor; inside it houses a crypt decorated with mosaics, where his remains and his wife's are kept. [28] | |||||
Muzio Clementi | 1832 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England | ||||||
Van Cliburn | 2013 | Pianist | Greenwood Memorial Park, Fort Worth, US | His tomb is located in the mausoleum called Independence Chapel, behind the statue of Alexander Hamilton. | |||||
Isabella Colbran | 1845 | Opera singer | Cimitero della Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy | She was the muse and first wife of composer Gioachino Rossini, and lived with Rossini's father until her death. She is buried next to his father and Rossini's parents. | |||||
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor | 1912 | Composer | Bandon Hill Cemetery, Wallington, England | ||||||
Aaron Copland | 1990 | Composer | Tanglewood Music Center, Lenox, US | His ashes were scattered over the Tanglewood Music Center near Lenox, Massachusetts. A monument honoring him is located in the formal garden on the grounds of Tanglewood Music Center, in the same area where the composer's ashes were scattered. [29] There also is a plaque showing the initial trumpet notes from his Fanfare for the Common Man. | |||||
Arcangelo Corelli | 1713 | Composer | Pantheon, Rome, Italy | ||||||
Franco Corelli | 2003 | Opera singer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | ||||||
Peter Cornelius | 1874 | Composer | Hauptfriedhof Mainz , Mainz, Germany | ||||||
Alfred Cortot | 1962 | Pianist | Cimetière de Le Villars, Le Villars, France |
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César Cui | 1918 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Carl Czerny | 1857 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
György Cziffra | 1994 | Pianist | Senlis Cemetery, Senlis-le-Sec, France |
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Claude Debussy | 1918 | Composer | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | He died on March 25, 1918, amidst the turmoil of World War I while Paris was subjected to ongoing aerial bombardments by German forces. The situation did not permit a public funeral with customary honors. | |||||
Léo Delibes | 1891 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Frederick Delius | 1934 | Composer | St Peter Churchyard, Limpsfield, England | ||||||
Anton Diabelli | 1858 | Music publisher, composer | Sankt Marxer Friedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Gaetano Donizetti | 1848 | Composer | Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo, Italy | ||||||
John Dowland | 1626 | Composer | St Ann Blackfriars, London, England |
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The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London and it was not rebuilt. The site of the church was retained for burials and the church's existing burial ground continued in use. [30] Both graveyards were closed to burials in 1849 and are now public gardens, still containing several tombstones. [31] | ||||
Carl Wilhelm Drescher | 1925 | Composer, violinist | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Guillaume Dufay | 1474 | Composer | Old Cambrai Cathedral, Cambrai, France | He was buried in the chapel of St. Étienne in the cathedral of Cambrai. After the destruction of the cathedral during the French Revolution the tomb was lost, but the tombstone was found in 1859 being used to cover a well and now is in the Palais des Beaux Arts in Lille. [32] [33]As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the cathedral. | |||||
Paul Dukas | 1935 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | He was cremated and his ashes were placed in the columbarium at Père Lachaise. | |||||
Henri Dutilleux | 2013 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | He was buried in the same grave as his wife, Geneviève Joy. | |||||
Antonín Dvořák | 1904 | Composer | Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Gottfried von Einem | 1996 | Composer | Friedhof Hietzing, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Hanns Eisler | 1962 | Composer | Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Edward Elgar | 1934 | Composer | St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church, Little Malvern, England | He had colorectal cancer that couldn't be treated. He told his doctor, Arthur Thomson, that he had no faith in an afterlife: "I believe there is nothing but complete oblivion." [34] | |||||
George Enescu | 1955 | Composer, violinist | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Manuel de Falla | 1946 | Composer | Catedral de Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain | After traveling to Buenos Aires to conduct concerts, he decided to stay in Argentina as an exile due to the rise of Franco in Spain and the outbreak of World War II in Europe. He died in poverty at his home in Alta Gracia, just before his 70th birthday. Initially buried in the St. Jerome Cemetery in Córdoba, his remains were later brought back to Spain in 1947 by Franco and given a state funeral. | |||||
Louise Farrenc | 1875 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | She was buried alongside her father Jacques-Edme Dumont, her brother Auguste Dumont and her husband Aristide Farrenc in the 10th division of Cimetière du Montparnasse. [35] | |||||
Gabriel Fauré | 1924 | Composer | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | ||||||
John Field | 1837 | Composer | Vvedenskoye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Edwin Fischer | 1960 | Pianist | Friedhof Friedental , Luzern, Switzerland | ||||||
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau | 2012 | Opera singer | Friedhof Heerstraße, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Miguel Fleta | 1938 | Opera singer | Cementerio de Torrero , Zaragoza, Spain | ||||||
Friedrich von Flotow | 1883 | Composer | Alter Friedhof , Darmstadt, Germany | ||||||
Stephen Foster | 1864 | Composer | Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, US |
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César Franck | 1890 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | The tomb was designed by his friend, architect Gaston Redon. A number of Franck's students, led by Augusta Holmès, commissioned a bronze bust from Auguste Rodin, which in 1893 was placed on the tomb. [36] | |||||
Mirella Freni | 2020 | Opera singer | Cimitero di San Cataldo , Modena, Italy |
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Girolamo Frescobaldi | 1643 | Composer | Santi Apostoli, Rome, Italy |
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The tomb was lost during the church's late 18th-century reconstruction. A memorial grave and a plaque were placed in the church in his honor. [37] | ||||
Ferenc Fricsay | 1963 | Conductor | Ermatinger Friedhof, Ermatingen, Switzerland | On the initiative of his daughter, his grave was declared a memorial site by the city. [38] | |||||
Johann Jakob Froberger | 1667 | Composer | Château d'Héricourt , Héricourt, France | The castle was dismantled in the 18th century and only the main tower remains. [39] A memorial was erected in his memory. | |||||
Julius Fučík | 1916 | Composer | Vinohrady Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Wilhelm Furtwängler | 1954 | Conductor, composer | Bergfriedhof Heidelberg , Heidelberg, Germany | ||||||
Giovanni Gabrieli | 1612 | Composer | Chiesa di Santo Stefano, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Manuel García | 1832 | Opera singer, composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Julián Gayarre | 1890 | Opera singer | Cementerio de El Roncal, Roncal, Spain | His larynx was preserved and studied by specialists interested in understanding the physical basis of his exceptional vocal abilities, and is now on display in a museum located in his hometown, Roncal. [40] In 1901, his grave was embellished with a marble and bronze monument made by the sculptor Mariano Benlliure, who enjoyed a close friendship with Gayarre. [41] [n 2] | |||||
Nicolai Gedda | 2017 | Opera singer | Galärvarvskyrkogården, Stockholm, Sweden | — | He died after a heart attack at his home in Tolochenaz in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. His death was not announced by his family until one month later, 9 February 2017. [42] He was buried in an unmarked memorial plot ( minneslund ) in Galärvarvskyrkogården. [43] | ||||
George Gershwin | 1937 | Composer | Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, US | ||||||
Carlo Gesualdo | 1613 | Composer | Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, Naples, Italy |
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Nicolai Ghiaurov | 2004 | Opera singer | Cimitero di San Cataldo , Modena, Italy |
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Orlando Gibbons | 1625 | Composer | Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England | He died suddenly while travelling to Canterbury to prepare for the reception of Queen Henrietta Maria. [44] | |||||
Walter Gieseking | 1956 | Pianist | Nordfriedhof Wiesbaden , Wiesbaden, Germany |
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He was a lepidopterist, his private collection can be seen in the Museum Wiesbaden. | ||||
Beniamino Gigli | 1957 | Opera singer | Cimitero Civico Recanati, Recanati, Italy | It was Gigli himself who in 1930 commissioned the work to his brother, Prof. Catervo Gigli, a Fine Arts graduate and sculptor, who designed the family mausoleum inspired by the oldest funerary monuments in history, the pyramids of Egypt. [45] | |||||
Emil Gilels | 1985 | Pianist | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Umberto Giordano | 1948 | Composer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | ||||||
Carlo Maria Giulini | 2005 | Conductor | Cimitero Comunale di Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy |
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Alexander Glazunov | 1936 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Mikhail Glinka | 1857 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | Initially buried in Berlin, four months later his remains were moved to Saint Petersburg for reinterment. There is a memorial in the Russian Orthodox Cemetery, constructed in 1947 by the military of the Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. [46] | |||||
Christoph Willibald Gluck | 1787 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Tito Gobbi | 1984 | Opera singer | Cimitero del Verano, Rome, Italy |
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Karl Goldmark | 1915 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Anna Gottlieb | 1856 | Opera singer | Sankt Marxer Friedhof, Vienna, Austria | Her tombstone reads "Singer and actress, first performer of Pamina". | |||||
Louis Moreau Gottschalk | 1869 | Composer | Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York, US |
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He died in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. In 1870 his remains were returned to the United States and were interred at the Green-Wood Cemetery. His original burial spot, a marble monument topped by an "Angel of Music" statue, was irreparably damaged by vandals in 1959. [47] In October 2012 a new "Angel of Music" statue was unveiled. [48] | ||||
Glenn Gould | 1982 | Pianist | Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Canada | The first bars of Bach's Goldberg Variations, Gould's signature piece, are engraved on the tombstone. | |||||
Charles Gounod | 1893 | Composer | Cimetière d'Auteuil , Paris, France | ||||||
Percy Grainger | 1961 | Composer | West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, Australia | ||||||
Edvard Grieg | 1907 | Composer | Troldhaugen, Bergen, Norway | His ashes were united with his wife's in a cliffside tomb overlooking a fjord near their home at Troldhaugen, situated by Nordåsvannet bay. | |||||
Alfred Grünfeld | 1924 | Pianist | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | He was granted an Ehrengrab by the city of Vienna. The grave memorial was created by the sculptor Josef Müllner. | |||||
Francisco Guerrero | 1599 | Composer | Catedral de Sevilla, Seville, Spain | His tomb is located on the right side of the chapel of the Virgen de la Antigua , below the sarcophagus of Luis de Salcedo y Azcona . [49] | |||||
Friedrich Gulda | 2000 | Pianist | Steinbach am Attersee Cemetery, Steinbach am Attersee, Austria | ||||||
Fromental Halévy | 1862 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | He died leaving his last opera Noé unfinished. It was completed by his former student Georges Bizet, but was not performed until ten years after Bizet's death. | |||||
George Frideric Handel | 1759 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England | During his last years he was completely blind, following an eye surgery performed by the medical charlatan Chevalier John Taylor. [50] He never married, and his will bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his niece Johanna but also distributed much of his estate to other relations, servants, friends and charities. [51] On the wall above his grave, a monument by the sculptor Louis-François Roubiliac was unveiled in 1762. [52] | |||||
Nikolaus Harnoncourt | 2016 | Conductor | Friedhof an der Pfarrkirche, St. Georgen im Attergau, Austria |
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Johann Adolph Hasse | 1783 | Composer | San Marcuola, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Joseph Haydn | 1809 | Composer | Bergkirche, Eisenstadt, Austria | Haydn's remains were interred in the local Hundsturm cemetery until 1820, when they were moved to Eisenstadt by Prince Nikolaus. In 1932, Prince Paul Esterházy, Nikolaus's descendant, built a marble tomb for Haydn in the Bergkirche in Eisenstadt and his remains were moved there. His head took a different journey; it was stolen by phrenologists shortly after burial, and the skull was reunited with the other remains only in 1954. | |||||
Elvira de Hidalgo | 1980 | Opera singer | Valderrobres Cemetery, Valderrobres, Spain |
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She was initially buried in an unidentified grave at Cimitero Maggiore di Milano. Her remains were intended to be moved to a common grave in 1990 upon the expiration of her burial plot, but her pupils and friends funded the relocation of her remains within the same cemetery, with this arrangement set to last until 2020. [53] In 2018, thanks to the efforts of an academic researcher and several Spanish cultural organizations, her remains were exhumed and transported to Barcelona, later being reinterred in her birthplace, Valderrobres. [54] [55] | ||||
Paul Hindemith | 1963 | Composer | Cimetière de Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, Blonay – Saint-Légier, Switzerland | ||||||
Josef Hofmann | 1957 | Pianist | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, US |
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Imogen Holst | 1984 | Composer | St Peter and St Paul's Church, Aldeburgh, England |
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She was the musical assistant to Benjamin Britten and is buried just behind him. | ||||
Gustav Holst | 1934 | Composer | Chichester Cathedral, Chichester, England | His ashes were interred close to the memorial of Thomas Weelkes, his favourite Tudor period composer. In his funeral, Vaughan Williams conducted music by Holst and himself. [56] | |||||
Vladimir Horowitz | 1989 | Pianist | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | He was buried next to his daughter Sonia (1934–1975) in the Toscanini family tomb in the Cimitero Monumentale. [57] His wife Wanda Toscanini was buried beside them in 1998. In 2004 intruders broke into the family tomb opening her coffin and damaging her tombstone. [58] | |||||
Johann Nepomuk Hummel | 1837 | Composer | Historischer Friedhof Weimar , Weimar, Germany | ||||||
Engelbert Humperdinck | 1921 | Composer | Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf, Stahnsdorf, Germany | ||||||
Charles Ives | 1954 | Composer | Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, US |
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Leoš Janáček | 1928 | Composer | Brno Central Cemetery , Brno, Czech Republic | On the tombstone are verses from his choral piece " The Wandering Madman". | |||||
Joseph Joachim | 1907 | Violinist, conductor, composer | Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Scott Joplin | 1917 | Composer | St. Michael's Cemetery, New York, US | He was buried in a common grave. A memorial was erected in 1974, the year The Sting, which showcased his music, won Best Picture at the Oscars. [59] | |||||
Jane Joseph | 1929 | Composer | Willesden Jewish Cemetery, London, England | Upload photo
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Herbert von Karajan | 1989 | Conductor | Anif Cemetery, Anif, Austria | ||||||
Mieczysław Karłowicz | 1909 | Composer | Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Wilhelm Kempff | 1991 | Pianist | Friedhof Wernstein, Wernstein am Inn, Austria | He died in Positano, Italy. [60] | |||||
Albert Ketèlbey | 1959 | Composer | Golders Green Crematorium, London, England | Upload photo
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By the time of his death he had slipped into obscurity and only a handful of mourners attended his funeral. [61] | ||||
Aram Khachaturian | 1978 | Composer | Komitas Pantheon, Yerevan, Armenia | ||||||
Carlos Kleiber | 2004 | Conductor | Konjšica Cemetery, Konjšica, Slovenia | ||||||
Erich Kleiber | 1956 | Conductor | Friedhof Hönggerberg , Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||
Otto Klemperer | 1973 | Conductor, composer | Friedhof Oberer Friesenberg , Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||
Hans Knappertsbusch | 1965 | Conductor | Friedhof Bogenhausen , Munich, Germany | ||||||
Zoltán Kodály | 1967 | Composer | Farkasréti Cemetery, Budapest, Hungary | ||||||
Joonas Kokkonen | 1996 | Composer | Järvenpää Cemetery, Järvenpää, Finland |
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Erich Wolfgang Korngold | 1957 | Composer | Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, US | An excerpt from the duet Glück, das mir verblieb from his opera Die tote Stadt is inscribed on the tomb. | |||||
Alfredo Kraus | 1999 | Opera singer | Cementerio de Las Palmas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain |
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He was initially buried in the cemetery of Boadilla del Monte in Madrid, where his wife was buried. In 2009 both of their remains were relocated to their hometown, Las Palmas. [62] | ||||
Fritz Kreisler | 1962 | Violinist, composer | Woodlawn Cemetery, New York, US | ||||||
Rafael Kubelík | 1996 | Conductor | Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Édouard Lalo | 1892 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Constant Lambert | 1951 | Composer, conductor | Brompton Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
Rued Langgaard | 1952 | Composer | Holmen Cemetery, Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||||
Mario Lanza | 1959 | Opera singer | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, US | ||||||
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi | 1979 | Opera singer | Cementerio Municipal de Godella, Godella, Spain | ||||||
Hipólito Lázaro | 1974 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Ernesto Lecuona | 1963 | Composer | Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, US | He was interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery but his will instructed that his remains be repatriated after the Cuban communist regime changes. [63] | |||||
Franz Lehár | 1948 | Composer | Friedhof Bad Ischl, Bad Ischl, Austria | ||||||
Ruggero Leoncavallo | 1919 | Composer | Chiesa di Santa Maria di Ponte , Brissago, Switzerland |
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He was initially buried in Cimitero delle Porte Sante, Florence. In 1989 his remains and his wife Berthe's were moved, supported by his last descendant, to Brissago where he owned the summer residence Villa Myriam. [64] This decision was influenced by an unverified claim about his preference to be buried there and his casual mention of it in a 1904 speech. | ||||
György Ligeti | 2006 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Dinu Lipatti | 1950 | Pianist | Cimetière de Chêne-Bourg, Chêne-Bourg, Switzerland | ||||||
Franz Liszt | 1886 | Composer | Stadtfriedhof Bayreuth , Bayreuth, Germany | He died in Bayreuth during the 5th edition of the Bayreuth Festival. Various requests were made to claim his remains, the most powerful ones coming from the Duke Charles Alexander who wanted to transfer his body to Weimar, and from Princess Carolyne who proposed burying him in a Franciscan convent in Budapest. [n 3] His daughter Cosima, the Festival director and wife of the already deceased Wagner, wanted to keep Liszt's body in Bayreuth as it was deemed advantageous for the festival and would also serve Wagner's legacy. As his closest living relative, it was her will that prevailed. [65] | |||||
Pietro Locatelli | 1764 | Composer | English Reformed Church, Amsterdam, Netherlands | He was buried in front of the organ of the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof, one of the oldest hofjes in Amsterdam. [66] [67] The floor of the church was renovated in 1975 and the grave was lost. In 2024 a small monument was erected there in his honour. [68] | |||||
Max Lorenz | 1975 | Opera singer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Albert Lortzing | 1851 | Composer, opera singer | Friedhof II Sophienkirche, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Jean-Baptiste Lully | 1687 | Composer | Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris, France | Lully died from gangrene, having struck his foot with his long conducting staff during a performance of his Te Deum to celebrate Louis XIV's recovery from surgery. [69] | |||||
Witold Lutosławski | 1994 | Composer | Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Anatoly Lyadov | 1914 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Mykola Lysenko | 1912 | Composer | Baikove Cemetery, Kyiv, Ukraine | ||||||
Nikita Magaloff | 1992 | Pianist | Clarens-Montreux Cemetery, Montreux, Switzerland | ||||||
Gustav Mahler | 1911 | Composer | Friedhof Grinzing, Vienna, Austria | As he had requested, he was buried next to his daughter Maria and his tombstone was inscribed only with his name because "Any who come to look for me will know who I was, and the rest do not need to know." [70] | |||||
Maria Malibran | 1836 | Opera singer | Cimetière de Laeken, Brussels, Belgium | ||||||
Vicente Martín y Soler | 1806 | Composer | Smolensky Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | His grave was lost for many years, being rediscovered in 1984 by Irina Goncharova, who relates her adventure in the article "Почти детективная история" (An almost detective story) published in 1998 in the musicology journal Early music quarterly . The inscription on his tombstone reads: "Martini, Vicent, Spanish Court Conceiller, born in Valencia January 18, 1756. Admired in the principal cities and courts of Europe not only for his talent but also for his beautiful and noble moral qualities." [71] [72] | |||||
Pietro Mascagni | 1945 | Composer | Cimitero della Misericordia , Livorno, Italy |
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Jules Massenet | 1912 | Composer | Cimetière d'Egreville, Egreville, France | ||||||
Kurt Masur | 2015 | Conductor | Leipziger Südfriedhof, Leipzig, Germany | ||||||
Emilie Mayer | 1883 | Composer | Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I , Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Nikolai Medtner | 1951 | Composer | Hendon Cemetery, London, England |
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Nellie Melba | 1931 | Opera singer | Lilydale Lawn Cemetery, Lilydale, Australia |
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Lauritz Melchior | 1973 | Opera singer | Assistens Cemetery, Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||||
Fanny Mendelssohn | 1847 | Composer | Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I , Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Felix Mendelssohn | 1847 | Composer | Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I , Berlin, Germany | A monument was built in 1892 in Leipzig to commemorate his contribution to the city. The original statue was taken down by the Nazis in 1936 because of Mendelssohn's Jewish background and then melted down in 1940 for scrap metal during World War II. In 2008 a replica was unveiled commemorating the composer's 200th anniversary. [73] | |||||
Yehudi Menuhin | 1999 | Violinist | Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d'Abernon, England |
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Robert Merrill | 2004 | Opera singer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US |
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André Messager | 1929 | Composer, conductor | Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France | ||||||
Olivier Messiaen | 1992 | Composer | Cemetery of Saint Théoffrey, Saint Théoffrey, France |
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An extract from the song cycle Harawi - Chant d'amour et de mort is engraved on the tomb. The text reads "Tous les oiseaux des étoiles" (All the birds of the stars). [74] | ||||
Giacomo Meyerbeer | 1864 | Composer | Senerfelderplatz Jewish Cemetery , Berlin, Germany | He died in Paris on May 2, 1864. The next day, Rossini, unaware of the news, arrived at Meyerbeer's apartment to meet him, only to be shocked and faint. He subsequently composed a choral tribute, "Pleure, pleure, muse sublime!" [75] | |||||
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli | 1995 | Pianist | Cimitero di Pura, Pura, Switzerland |
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Lluís Millet | 1941 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Anna Moffo | 2006 | Opera singer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US | ||||||
Frederic Mompou | 1987 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | ||||||
Mario Del Monaco | 1982 | Opera singer | Cimitero Centrale di Pesaro, Pesaro, Italy |
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Initually buried in Treviso, his remains were moved to Pesaro in 1983. He was, at his request, buried in his Otello costume. [76] | ||||
Claudio Monteverdi | 1643 | Composer | Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1791 | Composer | Sankt Marxer Friedhof, Vienna, Austria | All attempts to locate his original grave have been unsuccessful. In 1859 a gravestone was erected at what was presumed to be the correct spot, and was later moved to the Central Cemetery in 1891, the 100th anniversary of Mozart's death. The current memorial at St. Marx was made in 1950, replacing a simple tombstone made by the cemetery caretaker which is preserved at the Bezirksmuseum Landstraße . | |||||
Georg Muffat | 1704 | Composer | St. Stephen's Cathedral, Passau, Germany | He was buried in the cathedral cloister. [77] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the cathedral. | |||||
Modest Mussorgsky | 1881 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Ginette Neveu | 1949 | Violinist | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | She was on board a flight from Paris to New York when it crashed on a mountain in São Miguel after two failed attempts to make a landing at the Santa Maria Airport in the Azores. All 48 people on board the flight died. Her violin, made by Omobono Stradivari in 1730, was also lost. [78] | |||||
Otto Nicolai | 1849 | Composer | Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Carl Nielsen | 1931 | Composer | Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen, Denmark | His wife, the sculptor Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, was commissioned to sculpt a monument to him. Facing disputes and funding issues, she subsidized the project herself and it was unveiled in 1939. The Carl Nielsen Monument depicts Pan, the god of music, on a wingless Pegasus. [79] | |||||
Birgit Nilsson | 2005 | Opera singer | Västra Karups Cemetery, Västra Karup, Sweden | ||||||
Luigi Nono | 1990 | Composer | Cimitero di San Michele, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Turlough O'Carolan | 1738 | Composer | Kilronan Cemetery, Keadue, Ireland | In 1874 a memorial was erected in St Patrick's Cathedral, a gift from the Irish novelist Sydney, Lady Morgan. [80] | |||||
Jacques Offenbach | 1880 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Carl Orff | 1982 | Composer | Klosterkirche Andechs, Andechs, Germany | His tombstone bears the Latin inscription Summus Finis (The Ultimate End), taken from the end of his last work, De temporum fine comoedia. | |||||
Johann Pachelbel | 1706 | Composer | Rochusfriedhof Nürnberg-Gostenhof, Nuremberg, Germany | ||||||
Niccolò Paganini | 1840 | Violinist, composer | Cimitero della Villetta , Parma, Italy | Since Paganini had refused the final sacrament, the church refused his body to be buried properly. His remains were kept in a basement in Nice for five years until his family petitioned to have them buried. He was finally buried in Parma in 1876. Later in 1896, after a viewing request by violinist František Ondříček, he was reinterred in a new tomb where he rests today. [81] | |||||
Giovanni Paisiello | 1816 | Composer | Santa Maria Donnalbina, Naples, Italy |
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He is buried in a marble tomb sculpted in 1817 by Angelo Viva. | ||||
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | 1594 | Composer | Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City | The inscription on his coffin read Ioannes Petrus Aloysius Praenestinus Musicae Princeps. [82] His tomb was later covered by new construction made under Paul V. [83] The original site is currently situated beneath the Chapel of the Presentation, at a depth corresponding to the Vatican Grottoes. Further attempts to locate his grave have been unsuccessful. [84] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the Basilica. A monument by the sculptor Arnaldo Zocchi was erected in 1921 in Palestrina commemorating him. | |||||
Osbert Parsley | 1585 | Composer | Norwich Cathedral, Norwich, England | ||||||
Adelina Patti | 1919 | Opera singer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Luciano Pavarotti | 2007 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Montale Rangone, Castelnuovo Rangone, Italy | ||||||
Robert Lucas Pearsall | 1856 | Composer | St Mary's Church, Bitton, England | He was initially buried in a private chapel at Schloss Wartensee , Switzerland. After several relocations due to changes in the castle's ownership and use, in 1957 his remains were reinterred at the nearby Kapelle Wilen Wartegg , which has since been renovated several times. [85] His original tombstone, after being stored in a shed for over fifty years, was brought in 2012 to St Mary's Church. [n 4] [86] | |||||
Felip Pedrell | 1922 | Composer | Cementiri de Sant Gervasi, Barcelona, Spain | In 1990 his remains were moved to a common grave for lack of payment. Later attempts were made to locate them but they could no longer be differentiated. [87] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the cemetery. | |||||
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi | 1736 | Composer | Chiesa dei Santi Francesco e Antonio , Pozzuoli, Italy |
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Since his gravesite could not be located, a cenotaph for him was dedicated at Pozzuoli Cathedral in 1913. The building was largely destroyed by fire in 1964. On the 250th anniversary of Pergolesi's death in 1986, his cenotaph was restored and moved to the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio. [88] | ||||
Jacopo Peri | 1633 | Composer | Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy | ||||||
Lorenzo Perosi | 1956 | Composer | Duomo di Tortona, Tortona, Italy | Originally interred inside the Cimitero del Verano of Rome, his remains (along with those of his brother Cardinal Carlo) were exhumed and transferred to the cathedral of Tortona in 1959. [89] | |||||
Aureliano Pertile | 1952 | Opera singer | Cimitero Maggiore di Padova , Padua, Italy | ||||||
Allan Pettersson | 1980 | Composer | Högalid Church, Stockholm, Sweden |
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He is buried in the church columbarium. | ||||
Hans Pfitzner | 1949 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Amilcare Ponchielli | 1886 | Composer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | After his death, the main theater in Cremona was renamed Teatro Ponchielli and his native town was renamed Paderno Ponchielli. | |||||
Rosa Ponselle | 1981 | Opera singer | Druid Ridge Cemetery, Pikesville, US |
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Francis Poulenc | 1963 | Composer | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France | ||||||
Michael Praetorius | 1621 | Composer | Marienkirche, Wolfenbüttel, Germany |
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He was buried in a vault beneath the organ of the church. [90] | ||||
Hermann Prey | 1998 | Opera singer | Friedhof Krailling, Krailling, Germany | ||||||
Josquin des Prez | 1521 | Composer | Notre-Dame de Condé , Condé-sur-l'Escaut, France | He was buried in front of the church's high altar. The church was destroyed in 1793 along with his tombstone. [91] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the area. | |||||
Sergei Prokofiev | 1953 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | He died on March 5, 1953, the same day as Stalin. His funeral faced challenges due to the mourning for Stalin, with about 30 attendees, including Shostakovich. His second wife, Mira Mendelson, died in 1968 and is buried beside him. [92] | |||||
Giacomo Puccini | 1924 | Composer | Villa Puccini, Torre del Lago, Italy | He was temporarily buried in Milan, in Toscanini's family tomb. In 1926 his son arranged for the transfer of his father's remains to a specially created chapel inside the Puccini villa at Torre del Lago. [93] | |||||
Henry Purcell | 1695 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Sergei Rachmaninoff | 1943 | Composer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US | Some Russian figures are demanding the return of his remains to Russia claiming it was his desire. His descendants, in particular his great-great-granddaughter Susan Rachmaninoff Volkonskaya Wanamaker, oppose it arguing that it would violate his privacy and dignity. [94] | |||||
Jean-Philippe Rameau | 1764 | Composer | Église Saint-Eustache, Paris, France | He was buried in the church of St. Eustache on the same day of his death, although the exact burial site is unknown to this day. [95] In 1883 a commemorative plaque and a bust were placed on the occasion of the bicentenary of his birth. They are located in the third chapel on the right-hand side, dedicated to Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. | |||||
Einojuhani Rautavaara | 2016 | Composer | Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki, Finland | ||||||
Maurice Ravel | 1937 | Composer | Cimetière de Levallois-Perret, Levallois-Perret, France | ||||||
Max Reger | 1916 | Composer | Waldfriedhof München, Munich, Germany | Six years after Reger's death, his funeral urn was transferred from his home in Jena to a cemetery in Weimar. In 1930, on the wishes of Reger's widow Elsa, his remains were moved to a grave of honour in Munich Waldfriedhof. Organ pipes are engraved on his gravestone. | |||||
Ottorino Respighi | 1936 | Composer | Cimitero della Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy | He was initially buried at Santa Maria del Popolo until the spring of 1937, when his remains were re-interred at the cemetery of La Certosa. [96] | |||||
Josef Rheinberger | 1901 | Composer, organist | Vaduz Cathedral, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | He was originally interred in Munich's Alter Südfriedhof, but was moved to his birthplace Vaduz in 1949. [97] His old grave, which was damaged during World War II, remains in Munich as a memorial. | |||||
Karl Richter | 1981 | Conductor, organist | Friedhof Enzenbühl , Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||
Sviatoslav Richter | 1997 | Pianist | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | 1908 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||||||
Joaquín Rodrigo | 1999 | Composer | Cementerio de Aranjuez, Aranjuez, Spain | The pantheon is decorated with a cubist guitar made by the sculptor Pablo Serrano. | |||||
Juventino Rosas | 1894 | Composer | Panteón de Dolores, Mexico City, Mexico | As a result of spinal myelitis, he died at the age of 26. [98] Fifteen years later, in 1909, his remains were brought back to Mexico. | |||||
Gioachino Rossini | 1868 | Composer | Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence, Italy | In 1887 Rossini's remains were relocated to the Santa Croce Basilica in Florence, but the crypt that once housed them, now dedicated to his memory, still stands in Perè Lachaise. | |||||
Mstislav Rostropovich | 2007 | Cellist, conductor | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mstislav_Rostrop%C3%B3vich_grave.jpg His wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, died in 2012 [99] and was buried beside him. | |||||
Ludomir Różycki | 1953 | Composer | Powązki Military Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Giovanni Battista Rubini | 1854 | Opera singer | Romano Cemetery, Romano di Lombardia, Italy | ||||||
Anton Rubinstein | 1894 | Pianist, composer, conductor | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | Originally buried in the Nikolskoe Cemetery, transferred to the Tikhvin in 1939. Monument is not original. | |||||
Arthur Rubinstein | 1982 | Pianist | Rubinstein Memorial, Jerusalem, Israel | His remains were cremated two days after his death. On the first anniversary of his death, an urn holding his ashes was buried, as specified in his will, in a dedicated plot next to Aminadav and the Kennedy Memorial, overlooking the Jerusalem Forest. [100] [101] | |||||
Victor de Sabata | 1967 | Conductor, composer | Cimitero di Gavarno Vescovado, Scanzorosciate, Italy | ||||||
Chevalier de Saint-Georges | 1799 | Composer, violinist | Cimetière Sainte-Marguerite, Paris, France | Contradicting previous accounts of a solitary death, latest research indicates that Saint-Georges' friends, including noted fencing masters, arranged for his body to be interred at the Temple de la Liberté et de l’Egalité, now known as Sainte-Marguerite Church. [102] The cemetery adjacent to the church was closed in 1806. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. | |||||
Camille Saint-Saëns | 1921 | Composer | Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, France | ||||||
Antonio Salieri | 1825 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Johann Peter Salomon | 1815 | Violinist, composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England | He is buried in the same grave as William Shield. | |||||
Pablo de Sarasate | 1908 | Violinist, composer | Cementerio Municipal de San José , Pamplona, Spain | He bequeathed his Stradivari violins, the Sarasate Stradivarius of 1724 and the Boissier of 1713, to the Musée de la Musique and to the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música respectively. | |||||
Erik Satie | 1925 | Composer | Cimetière d'Arcueil , Arcueil, France | ||||||
Alessandro Scarlatti | 1725 | Composer | Santa Maria di Montesanto, Naples, Italy |
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Domenico Scarlatti | 1757 | Composer | Convento de San Norberto, Madrid, Spain | He was buried in the now disappeared convent of San Norberto, which is currently the location of Plaza de los Mostenses . His grave disappeared along with the convent in 1810. His house, located in close proximity to the convent, features a plaque commemorating the composer, which was installed in 1991. | |||||
Tito Schipa | 1965 | Opera singer | Cimitero monumentale di Lecce , Lecce, Italy |
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Franz Schmidt | 1939 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Artur Schnabel | 1951 | Pianist | Schwyz Cemetery, Schwyz, Switzerland | In 2006 the town of Schwyz declared the grave a monument to be cared for in perpetuity. This exempts the site from the practice of removing the remains after a period of a ten to twenty years to free up the grave site. [103] | |||||
Alfred Schnittke | 1998 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | His gravestone shows a fermata over a whole rest, marked fff. | |||||
Arnold Schoenberg | 1951 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | His death was seemingly influenced by his superstitions, particularly his triskaidekaphobia. This fear intensified as he approached multiples of 13, including his 65th birthday in 1939. He altered the title of his opera Moses und Aron, specifically avoiding the two "A"s in Aaron's name, as the original title contained 13 letters. He regularly consulted astrologers for reassurance, and he received a note in 1950 pointing out that the sum of the digits of his age (76) equaled 13, which deeply disturbed him. He died in Los Angeles on Friday, July 13, 1951, just before midnight, after spending the day in bed feeling unwell and anxious. His ashes were interred in Vienna in 1974. [104] | |||||
Franz Schreker | 1934 | Composer, conductor | Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Franz Schubert | 1828 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | In 1888 Schubert's body was moved together with Beethoven's from Währinger Friedhof to Zentralfriedhof. The former gravestones remained in Währing (which turned into Schubertpark in 1925) and a copy was made for the Zentralfriedhof. | |||||
Clara Schumann | 1896 | Composer | Alter Friedhof, Bonn, Germany | According to her wishes she was buried next to her husband, Robert Schumann, who had died 40 years earlier. | |||||
Robert Schumann | 1856 | Composer | Alter Friedhof, Bonn, Germany | The marble monument was made in 1880 by Adolf von Donndorf, replacing a simpler grave. | |||||
Heinrich Schütz | 1672 | Composer | Frauenkirche, Dresden, Germany | He was buried in the old Dresden Frauenkirche, but his tomb was destroyed in 1727 when the church was torn down and replaced by a new, larger church. The church was completely destroyed in the Dresden bombings of World War II. Reconstruction of the current church began in 1994, where a plaque on the floor of the main hall commemorates the composer. [105] | |||||
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf | 2006 | Opera singer | Friedhof Zumikon, Zumikon, Switzerland | ||||||
Alexander Scriabin | 1915 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | ||||||
Tullio Serafin | 1968 | Conductor | Cimitero Comunale di Cavarzere, Cavarzere, Italy |
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William Shield | 1829 | Composer, violinist | Westminster Abbey, London, England | He is buried in the same grave as Johann Peter Salomon. Shield's friend John 'Mad Jack' Fuller commissioned Peter Rouw to create a memorial tablet for Shield. It was intended for Westminster Abbey but was finally installed at St Thomas à Becket Church in Brightling, after objections from the Abbey's dean over the use of the word "gentleman" in its inscription. In 1891 a cenotaph was erected in the churchyard of St. Mary's in Whickham, near Shield's native Swalwell. [106] | |||||
Dmitri Shostakovich | 1975 | Composer | Novodevichye Cemetery, Moscow, Russia | On his grave there is the note motif D, E-flat, C, B natural, or in German musical notation D, Es, C, H; thus standing for his initials in German transliteration (D. Sch). This musical cryptogram was used by him and by other composers several times. | |||||
Jean Sibelius | 1957 | Composer | Jean Sibelius' home, Järvenpää, Finland | His home is now a museum named Ainola after his wife Aino (literal English translation: "Aino's Place"). [107] | |||||
Beverly Sills | 2007 | Opera singer | Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, US | ||||||
Bedřich Smetana | 1884 | Composer | Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||
Antonio Soler | 1783 | Composer | Monasterio del Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain | He spent his last years serving Infante Gabriel of Spain and tirelessly composing for him. He asked to be transferred to another monastery, which was not granted. [108] As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the monastery. | |||||
Georg Solti | 1997 | Conductor | Farkasréti Cemetery, Budapest, Hungary | ||||||
Leo Spies | 1965 | Composer, conductor | Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, Berlin, Germany | ||||||
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji | 1988 | Composer | God's Acre Cemetery, Corfe Castle, England | ||||||
Pablo Sorozábal | 1988 | Composer | Cementerio de la Almudena, Madrid, Spain | ||||||
John Philip Sousa | 1932 | Composer | Congressional Cemetery, Washington D.C., US | ||||||
Gaspare Spontini | 1851 | Composer | Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, Maiolati Spontini, Italy |
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Charles Villiers Stanford | 1924 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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At the funeral, Adrian Boult conducted the Royal College of Music orchestra, performing Stanford's compositions including "Stabat Mater" prelude and his Symphony in D. [109] | ||||
Eleanor Steber | 1990 | Opera singer | Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling, US |
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Giuseppe Di Stefano | 2008 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Santa Maria Hoè, Santa Maria Hoè, Italy |
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He sustained severe injuries, leading to a coma, during a robbery at his residence in Diani Beach, Kenya, on December 3, 2004. [110] Despite multiple surgeries and a transfer to Italy, though emerging from the coma, he never fully recovered finally dying in 2008. [111] | ||||
Wilhelm Stenhammar | 1927 | Composer | Mariebergs Cemetery , Gothenburg, Sweden | ||||||
Isaac Stern | 2001 | Violinist | Morningside Cemetery, Gaylordsville, US |
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Karlheinz Stockhausen | 2007 | Composer | Friedhof Kürten, Kürten, Germany | ||||||
Leopold Stokowski | 1977 | Conductor | East Finchley Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
Alessandro Stradella | 1682 | Composer | Santa Maria delle Vigne, Genoa, Italy | On February 25, 1682, he was fatally stabbed by hired assassins during his stay in Genoa. [112] His tomb is presumably lost. As of April 2024 [update] there is no memorial commemorating the composer in the church. Stradella's fate caught the imagination of romantic composers and inspired four operas, including Flotow's " Alessandro Stradella". | |||||
Johann Strauss I | 1849 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | He was buried at the old Döblinger cemetery beside his friend Joseph Lanner. In 1904, both of their remains were transferred to the Zentralfriedhof. The old cemetery transformed to Strauss-Lanner Park in 1928, where both of their old graves remain. | |||||
Johann Strauss II | 1899 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Josef Strauss | 1870 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | He was buried in his mother's grave in the St. Marx Cemetery. On 1909 the remains of both were buried in an honorary grave in the Vienna Zentralfriedhof. | |||||
Richard Strauss | 1949 | Composer | Friedhof Garmisch , Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany |
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On his deathbed, Strauss said to his daughter-in-law: "It's a funny thing, Alice, dying is just the way I composed it in Tod und Verklärung". [113] | ||||
Igor Stravinsky | 1971 | Composer | Cimitero di San Michele, Venice, Italy | ||||||
Arthur Sullivan | 1900 | Composer | Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, England | ||||||
Conchita Supervía | 1936 | Opera singer | Liberal Jewish Cemetery, London, England |
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In 1936, following a pregnancy, she died in a London clinic shortly after her stillborn baby. [114] They were both buried in a grave designed by Edwin Lutyens. The grave, once in disrepair, was restored in 2006 by admirers. | ||||
Franz von Suppé | 1895 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Joan Sutherland | 2010 | Opera singer | Clarens-Montreux Cemetery, Montreux, Switzerland | Beside her grave is the future final resting place of her widower, conductor Richard Bonynge. | |||||
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck | 1621 | Composer | Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||||||
George Szell | 1970 | Conductor | Arlington Memorial Park, Sandy Springs, US |
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Joseph Szigeti | 1973 | Violinist | Clarens-Montreux Cemetery, Montreux, Switzerland | ||||||
Karol Szymanowski | 1937 | Composer | Skałka, Kraków, Poland | He died in Lausanne but his body was brought back to Poland by his sister and laid to rest at the Pantheon of the Distinguished Poles in Skałka. [115] | |||||
Thomas Tallis | 1585 | Composer | St. Alfege Church, Greenwich, England | His remains may have been discarded by labourers during the 1710s, when the church was rebuilt. [116] A brass memorial plaque, placed there after the death of his wife in 1589, is now lost. [117] His epitaph on that plaque was recorded by the English clergyman John Strype. [118] | |||||
Francesco Tamagno | 1905 | Opera singer | Cimitero monumentale di Torino , Turin, Italy | Initially buried in a family grave, he was later relocated to a 40-meter-tall mausoleum, inaugurated in 1912 and designed by the Milanese architect Raineri Arcaini. In 1986 it was struck by lightning, decapitating a sphinx and creating serious structural problems. The tenor's heirs did not have the means to cover the expenses related to the restoration, so the tomb was handed over to the Municipality of Turin, which completed the works in 1999. [119] | |||||
Francisco Tárrega | 1909 | Composer | Cementeri de Sant Josep , Castellón de la Plana, Spain | ||||||
Giuseppe Tartini | 1770 | Composer | Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Padua, Italy | ||||||
Richard Tauber | 1948 | Opera singer | Brompton Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
John Taverner | 1545 | Composer | St Botolph's Church, Boston, England | He is buried with his wife under the bell tower of the church. | |||||
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | 1893 | Composer | Tikhvin Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia | The circumstances of his death have sparked various theories and speculations. While the official cause was reported as cholera, alternative theories include suicide, poisoning, and government intervention. It's also been suggested that his homosexuality and potential scandals may have played a role. The lack of conclusive evidence has perpetuated the mystery surrounding his death. [120] | |||||
Renata Tebaldi | 2004 | Opera singer | Cimitero di Langhirano, Langhirano, Italy |
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Georg Philipp Telemann | 1767 | Composer | Kloster St. Johannis , Hamburg, Germany | He was buried in the cemetery of the monastery of St. Johannis, where the Rathausmarkt stands today. There, a memorial plaque on the left of the entrance to the town hall commemorates him. [121] | |||||
Luisa Tetrazzini | 1940 | Opera singer | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | She was initially interred in a mausoleum in the Cimitero Monumentale, which was later dismantled due to financial constraints. Her remains were temporarily relocated to the Cimitero Maggiore in 1993, before being permanently moved back to the Cimitero Monumentale, specifically to the Civico Mausoleo Palanti, designated for honorable citizens of Milan. [122] It wasn't until 2020 that a plaque bearing Tetrazzini's name was placed on the mausoleum, thereby formally acknowledging her burial site. | |||||
Ambroise Thomas | 1896 | Composer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France |
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Virgil Thomson | 1989 | Composer | Rehoboth Cemetery, Slater, US |
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Eduard Toldrà | 1962 | Composer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | Upload photo
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Arturo Toscanini | 1957 | Conductor | Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy | His epitaph is taken from one account of his remarks concluding the 1926 premiere of Puccini's unfinished Turandot: "Qui finisce l'opera, perché a questo punto il maestro è morto" ("Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro died"). [123] | |||||
Joaquín Turina | 1949 | Composer | Cementerio de la Almudena, Madrid, Spain | ||||||
Eva Turner | 1990 | Opera singer | St Wilfrid's Churchyard, Standish, England |
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Artemy Vedel | 1808 | Composer | Shchekavytsia Cemetery, Kyiv, Ukraine | The cemetery was destroyed when the area was redeveloped in the 1930s and the grave is now lost. [124] | |||||
Giuseppe Verdi | 1901 | Composer | Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, Milan, Italy | Verdi was originally buried next to Strepponi in Milan's Cimitero Monumentale. One month later their remains were moved to the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a charitable retirement home for musicians that Verdi had established shortly before his death. | |||||
Pauline Viardot | 1910 | Opera singer | Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France | ||||||
Tomás Luis de Victoria | 1611 | Composer | Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, Madrid, Spain | According to his death certificate preserved in the archives of San Ginés Church he was buried at the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales, although the exact location of his remains is unknown. [125] A memorial plaque was placed there in 1990. | |||||
Francesc Viñas | 1933 | Opera singer | Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain | His brother asked the sculptor Mariano Benlliure to create a special grave monument for him at Montjuïc Cemetery. In the monument, Benlliure sculpted Viñas as the three famous characters from Wagner's operas for which he was known: Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Tristan. [126] | |||||
Ramón Vinay | 1996 | Opera singer | Cementerio Municipal de Chillán , Chillán, Chile | ||||||
Antonio Vivaldi | 1741 | Composer | Bürgerspital-Gottesacker, Vienna, Austria | Vivaldi was buried in an unmarked grave at Vienna's Spitaller Gottsacker. This cemetery was abandoned in 1783, and the Vienna University of Technology was built on the grounds in 1818. In 1978, on the 300th anniversary of his birth, a plaque was installed there to indicate Vivaldi's long-lost gravesite. | |||||
Amadeu Vives | 1932 | Composer | Cementiri de Collbató, Collbató, Spain | Upload photo
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Initially buried in Cementiri de Montjuïc, Barcelona, in 2014 his remains were moved to his hometown Collbató. [127] The original tomb still stands in Montjuïc. | ||||
Richard Wagner | 1883 | Composer | Wahnfried, Bayreuth, Germany | The ashes of his second wife, Cosima Wagner, were buried alongside him in 1977, 47 years after her death. [128] | |||||
Bruno Walter | 1962 | Conductor | Cimitero di Sant'Abbondio, Gentilino, Switzerland | ||||||
William Walton | 1983 | Composer | La Mortella, Ischia, Italy | His ashes were interred in the garden of his home, La Mortella. [129] | |||||
Peter Warlock | 1930 | Composer | Nightingale Cemetery, Godalming, England |
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Leonard Warren | 1960 | Opera singer | Saint Mary's Cemetery, Greenwich, US | He died of a heart attack on stage at the Metropolitan Opera during a performance of " La forza del destino". He collapsed after singing Don Carlo's Act III aria Morir, tremenda cosa! ("To die, tremendous thing!"). [130] | |||||
Carl Maria von Weber | 1826 | Composer | Old Catholic Cemetery, Dresden, Germany | Weber died in London and was given a ceremonial burial there. His body was transferred to Dresden eighteen years later on the initiative of Richard Wagner, who composed the eulogy "An Weber's Grabe" WWV 72 for the reburial. [131] | |||||
Anton Webern | 1945 | Composer | Mittsersill Kirchhof, Mittsersill, Austria | On 15 September 1945, during the Allied occupation of Austria, Webern was smoking a cigar outside his home about one hour before curfew when he was shot and killed by US Army cook Raymond Norwood Bell. [132] [133] | |||||
Willoughby Weiss | 1867 | Opera singer | Highgate Cemetery, London, England | ||||||
Henryk Wieniawski | 1880 | Violinist, composer | Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
Józef Wieniawski | 1912 | Pianist, composer | Ixelles Communal Cemetery, Ixelles, Belgium | ||||||
Mathilde Wildauer | 1878 | Opera singer | Friedhof Hietzing, Vienna, Austria | ||||||
Ralph Vaughan Williams | 1958 | Composer | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Fritz Wunderlich | 1966 | Opera singer | Waldfriedhof München, Munich, Germany | ||||||
Eugène Ysaÿe | 1931 | Violinist, composer | Ixelles Communal Cemetery, Ixelles, Belgium | ||||||
Virginia Zeani | 2023 | Opera singer | Solovăstru Cemetery, Solovăstru, Romania |
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She died in a Florida nursing home after an extended cardiac respiratory illness. [134] Some weeks later she was buried in her native Solovăstru. [135] | ||||
Jan Dismas Zelenka | 1745 | Composer | Old Catholic Cemetery, Dresden, Germany | Zelenka's original grave in the Old Catholic Cemetery has not been preserved. Since 1996 a cenotaph commemorates him on the cemetery. [136] | |||||
Alexander von Zemlinsky | 1942 | Composer | Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria | After the Nazi occupation of Austria in 1938 he and his family emigrated to New York, where he died 4 years later in his house in Larchmont. [137] His remains were moved to Vienna in 1985. [138] |
This section contains the classical musicians for whom the passage of time and the lack of reliable historical records have left their burial sites undetermined. It also includes musicians whose unique circumstances of death or burial arrangements have left them without a traditional final resting place.
The list can be sorted by clicking on the corresponding arrows in the column titles.
Name | Death | Occupation | Images | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tomaso Albinoni | 1751 | Composer | Little information has remained about Albinoni's final years. A record from the parish of San Barnaba indicates he died in Venice in 1751, of diabetes. [139] | |
John Cage | 1992 | Composer | — | According to his wishes, his ashes were scattered in the Ramapo Mountains, near Stony Point, New York, at the same place where he had scattered the ashes of his parents. [140] |
Antonio Caldara | 1736 | Composer | He spent his last years as Vize-Kapellmeister to the Imperial Court in Vienna and it is believed that he was buried in St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna. | |
Marc-Antoine Charpentier | 1704 | Composer | It is believed he was buried in a cemetery just behind the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, where he had been maître de musique since 1698. The cemetery no longer exists. [141] | |
Domenico Cimarosa | 1801 | Composer | Probably buried in San Michele Arcangelo , Venice, Italy. Apparently no attempt was made to relocate his remains when this church was demolished in 1837. [142] | |
François Couperin | 1733 | Composer | He was supposedly buried in Cimetière Saint-Joseph in Paris, which closed in 1781 and was destroyed in 1796. It is believed that the remains were relocated to the Paris catacombs. [143] | |
Gerald Finzi | 1956 | Composer | — | He died in the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. His ashes were scattered on May Hill near Gloucester in 1973. [144] |
Enrique Granados | 1916 | Composer | On the return voyage from New York his ship, the SS Sussex, was torpedoed by a German submarine in the English Channel. [145] The Sussex broke in two and the front section sank. At least 50 passengers were left unaccounted for, including Granados and his wife Amparo. [146] Their bodies were never recovered. | |
Jascha Heifetz | 1987 | Violinist | — | He was cremated and the ashes were scattered from a plane over the ocean. [147] |
Alicia de Larrocha | 2009 | Pianist | — | She was cremated in the Cementiri de Collserola and her ashes were scattered in the Mediterranean sea. [148] |
Johannes Ockeghem | 1497 | Composer | It is believed that he died in Tours and was likely interred at the old Abbey of St. Martin, based on his will in which he bequeathed his substantial estate to that church. Burial records for him do not exist. The building was sacked by the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion in 1562 and was later mostly demolished in 1797 during the French Revolution. [149] The two towers that remained were classified as Monument historique in 1840. [150] | |
Manuel Penella | 1939 | Composer | — | He died in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, where he had moved to direct the music for the film El capitán aventurero based on his opera Don Gil de Alcalá . He was supposedly buried in Mexico City. [151] |
Johann Stamitz | 1757 | Composer | He is believed to have been buried in the old Katholischen Friedhof in Mannheim, Germany. This burial ground was demolished in the late 1880s, and while several of its notable graves were transferred to the newer main cemetery , Stamitz's was not. An apartment block now stands on the approximate place. | |
Barbara Strozzi | 1677 | Composer, opera singer | She is believed to have been buried at the Chiesa degli Eremitani in Padua, Italy. [152] The church was largely damaged by Allied bombing in World War II because it was located next to German headquarters. [153] | |
Iannis Xenakis | 2001 | Composer | — | He was cremated in Père Lachaise in Paris without a religious ceremony, in accordance with his last wishes. His ashes were given to his family. [154] |
This section includes maps highlighting the cities, towns and other locations covered in the list of known burial places.