Maurice Ravel

Known for his famous works, "Daphnis et Chloe", "Bolero", and "Le Tombeau de Couperin", Ravel was known as one of the greatest orchestrators in the 20th century. He even went and orchestrated Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", which was originally written for solo piano. A French composer, conductor, and pianist born in 1875, Ravel soon became one of the biggest inspirations of composers in the 21st century.

Gustav Mahler

Well known for his symphonies and song cycles, Gustav Mahler is one of the best orchestrators in all of music history. Having written his historic and momentous Second Symphony, Mahler soon established himself as an amazing orchestrator. However, in his time, he was not as well known as he is today. Leonard Bernstein made all of Mahler's works as well known as they are today. Mahler is regularly programmed on all top orchestras around the world.

Dmitri Shostakovich

Shostakovich is personally one of my favorite composers of all time. He is also one of the best orchestrators of all time. He has written 15 symphonies, all that tell a brilliant story. His use of harmony and timbre really define his style and his distinct sound. Once you listen to one Shosty symphony, you'll recognize his style immediately

Igor Stravinsky

In addition to his orchestral pieces, Stravinsky wrote 3 brilliant ballets: Firebird, Petrouchka, and Rite of Spring.
All tell very intricate stories. The orchestration of these ballets are very large. They are very famous in using auxiliary instruments for the winds and a plethora of percussion. Stravinsky also wrote a couple symphonies and some general orchestra pieces.

...and those are just to name a few! In music history and orchestration, we study a plethora of composers and how they used standard orchestral instruments in the context of a big work. We study them and we learn from them by doing the thing we do most: listen. By simply listening to these pieces, you can learn so much about how deeply intricate and sophisticated these orchestrations are.