List of 21st-century classical composers by birth date

This list is by no means complete. Only composers of significant fame and importance are included. See also List of 21st century classical composers by death date.

1890s

• Leo Ornstein (1893-2002)

1900s

• Elliott Carter (1908- )

1910s

• Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)
• Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)
• David Diamond (1915-2005)
• Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001)
• Milton Babbitt (1916- )
• Henri Dutilleux (1916- )
• John Gardner (1917- )
• George Rochberg (1918-2005)

1920s

• Harold Shapero (1920- )
• Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)
• Andrew Imbrie (1921-2007)
• Karel Husa (1921- )
• Chaya Arbel (1921- )
• Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006)
• Ned Rorem (1923- )
• Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
• Pierre Boulez (1925- )
• Mikis Theodorakis (1925- )
• Hans Werner Henze (1926- )
• John Joubert (1927- )
• Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928- )
• Robert Helps (1928-2001)
• Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007)
• Ennio Morricone (1928- )
• George Crumb (1929- )
• Alun Hoddinott (1929- )
• Peter Sculthorpe (1929- )

1930s

• Robert Ashley (1930- )
• Larry Austin (1930- )
• Theo Loevendie (1930- )
• William Perry (1930- )
• Sofia Gubaidulina (1931- )
• Mauricio Kagel (1931- )
• Ib Norholm (1931- )
• Wojciech Kilar (1932- )
• Per Norgard (1932- )
• John Williams (1932- )
• Leonardo Balada (1933- )
• Henryk Górecki (1933- )
• Krzysztof Penderecki (1933- )
• Yves Prin (1933- )
• Harrison Birtwistle (1934- )
• Peter Maxwell Davies (1934- )
• Giya Kancheli (1935- )
• Nicholas Maw (1935- )
• Arvo Part (1935- )
• Terry Riley (1935- )
• Aulis Sallinen (1935- )
• Peter Schat (1935-2003)
• Steve Reich (1936- )
• Aribert Reimann (1936- )
• Osvaldas Balakauskas (1937- )
• Walter Hekster (1937- )
• David Del Tredici (1937- )
• Philip Glass (1937- )
• Valentin Silvestrov (1937- )
• Bart Berman (1938- )
• William Bolcom (1938- )
• Gloria Coates (1938- )
• John Harbison (1938- )
• Frederic Rzewski (1938- )
• Jan Vriend (1938- )
• Yuji Takahashi (1938- )
• Joan Tower (1938- )
• Heinz Holliger (1939- )
• John McCabe (1939- )
• Boris Tishchenko (1939- )
• Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (1939- )

1940s

• John Mitchell (1941- )
• Gavin Bryars (1943- )
• Dennis Eberhard (1943-2005)
• Margriet Ehlen (1943- )
• Brian Ferneyhough (1943- )
• Joseph Schwantner (1943- )
• Michael Nyman (1944- )
• John Tavener (1944- )
• Klaas de Vries (1944- )
• John Rutter (1945- )
• Ulrich Leyendecker (1946- )
• Peteris Vasks (1946- )
• Hristo Tsanoff (1947- )
• John Coolidge Adams (1947- )
• Emil Tabakov (1947- )
• Michael Berkeley (1948- )
• Kalevi Aho (1949- )
• Daniel Catan (1949- )
• Dan Locklair (1949- )

1950s

• Laurent Petitgirard (1950- )
• Lorenzo Ferrero (1951- )
• Oliver Knussen (1952- )
• Philippe Manoury (1952- )
• Alla Pavlova (1952- )
• Wolfgang Rihm (1952- )
• Hsueh-Yung Shen (1952- )
• Gustavo Santaolalla (1952- )
• Reza Vali (1952- )
• Peter-Jan Wagemans (1952- )
• Judith Weir (1954- )
• Dror Elimelech (1956- )
• Alexandre Danilevsky (1957- )
• John Faverman (1957- )
• Tan Dun (1957- )
• Oscar van Dillen (1958- )
• Magnus Lindberg (1958- )
• Davide Zannoni (1958- )
• James MacMillan (1959- )
• Shigeru Kan-no (1959- )

1960s

• George Benjamin (1960- )
• Osvaldo Golijov (1960- )
• Alexander Shchetynsky (1960- )
• Alexander Kaloian (1962- )
• Mark-Anthony Turnage (1960- )
• Roman Turovsky (1961- )
• Michael Torke (1961- )
• Shiloh Aizawa (1962- )
• Jennifer Higdon (1962- )
• Thorkell Atlason (1964- )
• Luca Belcastro (1964- )
• Juan J. Colomer (1966- )
• Andreas Kunstein (1967- )
• Paolo Longo (1967- )
• Daniel Theaker (1967- )
• Roxanna Panufnik (1968- )

1970s

• Andi Vincent (1971- )
• Thomas Adès (1971- )
• Carlo Forlivesi (1971- )
• Edward Top (1972- )
• Richard Causton (1971- )
• François Sarhan (1972- )
• Kristoffer Zegers (1973- )
• Joseph Phibbs (1974- )
• Juan Manuel Abras (1975- )
• Rodrigo Castillo Filomarino(1979- )