This little book is intended for those who do not want a big dictionary or a history of music in several volumes. It allows to search for a composer, his time, his style. We do not purport to be exhaustive, here are the best-known composers of the "classic" music, about which he gives a brief information. They are sorted by time, respecting the major stylistic divisions in the history of music. The reader has here a handy checklist that allows him to locate a composer in his time and his musical style.