List of musical families (classical music)

This is a list of families including three or more classical musicians. Non-musical family members are mostly not included unless for clarification purposes. Names that already have an established family entry are redirected to the main article - unless (as with Mendelssohn) they include mainly non-musical members, in which case the musicians are extracted here.

  • Alain family of French musicians, particularly organists[1]
  • Albert Alain (1880–1971), organist, composer and organ builder
    • Jehan Alain (1911–1940), organist, composer and soldier
    • Marie-Odile Alain (1914–1937), organist
    • Olivier Alain (1918–1994), organist, pianist, musicologist and composer
    • Marie-Claire Alain (1926–2013), organist and scholar
  • Andriessen family of Dutch composers[2]

  • Bach family of notable composers of the baroque and classical periods[3]
    Main article: Bach family
  • Bassano family of Italian musicians, many of whom moved to England[4]
  • Jeronimo Bassano, piffero player to the Doge of Venice between 1506 and 1512
    • Alvise (died London, 15–31 Aug 1554), worked for the Scuola di San Marco, Venice in 1515, and the Concerto Palatino in Bologna between 1519 and 1521
      • Augustine (bur. London, Oct 24, 1604)
      • Lodovico (bur. London, July 18, 1593)
    • Jasper [Gasparo] (bur. London, 8 May 1577)
    • John [Zuane] (died Venice, Sept–Dec 1570)
    • Anthony [Antonio] (i) (bur. London, 19 Oct 1574)
      • Mark Anthony (born London, 10 Jan 1546; died London, 11 Sep 1599)
      • Arthur (born London, 31 Oct 1547; bur. London, 10 Sept 1624)
        • Anthony (ii) (born London, 15 Oct 1579; bur. London, 22 Apr 1658)
      • Andrea (born London, 12 Aug 1554; bur. Horne, Surrey, 3 Aug 1626)
        • Thomas (?bap. London, 27 Feb 1589; bur. London, 29 Sept 1617)
      • Edward (i) (born London, 19 Oct 1551; bur. London, 25 May 1615)
      • Jeronimo (ii) (born London, March 11, 1559; bur. Waltham Abbey, Essex, Aug 22, 1635)
        • Scipio (bap. London, 11 Dec 1586; died London, 26 Nov 1613)
        • Edward (ii) (bap. London, 28 Dec 1588; died London, 22 Oct 1638)
        • Henry (bap. London, 8 April 1597; bur. London, 29 Aug 1665)
    • Jacomo (in Venice between 1542 and 1545)
        • Giovanni Bassano (grandson of Jacomo, born ?Venice, 1560/61; died Venice, Aug 16, 1617)
    • Baptista (bur. London, 11 April 1576)
  • Bedford family of English musicians[5]
  • Herbert Bedford (1867–1945)
  • Liza Lehmann (1862–1918), married Herbert Bedford in 1894
    • Leslie Herbert Bedford (1900–1989), inventor, married to Lesley Duff (1903–1987), singer.
  • Borsdorf family of horn players, the younger generation changed their surname to Bradley[6]
  • The Brain family, founded a great school of horn playing in England[7]
  • The Bull family of Norway, including musicians[8]

  • The Carter family, English organists, three of whom were later active in Canada[9]
  • John Carter (1802–????), organist at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green, married Anne Leach, 1831
    • John Carter (1832–1916), organist and composer, emigrated to Canada in 1853
    • George Carter (1835–1890), organist and composer, emigrated to Canada in 1861, organist at Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal.
    • Henry Carter (1837–1901), organist and composer, emigrated to Canada 1850s and to the US in 1864
    • William Carter (1838–1917), organist and composer, founded the original Royal Albert Hall choir
  • Casadesus family, prominent French artistic family including many musicians (1870s-1990s)[10]
    Main article: Casadesus family
  • Chaplin family, members of the Chaplin Trio, reviving early music from 1889 until the late 1920s[11]
    Main article: Chaplin Trio
  • Couperin family, musical dynasty of professional composers and performers of the French Baroque (17th—18th centuries)[12]
    Main article: Couperin family
  • Cramer family of German musicians, active in England[13]

  • Devriès family of Dutch opera singers over three generations (1830s-1940s)[14]
    Main article: Devriès family
  • Dolmetsch family, Swiss-French-British family, influential in the 20th-century revival of early music.[15]
    Main article: Arnold Dolmetsch
  • Draper family, English musical family including two pioneering clarinetists, Charles and Haydn.[16]
  • Samuel Draper (1824–1888), amateur cellist and flautist
    • Paul Draper (1854–1922), bassoonist, teacher, military musician
      • Marion Draper (1887–????), violinist and pianist
      • Haydn Draper (1889–1934), clarinetist, military and orchestral player
      • Mendelssohn Draper (1891–1970), bass clarinet specialist, orchestral player
    • Richard Draper (1857–1938), bassoonist, Queen's Hall Orchestra, D’Oyle Carte and Carl Rosa Opera companies.
    • Charles Draper (1869–1952), "the grandfather of English clarinetists"[17]
      • Charles Carrington Draper (1897–1930), violinist
      • Paul Beaumont Draper (1899–1971), bassoonist, founder member of the Melos Ensemble

  • Fawcett family of 19th and 20th century professional orchestral players and amateur musicians from Yorkshire[19]
Main article: Fawcett (musical family)

  • Gibbons family of English composers and musicians[20]
  • Godfrey family of English bandmasters and musicians[21]
  • Charles Godfrey (1790–1863), bandmaster, Coldstream Guards, civilian bandmaster
    • Daniel Godfrey (1831–1903), bandmaster, Grenadier Guards
    • Fred Godfrey (1837–1882), bandmaster, Coldstream Guards
    • Charles Godfrey II. (1839–1919), bandmaster, Royal Horse Guards
      • Charles George Godfrey (1866–1935), composer, bandmaster, musical director of spa resorts, Buxton, Scarborough
      • Arthur Eugene Godfrey (1868–1939), organist, composer, musical director of the Shaftesbury Theatre
      • Herbert A Godfrey (1870–1952), bandmaster, Christ's Hospital, Crystal Palace Military Band
      • Edwina ("Winnie") Godfrey, pianist, studied Royal College of Music, 1890s
      • Rosaline ("Rosie") Godfrey, singer, pianist, studied Royal College of Music, 1890s
  • Goossens family of conductors, composers and performers, moved from Belgium to Britain in 1873[22]

  • Hambourg family, of Russian origins[24]
  • Michael Hambourg (1855–1916), Russian pianist, pupil of Nikolai Rubinstein, emigrated to London (1890), then Canada (1910)
    • Mark Hambourg (1879–1960), internationally famous pianist
      • Michal Augusta Hambourg (1919–2004), pianist
    • Jan Hambourg (1882–1947), violinist, music editor, active in Europe as a concert violinist
    • Boris Hambourg (1885–1954), cellist, settled in Toronto, Canada (1910)
    • Clement Hambourg (1900–1973), Canadian pianist and jazz promoter,
  • Alexander Hambourg (1870–????), conductor, came to England in 1896
    • Charles Hambourg (1895–1979), cellist and conductor
  • Hann family of English musicians from South London[25]
  • William Henry Hann, viola (1831–1920) (married to Sophie Hopkins of the Hopkins Family, see below)
    • Edward Hopkins Hann (1861–1929), violin, founding member of London Symphony Orchestra
    • William Charles Hann (1863–1926), cellist, Philharmonic Society Orchestra
    • Lewis Robert Hann (1865–1937), violinist, composer, music professor at Cheltenham Ladies College
    • Sydney Herbert Hann (1867–1921), organist, pianist, hymn tune composer, teacher
    • Clement Walter Hann (1870–1921), cellist, 2nd violin, Philharmonic Society Orchestra
    • Marianne Sophia Hann (1878–1926), mezzo soprano, teacher
  • Hannikainen family of Finnish composers and performers[26]
  • Hanssens family of Flemish musicians[27]
  • The Harrison family, four English sisters, all musical child prodigies[28]

May Harrison (1890–1959), violinist
Beatrice Harrison (1892–1965), cellist
Monica Harrison (1897–1983), mezzo–soprano
Margaret Harrison ((1899–1995), violinist

  • Hobday family of English musicians[30]
  • Charles Dunn Hobday had a music-selling business in Faversham, and later Rochester
    • Bessie Hobday, pianist
    • Alfred Charles Hobday (1870–1942), viola player, married to the Irish pianist Ethel Hobday, née Sharpe (1872–1947)
    • Claude Hobday (1872–1954) double bass player
    • Maud Hobday (1874–1941), violinist and pianist
    • Gertrude Hobday, pianist and singer
  • Hopkins family of English instrumentalists, particularly early clarinetists and organists[31]
  • Edward Hopkins (c1757–c1790), horn player
    • Edward Hopkins (1779–1859), bandmaster (Scots Guards), violinist and clarinetist
      • Louise Lloyd, née Hopkins (c1817–1880), RAM, music teacher
      • Richard Lloyd, married to Louise Lloyd, counter tenor and vicar choral at Westminster Abbey
      • Edward Hopkins (1818–1842), organist at Armagh Cathedral
      • John Larkin Hopkins (1819–1873), organist and composer
      • Sophia Hann, née Hopkins (1835– died before 1912), married viola player W.H. Hann (see 'Hann' above)
      • Eliza Frances Hopkins (c1837–1921), married Charles Ould, cellist (see 'Ould', below)
    • George Hopkins (????–1869), clarinetist

  • Järvi family of conductors, composers and performers, of Estonian origin[32]
    Main article: Järvi Family

  • Kanneh-Mason family, British musical siblings of Antiguan descent[33]

Isata Kanneh-Mason (born 27 May 1996) pianist
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (born 4 April 1999), cellist
Braimah Kanneh-Mason (born 2000), violinist
Konya Kanneh-Mason (born 2003), violin and piano
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (born 2004), cello and piano
Aminata Kanneh-Mason (born 2007), violin and piano
Mariatu Kanneh-Mason (born 2011), cello and piano

  • Kerzelli family, large family of musicians of Italian, Czech or Austrian origin[34]
    Main article: Kerzelli family

  • Linley family of English musicians[35]
  • Lloyd Webber family of English musicians[36]
  • Lupo family of court musicians in England in the 16th and 17th centuries[37]
    Main article: Lupo family

  • Menuhin family of American musicians[39]
  • Moralt family: 18 members in the Munich Hofkapelle orchestra between 1787 and 1920[40]
  • Adam Moralt (c1741–1811), orchestral manager
    • Johann Wilhelm Moralt (1774 – died after 1842), viola player
      • Wilhelm Moralt (1815–1874), violinist, (the second) Moralt Quartet
    • Joseph Moralt (1775–1855), violinist, Moralt String Quartet
    • Johann Baptist Moralt (1777–1825), violinist and composer, Moralt String Quartet
    • Jacob Moralt (1780–1820), violinist, Moralt String Quartet
    • Philipp Moralt (1780–1830) cellist, dedicatee of Danzi's Cello Concerto in E minor
      • Peter Moralt (1814– died after 1866), violinist
      • Theodor Moralt (1817–1877), treasurer for the Royal Theater, Munich
    • John Alvis Moralt (1780–1830s?), viola player, married Sophia Giustina Dussek (1775– c1831), singer, pianist and composer
    • Clementine Moralt (1797–1845), contralto
  • Leopold Mukle (c1829 – died after 1896), German born organ builder, originally from the Black Forest, active in England
    • Anne Mukle (1866–1941), pianist
    • Flora Mukle (1873–????), singer
    • Lillian Mukle (1874–????), trumpeter
    • Fred Mukle (c1877–????), organ builder
    • Louisa Mukle (1879–????), musician
    • May Mukle (1880–1963), cellist and composer
    • Stanley Herbert Mukle (1883–1970), organ builder
      • Nora Mukle (1911-1993), double bass player, wife of Vernon Elliott
        • Naomi Elliott (born 1938), cellist
  • Münch family of Alsatian French conductors
  • Ernst Münch (1859–1928), organist and choir conductor
  • Eugen Münch, conductor, brother of Ernst

  • Naylor family of English organists and composers
  • Novello family of English musicians and music publishers[42]

  • Ould family of English musicians[25]
  • Charles Ould (1835–1913), cellist, married Eliza Frances Hopkins in 1862 (see 'Hopkins', above)
    • Charles Hopkins Ould, organist and pianist (1865–????)
    • Percy Ould, violinist (1868-????)
    • Kate Emma Ould, cellist (????-????)
    • Mary Ould, violinist and pianist (1879-????)

  • Philidor family of French court musicians (1580s to 1790s)
    Main article: Philidor
  • Piffet family of French violinists and composers[43]
  • Pierre Piffet (born late 17th century; died after 1760)
    • Pierre-Louis Piffet (c1706–1773)
    • Joseph-Antoine Piffet (c1710– died late 18th century)
      • Louis-François-Barthélemy Piffet (1734–1779)
  • Puccini family of Italian musicians over five generations[44]
  • Jacopo Puccini (1712–1781)
    • Antonio Puccini (1747–1832), composer and organist

  • Sanderling family of German conductors
  • Scarlatti family of Italian composers from the Baroque and classical eras[45]
  • Schnabel family of Austrian musicians[46]
  • The Simonson family of French origins, active in Australia and New Zealand
  • Fanny Simonsen (1835–1896), soprano,
    • Leonora Martina Simonsen (1859–1884), soprano, married David Davis.
  • Strauss family of Austrian composers[47]
  • Szervánszky family of Hungarian musicians

  • Tcherepnin family of Russian musicians[48]

  • Vecoli family of Italian composers and musicians from Lucca[49]
    Main article: Vecoli family
  • The Verne sisters, (née Würm), English pianists of German descent

Mary Wurm (1860–1938), pianist and composer
Alice Verne-Bredt (1864–1958), piano teacher, violinist and composer
Mathilde Verne (1865–1936), pianist and teacher
Adela Verne (1877–1952), pianist

  • Wagner family, ancestors, relatives and descendants of Richard Wagner.[50]
    Main article: Wagner family
  • Walenn family, Walenn String Quartet (1890s), annual Waleen Chamber concerts series[51]
  • Skene Charlotte Walenn (née Barth, 1837-1927), British musical amateur, mother of 15 children
    • Isabella Walenn (1857–1936), Royal Choral Society
    • Ellie Walenn (1858–1929), musician and for 15 years head teacher at Roedean School
    • James Walenn (1860–1884), composer, from 1879 organist at St Alban's Holborn, conductor of the St Alban's Choral Society
    • Arthur Walenn (mid-1860s–1937), viola player, dubut as baritone, Queen's Hall, November 1895
    • Charles Walenn (1867–1948), singer and actor comic baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas
    • Frederick Dudley Walenn (1869-1933), amateur musician and the composer
    • Herbert Walenn (1870–1953), cellist (Kruse Quartet and Walenn Quartet)
    • Gerald Walenn (1871–1942), violinist and composer, leader of the Walenn Quartet, emigrated to Australia in 1917
    • Dorothea Walenn (1875–1948) taught violin at St Paul's Girls' School, performed in the Walenn Quartet
  • Alice Barth (1848–1910), operatic soprano, sister of Skene
  • Weber Family, German musical family[52]
  • Wesley family, English founders of Methodism and noted musicians[53]
  • Willmann family of German/Austrian musicians[54]

  • Young family of English musicians

References

  1. ^ Aurélie Decourt. Une famille de musiciens au XXe siècle: La famille Alain (Paris, Hermann, 2011)
  2. ^ Yayoi Uno Everett. The Music of Louis Andriessen (2006)
  3. ^ Karl Geiringer. The Bach Family: Seven Generations of Creative Genius (1954)
  4. ^ Lasocki, David, with Roger Prior, The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665 (Cambridge: Scolar Press, 1995), pp. 217, 251-256.
  5. ^ David Bedford obituary, The Independent, 10 October 2011
  6. ^ The LSO in World War I: The Sad Tale of Adolph Borsdorf, London Symphony Orchestra website
  7. ^ Morley-Pegge, Reginald, and Niall O'Loughlin. 'Brain family', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  8. ^ Einar Haugen and Camilla Cai. Ole Bull: Norway's Romantic Musician and Cosmopolitan Patriot (1993
  9. ^ 'William Carter', The Cambridge Encyclopedia (2007)
  10. ^ Robert/Jean/Gaby Casadesus: First Family Of The Piano, DVD documentary (2004)
  11. ^ 'Nellie Chaplin and her sisters', Semibrevity, May 2015
  12. ^ Wilfrid Mellers. Francois Couperin And The French Classical Tradition (1968)
  13. ^ Simon McVeigh. 'Cramer, Wilhelm', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  14. ^ Elizabeth Forbes. 'Devriès family [De Vries]', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  15. ^ The Dolmetsch Family and Early Music, dolmetsch.com
  16. ^ Malcolm McMillan. The Draper Family: a Musical Legacy, Samek Music (2018)
  17. ^ Pamela Weston. Clarinet Virtuosi of the Past (1971)
  18. ^ Bengt Kyhlberg, revised by Bertil H. van Boer. 'Düben family', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  19. ^ H. A. Chambers, H. R. Fawcett, G. H. Wright. 'The Fawcett Family', Musical Times, Vol. 113, No. 1556 (October 1972), p. 972
  20. ^ Edmund Fellowes, Orlando Gibbons and His Family (1970)
  21. ^ Philip Scowcroft. A Sixth Garland of British Light Music
  22. ^ Carole Rosen. The Goossens: A Musical Century (1994)
  23. ^ The Grimson family and the First World War, The Western Front Association
  24. ^ Eric Koch, The Brothers Hambourg (Robin Brass Studio, 1997)
  25. ^ a b 'The Hanns', Streatham News, 29 October 1920, p. 5
  26. ^ Timo Mäkinen and Kimmo Korhonen. 'Hannikainen family', Grove Music Online (2001)
  27. ^ John Lade. 'Hanssens family', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  28. ^ Fountain, Katrina. 'In a Surrey Garden: The Story of the Harrison Sisters', Delius Society Journal No. 87 (1985): 3-12
  29. ^ Richard Evidon. 'Hellmesberger family', Grove Music Online (2001)
  30. ^ Tully Potter. 'Alfred Hobday, a valuable violist', British Viola Society
  31. ^ James Duff Brown and Stephen Stratton. British Musical Biography (1897), pp. 206-207
  32. ^ 'Estonia’s greatest musical family – the Järvis', estonia.ee
  33. ^ Kanneh-Mason, Kadiatu. House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons (2020)
  34. ^ Richard Taruskin. 'Kerzelli family', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  35. ^ Clementina Black. The Linleys of Bath (1911)
  36. ^ John Snelson. Andrew Lloyd Webber (2004)
  37. ^ Peter Holman. Four and Twenty Fiddlers: The Violin at the English Court, 1540–1690 (1996)
  38. ^ Sebastian Hensel. The Mendelssohn Family, 1729–1847 (1884)
  39. ^ Rolfe, Lionel Menuhin. The Menuhins: A Family Odyssey (2014)
  40. ^ 'Moralt, A Musical Family', RISM
  41. ^ Ruth Halliwell. The Mozart Family: Four Lives in a Social Context (1998)
  42. ^ 'The Novello Family and Friends', National Portrait Gallery
  43. ^ Jeffrey Cooper. 'Piffet family [Pifet, Pifay, Pifait]', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  44. ^ Julian Budden. Puccini: His Life and Works (2002)
  45. ^ Roberto Pagano and others. 'Scarlatti family', Grove Music Online (2001)
  46. ^ Saerchinger, Cesar. Artur Schnabel. A Biography (1957)
  47. ^ Peter Kemp. 'Strauss family', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  48. ^ 'Tcherepnin family', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  49. ^ Steven Ledbetter. 'Vecoli family [Veccoli]', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  50. ^ Jonathan Carr. The Wagner Clan (2007)
  51. ^ James Duff Brown and Stephen Stratton. British Musical Biography (1897), pp. 427-428
  52. ^ Grove, George (1900). "Weber Family" . A Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 4.6. p. 429.
  53. ^ Barry, Joseph (2010). Temperley, Nicholas; Banfield, Stephen (eds.). Music and the Wesleys. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 141–146. ISBN 978-0-252-07767-8.
  54. ^ "Willmann, Familie" Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon Online. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  55. ^ 'A Notable Family: The Winterbottoms', in The Cornishman, 26 February 1903), p. 3
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