The most beautiful classical music postage stamps

The great composers have popped up on postage stamps around the world. We've been exploring some of our favourites.

1. Beethoven

Beethoven on a stamp from Cyprus, 2011 Credit: Thinkstock
2. Mozart

Mozart on an Austrian stamp. Credit: Thinkstock
3. J.S. Bach

J.S. Bach on a stamp from Cyprus, 2011. Credit: Thinkstock
4. Musorgsky

Modest Musorgsky on a Russian stamp from 1989. Credit: Thinkstock
5. Sibelius

Sibelius graces a stamp from Finland. Credit: Thinkstock
6. Tchaikovsky

Russian composer Tchaikovsky on a stamp from 1974. Credit: Thinkstock
7. Beethoven

Beethoven appears on a German stamp. Credit: Thinkstock
8. Liszt

Liszt on a stamp from the DDR, 1973. Credit: Thinkstock
9. Mozart

The great composer appears on a Cypriot stamp from 2011. Credit: Thinkstock
10. Mozart's piano

This German stamp celebrates Mozart not with a portrait, but with a picture of a piano. Credit: Thinkstock
11. Wagner

A 1963 stamp from the USSR celebrating Wagner. Credit: Thinkstock
12. Shostakovich

Shostakovich appears with an excerpt from the score for his 7th Symphony. Credit: Thinkstock
13. Scriabin

Russian composer Scriabin on a striking stamp. Credit: Thinkstock
14. Handel

A German stamp celebrating Handel. Credit: Thinkstock
15. Grieg

Edvard Grieg, composer of 'Peer Gynt', appears on a stamp from the USSR. Credit: Thinkstock
16. Khachaturian

The Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian appears on a stamp. Credit: Thinkstock
17. Haydn

The father of the symphony, Joseph Haydn, on an Austrian stamp. Credit: Thinkstock
18. Caruso

Not a composer, but a singer – one of the best tenors who ever lived, Enrico Caruso, appears on this American stamp. Credit: Thinkstock
19. Telemann

The Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann – and some of his music on a German stamp. Credit: Thinkstock
20. Chopin

The Polish composer Chopin appears on a stamp from Czechoslovakia. Credit: Thinkstock
21. Duke Ellington

This French stamp from 2002 celebrates the brilliant jazz composer and performer Duke Ellington. Credit: Thinkstock