Which composer's 'Canon in D' is a famous piece for strings?

The famous Canon in D was composed by Johann Pachelbel. Its full historical title is Canon and Gigue in D major for three violins and basso continuo, although the canon is now much better known than its paired gigue.

Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist, and teacher who lived from 1653 to 1706. The canon uses three interlocking violin parts over a repeating bass line, creating the steady harmonic pattern that makes the music sound both orderly and expansive. Despite its modern fame, the exact date and circumstances of composition are unknown; proposed dates range from about 1680 to 1706.

The work was not a major public hit during Pachelbel's lifetime. It survived in a manuscript copied around 1838–1842 and was first published in 1919. A 1968 recording by the Jean-François Paillard Chamber Orchestra helped transform it into a modern standard. Listeners sometimes call it simply “Canon in D,” but “Pachelbel's Canon” identifies both the composer and the piece more precisely.