Composer's hit, gripping work (6)
I believe the answer is:
chopin
'composer's' is the definition.
(Chopin is an example)
'hit gripping work' is the wordplay.
'hit' becomes 'chin' (informal term meaning to punch someone's chin).
'gripping' is an insertion indicator.
'work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
'chin' enclosing 'op' is 'CHOPIN'.
(Other definitions for chopin that I've seen before include "Double centenarian" , "See 10" , "Composer of mainly piano works" , "Polish virtuoso composer" , "popular composer" .)