Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 tops Classic FM’s Hall of Fame
Listeners have voted Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 as their favourite in this year’s Classic FM Hall of Fame.
More than 96,000 votes were cast for the chart, with the top 300 pieces of classical music played on the station across the Easter weekend.
The new number one was revealed by Alexander Armstrong just before 9pm on Easter Monday.
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 is back at the top for the first time in 10 years, beating Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, which has held the number one spot 12 times in the chart’s history. This is the ninth time that Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 has been voted the nation’s favourite and coincides with the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth this month.
It is a record year for film music, with 35 movie scores appearing in the 2023 chart compared just two film entries when the first Classic FM Hall of Fame was launched 27 years ago.
The 2023 chart also reveals the steady growth of classical music written by female composers, with ten pieces written by seven composers – the biggest number ever voted by the public into the top 300.
Mozart, once again, takes the crown as the nation’s most popular composer, with 15 entries in total, followed by Beethoven, Bach and Tchaikovsky, all with 11 each.
Classic FM’s Alexander Armstrong said: “Each year, the Classic FM Hall of Fame gives us a unique insight into the nation’s changing tastes in classical music – music we believe is for everyone. As we mark the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninov’s birth this month, his Piano Concerto No.2 is the nation’s favourite piece of classical music.
“While the huge popularity of film music continues to capture both new and established listeners – now representing 12% of the total chart – we can also see growth in the popularity of music by female composers, from such greats as Florence Price to modern day writers including Debbie Wiseman and Yoko Shimomura.”
The Classic FM Hall of Fame 2023 Top 20:
- Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No.2
- Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
- Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
- Elgar – Enigma Variations
- Jenkins – The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 5 (‘Emperor’)
- Holst – The Planets Suite
- Beethoven – Symphony No.9 (‘Choral’)
- Allegri – Miserere
- Williams – Schindler’s List
- Beethoven – Symphony No.6 (‘Pastoral’)
- Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No.2
- Mozart – Requiem
- Bruch – Violin Concerto No.1
- Mozart – Clarinet Concerto
- Vivaldi – Four Seasons
- Dvorak – Symphony No. 9 (‘From the New World’)
- Elgar – Cello Concerto
- Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
- Morricone – The Mission (includes Gabriel’s Oboe)