More than 96,000 votes were cast for this year’s Classic FM Hall of Fame, with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 topping the poll.
The top 300 pieces of classical music were played on Classic FM across the Easter weekend, with the new number one 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.
It is a record year for film music, with 35 movie scores appearing in the 2023 chart compared to just two film entries when the first Classic FM Hall of Fame launched 27 years ago.
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)
