# KUSC's Classical California Ultimate Playlist! The Philistines strike!



## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

I posted this over in the "Classic FM Hall of Fame" thread but I thought I would give it a thread of its own.

KUSC's Classical California Ultimate Playlist. Here is the link: https://www.kusc.org/radio/streams/l...aylist-stream/

A strange and, of course, disappointing list, with lots of garbage on it. And, of course, serious omissions.

Starting with the omissions: 250 pieces and not one by Haydn...not one. That is the worst thing...inexcusable. No Bruckner either. There are of course numerous other works that one would hope be on the list but, well, you know...

There was, however, room for numerous movie scores, computer game music and pieces from VERY minor composers who are part of the "checkbox" crowd (check off a box for being female, check another box for not being white, etc.) and, as such, are worthier than Haydn.

I was perplexed seeing those checkbox composers and their pieces on the list as I am convinced 99.9999% of the KUSC listeners had never heard of them before this project came into existence. How did they make the cut? How were these composers and their works brought to the attention of the voters? Was there a nomination list of say 500 works including the works of these obscure composers? Nope. In the months preceding the vote KUSC personnel posted numerous blogs containing info about these unknowns and YouTube links to their music. So the fix was in. KUSC personnel, being, of course, appropriately 'woke', "nominated" the appropriate candidates and musically ignorant, virtue signaling Californians did the rest.

Some comments:

JS Bach didn't make the Top 40. His highest ranking piece came in at #47...Toccata & Fugue in d minor...what a surprise!

Some of the composers/pieces that came in ahead of JSB:
Astor Piazzolla: Libertango
Jerry Goldsmith: Star Trek
Yann Tiersen: Amelie
Arturo Marquez: Danzón No. 2
Florence Price: Symphony No. 3
Scott Joplin: Pineapple Rag
Ennio Morricone: The Mission: Gabriel's Oboe
Howard Shore: Lord of the Rings

Ah, California...

Yeah, I know, these types of lists are not about excellence, but about popular taste (or lack thereof)...I still like complaining about them. 

Here is the list:

1. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #9
2. George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
3. Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 9
4. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
5. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #6
6. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #7
7. Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto #5
8. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #5
9. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem
10. Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
11. Bedrich Smetana: Ma Vlast: The Moldau
12. Peter Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
13. Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
14. John Williams: Star Wars
15. Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring: Simple Gifts
16. Claude Debussy: Clair de lune
17. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
18. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
19. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 41
20. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2
21. Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 "Organ"
22. Johann Pachelbel: Canon in D
23. Joaquín Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
24. Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
25. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
26. Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
27. Yann Tiersen: Amelie
28. Gustav Holst: The Planets: Jupiter
29. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #3 "Eroica"
30. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
31. George Frideric Handel: Messiah
32. Maurice Ravel: Bolero
33. Carl Orff: Carmina Burana
34. Jerry Goldsmith: Star Trek Yann Tiersen: Amelie Arturo Marquez: Danzón No. 2
35. Arturo Marquez: Danzón No. 2
36. Florence Price: Symphony No. 3
37. Scott Joplin: Pineapple Rag
38. Ennio Morricone: The Mission: Gabriel's Oboe
39. Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata #14 "Moonlight"
40. Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet "Trout"
41. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
42. Astor Piazzolla: Libertango 
43. Howard Shore: Lord of the Rings
44. Peter Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto #1
45. George Frideric Handel: Water Music
46. Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
47. Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata & Fugue in d minor
48. Koji Kondo: Legend of Zelda
49. Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhbition
50. Heitor Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras #5
51. Peter Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
52. Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto
53. Alexander Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia
54. Caroline Shaw: To the Hands: Her Beacon Hand
55. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3
56. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5: Adagietto
57. Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto
58. Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto
59. William Grant Still: Afro-American Symphony
60. Antonin Dvorak: Rusalka: Song to the Moon
61. Johannes Brahms: German Requiem
62. Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations
63. Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Hear us in the Heavens
64. Johann Strauss II: Blue Danube Waltz
65. Igor Stravinsky: Firebird
66. Aram Khachaturian: Masquerade Waltz
67. Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
68. Leo Delibes: Lakme: Flower Duet
69. Jean Sibelius: Finlandia
70. Ferde Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite
71. Alberto Ginastera: Dance of the Graceful Maiden
72. Igor Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
73. Nobuo Uematsu: Final Fantasy Theme
74. Johann Sebastian Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
75. Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet
76. Manuel Ponce: Estrellita
77. Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite #1
78. John Williams: Schindler's List
79. Aram Khachaturian: Spartacus: Adagio
80. Jules Massenet: Thais: Meditation
81. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute
82. Giuseppe Verdi: Nabucco: Va Pensiero (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves)
83. Jeremy Soule: Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
84. Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
85. Terence Blanchard: Da 5 Bloods - MLK Assassinated
86. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21
87. Charles Gounod: Faust: "Ah! je ris de me voir si belle"
88. Carlos Chavez: Symphony 2
89. Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in b minor
90. Rachel Portman: Chocolat - Vianne Sets up Shop
91. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40
92. Eric Whitacre: Sing Gently
93. Antonio Vivaldi: Four Seasons: Spring
94. Margaret Bonds: Troubled Water
95. Giacomo Puccini: Turandot: Nessun Dorma
96. Morten Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium
97. Peter Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake
98. Jessica Curry: All the Earth - Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
99. Amy Beach: Gaelic Symphony
100. Claudio Monteverdi : Pur Ti Miro - Coronation of Poppea
101. John Williams: Jaws
102. Yuzo Koshiro: ActRaiser
103. Georges Bizet: Carmen
104. Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt
105. Richard Wagner: Die Valkure: Ride of the Valkyries
106. Antonio Vivaldi: Four Seasons: Summer
107. Peter Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
108. Morten Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna
109. Aaron Copland: Rodeo
110. Gustav Mahler: Symphony #1
111. Frederic Chopin: Piano Concerto #1
112. John Williams: Harry Potter
113. Gabriel Fauré: Requiem
114. Antonio Vivaldi: Four Seasons: Winter
115. Florence Price: Fantasie Negre No 2
116. César Franck: Symphony in d Minor
117. George Gershwin: An American in Paris
118. Greg Edmonson: Uncharted - Drake's Fortune: Nate's Theme
119. Felix Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
120. Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4
121. Gioachino Rossini: William Tell Overture
122. Max Bruch: Violin Concerto #1
123. Claude Debussy: La Mer
124. Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto #2
125. Johann Sebastian Bach: Sheep May Safely Graze
126. Bernard Hermann: Psycho
127. Igor Stravinsky: Petrouchka
128. Johann Sebastian Bach: Air on the G String
129. Antonio Vivaldi: Four Seasons: Autumn
130. Tomaso Albinoni: Adagio in g minor
131. Antonin Dvorak: Cello Concerto
132. Ennio Morricone: Cinema Paradiso
133. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro
134. Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
135. Ludwig van Beethoven: Choral Fantasy
136. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2
137. Frederic Chopin: Piano Concerto #2
138. Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint Georges: Symphony in G
139. Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto in D
140. John Barry: Out of Africa
141. Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6
142. Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
143. Antonin Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12 "The American"
144. Ludwig van Beethoven: Für Elise
145. Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
146. Inon Zur: Fallout 4
147. Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins
148. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music
149. Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"
150. Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome
151. Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
152. Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat
153. Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion
154. Maurice Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess
155. Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto #4
156. Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo
157. Giacomo Puccini: La Boheme
158. George Gershwin: Concerto in F
159. Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: The Swan
160. Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
161. Luigi Boccherini: Night Music of the Streets of Madrid
162. Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
163. Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3
164. Peter Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien
165. Gabriel Fauré: Pavane
166. Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
167. Erik Satie: Gymnopedie No. 1
168. Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto
169. Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser: Overture
170. Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1
171. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 39
172. Gustav Holst: The Planets: Mars
173. Giacomo Puccini: Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
174. Leonard Bernstein: Candide: Overture
175. Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy
176. Gioachino Rossini: Barber of Seville Overture
177. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Rondo alla Turca
178. Alexander Borodin: Polovtsian Dances
179. George Frideric Handel: Music for Royal Fireworks
180. Bela Bartok: Concerto For Orchestra
181. Alexander Borodin: Nocturne
182. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp
183. Domenico Zipoli: Elevazione
184. Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story: Symphonic Dances
185. Frederick Delius: Florida Suite: By the River
186. George Frideric Handel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
187. Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata #8 "Pathetique"
188. Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
189. Frederic Chopin: Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
190. John Williams: Jurassic Park
191. Howard Hanson: Symphony #2 "Romantic"
192. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni
193. Dmitri Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: Waltz #2
194. Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
195. Franz Schubert: String Quintet in C
196. Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem
197. Gustav Holst: The Planets: Venus
198. John Williams: Raiders of the Lost Ark
199. Fanny Mendelssohn: May: Spring Song
200. Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 "Italian"
201. Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 9 "Great"
202. Frederic Chopin: Raindrop Prelude
203. Gioachino Rossini: Thieving Magpie Overture
204. Henryk Gorecki: Symphony #3
205. Jacques Offenbach: Tales of Hoffman: Barcarolle
206. Ludwig van Beethoven: Egmont Overture
207. Peter Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings
208. Frederic Chopin: Heroic Polonaise
209. Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto
210. George Frideric Handel: Xerxes: Largo
211. Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5
212. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20
213. Frederic Chopin: Fantaisie Impromptu in c # minor
214. Ottorino Respighi: Ancient Airs & Dances
215. Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
216. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus
217. Ludovico Einaudi: Primavera
218. Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony #4
219. Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
220. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 25
221. Johannes Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn
222. Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
223. Antonin Dvorak: Serenade for Strings
224. Brahms: Academic Festival Overture
225. Erik Satie: Gymnopedie No. 2
226. Ludwig van Beethoven: Triple Concerto
227. Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony #5
228. George Frideric Handel: Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus
229. Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1
230. Erik Satie: Gymnopedie #3
231. Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
232. Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs
233. Ludovico Einaudi: Two Sunsets
234. Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
235. Luigi Boccherini: Guitar Quintet #4 "Fandango Quintet"
236. Johann Sebastian Bach: Sleepers Awake
237. Camille Saint-Saëns: Dance Macabre
238. Giuseppe Verdi: La traviata
239. Isaac Albeniz: Asturias
240. Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1
241. Jean Sibelius: Karelia Suite
242. Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier
243. Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite
244. Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Egyptian"
245. Francisco Tárrega: Memories of Alhambra
246. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante
247. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #8
248. Chevalier de Saints Georges: Symphonie concertante for 2 Violins in G
249. José Pablo Moncayo: Huapango
250. Paul Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice


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## Axter (Jan 15, 2020)

I hear you.
I actually dislike classic FM. Its only good enough to listen to while driving to work, or having a traditional wet shave, or cooking etc.... nothing more than that.
I dislike them exactly because of their ridiculous lists every now and then. They had once "Best Conductors in History Ranking List". They had Carlos Kleiber (whom, I admire a lot by the way) as the top, but then Sir Malcom Sargent, Sir Thomas Beecham etc (all great conductors) in top ten but ommited the likes of Karl Böhm, Sir Georg Solti from the top 30 list, and Karajan came somewhere near the bottom of top 10... I mean seriously, on what basis they make these lists and claim *the best in history ranking*?!?
Don't get me wrong, I am a great admire of Sir Thomas Beecham, and immensely love Carlos Kleiber, but their lists could be a bit more serious.... I don't know.... each (them) to their own I guess.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

KUSC deliberately asked their listeners to submit works that didn't appear on the list year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year.

They asked for different choices this year.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

All of these lists - including the countless ones on this site - are inane and pointless. How many people have ever heard #63 for example? Or even heard of the composer? And to have it ranked before the two followers: both well-known, frequently played, beloved masterworks? Another reason I've pretty much given up on classical radio. Decades back our local station had DJs who really knew and loved the music. Now it's just play pretty, short, non-threatening music to make dullards happy.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

mbhaub said:


> All of these lists - including the countless ones on this site - are inane and pointless. How many people have ever heard #63 for example? Or even heard of the composer? And to have it ranked before the two followers: both well-known, frequently played, beloved masterworks? Another reason I've pretty much given up on classical radio. Decades back our local station had DJs who really knew and loved the music. Now it's just play pretty, short, non-threatening music to make dullards happy.


I hear you..we used to have a good local FM classical station owned by local family...very knowledgeable program hosts....excellent programming and commentary....
they sold out to big Boston station, and it went down the tubes...pretty, short, saccharine sweet stuff...over and over....gave up on it years ago.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Stop moaning! This is popular classical. At least there is plenty of Beethoven in the Top Ten. So not just Philistines voting obviously unless you believe only Philistines vote for Beethoven's ninth! I'm just glad to see people listening to classical music on these stations and if they go on to listen more seriously all well and good. And if not, what's the harm? Music is to be enjoyed. And at least it gives the highbrows something to feel self-righteous about, after all!


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Let's look at the top 20:

1. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #9
2. George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
3. Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 9
4. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
5. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #6
6. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #7
7. Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto #5
8. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #5
9. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem
10. Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
11. Bedrich Smetana: Ma Vlast: The Moldau
12. Peter Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
13. Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
14. John Williams: Star Wars
15. Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring: Simple Gifts
16. Claude Debussy: Clair de lune
17. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
18. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
19. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 41
20. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2

Honestly speaking, if this was a list of favourites of somebody on this forum, would it even stand out?


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Fabulin said:


> Let's look at the top 20:
> 
> 1. Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #9
> 2. George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
> ...


Yes, because it has the look of a one-person list with 5 Beeethoven works in the top ten and a mediocre film score.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

> 60. Antonin Dvorak: Rusalka: Song to the Moon





> 131. Antonin Dvorak: Cello Concerto


?????


pianozach said:


> ...
> They asked for different choices this year.


Yeah, but that's why things like the Academy Awards -- which were always silly, let's face it -- are now a complete joke of transcendental proportions.


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

This honestly seems pretty par for the course for radio. And besides there's all sorts of great stuff in there! I'm happy the 'cretins' even listen to classical music at all.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

GucciManeIsTheNewWebern said:


> This honestly seems pretty par for the course for radio. And besides there's all sorts of great stuff in there! I'm happy the 'cretins' even listen to classical music at all.


But no Gucci Mane and no Webern. You've got work to do. :lol:


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Bulldog said:


> Yes, because it has the look of a one-person list with 5 Beeethoven works in the top ten and a mediocre film score.


That's a harsh thing to say about poor Bedrich. Or do you mean RVW?

Anyway, now that I remember your lists, I can see why such top 20 would be suspiciously neurotypical for Talk Classical.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Eww...so much Beethoven in the top ten, _is_ what makes this list so gross to me. Lots of good works scattered throughout the list, sure. But over all, I find it a weak list.

From another thread posted by hammeredklavier:

"Above all, he was completely lacking Beethoven's demonstrative manner, a manner calculated to ensure that the aristocracy felt his superiority."

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492

That quote pretty much sums up what I think of Beethoven. His music itself I believe is like a 'demonstrative manner'...'calculated' to show his 'superiority'. Its not about glorifying God or the sacred, his music is about glorifying himself. That is why I don't see Beethoven as a good ambassador for classical music in general, and to see him placed higher than Bach or Mozart in any sense to me is something close to blasphemy.


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

mbhaub said:


> All of these lists - including the countless ones on this site - are inane and pointless. How many people have ever heard #63 for example? Or even heard of the composer? (...)


It seems the folks at DG have heard about her...


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

It's pointless to argue about these sorts of lists.

Try making your own list, then ask everyone for their opinion of your list. 

You'll get people objecting to things you included, and you'll be raked over the coals for the works you didn't include include. You'll get blasted for your lack of diversity, and for things you included just to have diversity.

Or try running a radio station, and invite listeners to give their input.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

mbhaub said:


> All of these lists - including the countless ones on this site - are inane and pointless. How many people have ever heard #63 for example? Or even heard of the composer? ...


And it was juuuuuuust edged out by the Goldberg Variations...you know, that work of which there's a new recording released every other day. 
But on second thought I'm going to listen to this work and not judge it based on the decisions of a radio station or the tastes of its listeners. It might be quite good for all I know.


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