# Top 100 Radio Countdown - 2015



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

My local classical station does a yearly countdown between Christmas and New Year's Eve of the top 100 classical pieces as voted by listeners. It's been going on all week and I'm currently listening to #6.

This is the 9th year I've tracked these (I keep a spreadsheet, what a nerd), and so far there are 28 pieces that have NEVER been on the list before (amazing!) and 11 pieces that have been on the list every year but have not yet been played. So at least *6 pieces* are going to be dropped this year.

*These are the pieces that have not yet been played. *Would you like to speculate who/what is going to lose out?

Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #5 in C minor
Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #7 in A major
Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #9 in D minor "Choral"
Dvorak, Antonin:	Symphony #9 in E minor "From the New World"
Handel, George Friedric:	Messiah
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Symphony #40 in G minor
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Symphony #41 in C major "Jupiter"
Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Piano Concerto #2 in C minor
Ravel, Maurice: Bolero
Rodrigo, Joaquin: Concierto de Aranjuez
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	Symphony #5 in E minor

I'll post the entire countdown list in a couple hours.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

My guess:

Handel, George Friedric:	Messiah
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Symphony #40 in G minor
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Symphony #41 in C major "Jupiter"
Ravel, Maurice: Bolero
Rodrigo, Joaquin: Concierto de Aranjuez
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	Symphony #5 in E minor


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Well done, Art Rock! First I must admit to an error of omission and Tchaikovsky is indeed on the list. You got the others right. I'll post the entire list shortly.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Here's the key: if it's in *Green* bold, it's been on the list every year now for 9 years straight. If it's in *Black* bold, it is new to the list this year. I'll post some commentary later (involving statistical analysis).

*100. Bach, Johann Sebastian:	Violin Partita in D minor - Chaconne*
99. Bach, Johann Sebastian:	Suites for Unaccompanied Cello
98. Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14
*97. Hummel, Johann:	Trumpet Concerto in E flat*
96. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	The Nutcracker
*95. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #6 in F major "Pastoral"
94. Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Symphony No. 2 in E minor
93. Brahms, Johannes;	Symphony No. 2 in D*
92. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Piano Sonata #8 in C minor, "Pathetique"
91. Liszt, Franz:	Les Preludes
90. Puccini, Giacomo:	La Boheme
89. Bach, Johann Sebastian:	Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
*88. Copland, Aaron:	Fanfare for the Common Man*
87. Mendelssohn, Felix: Violin Concerto #1 in E minor
*86. Shostakovich, Dmitri:	Symphony No. 8 in C Minor*
85. Sibelius, Jean	: Symphony # 7
84. Taneyev, Sergei:	Symphony #2 in B Flat
*83. Dvorak, Antonin:	Symphonic Variations Op 78
82. Rutter, John:	Suite Antique
81. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Piano Sonata in A*
80. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Piano Concerto #21 in C major
*79. Handel, George Friedric:	Serse: Ombra mai fu
78. Tower, Joan:	Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman
77. Lumbye, Hans Christian:	Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop*
76. Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai	: Capriccio Espagnole
*75. Bach, Johann Sebastian:	Brandenburg Concertos *
*74. Dvorak, Antonin:	Slavonic Dances*
73. Bach, Johann Sebastian:	Little Fugue in G minor
*72. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Mass in C minor "Great"*
71. Grieg, Edvard	: Piano Concerto in A minor
70. Mahler, Gustav:	Symphony #5 in C sharp minor
69. Khachaturian, Aram: Spartacus
*68. Adams, John:	Harmonielehre*
67. Sibelius, Jean:	Finlandia
66. Grofe, Ferde:	Grand Canyon Suite
*65. Vaughan Williams, Ralph: Symphony No. 5 in D
64. Holst, Gustav:	The Planets*
*63. Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai:	Flight of the Bumblebee*
62. Hanson, Howard:	Symphony No.2 "Romantic"
*61. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	Violin Concerto in D*
*60. Vaughan Williams, Ralph:	Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis*
59. Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Symphonic Dances
*58. Britten, Benjamin:	Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings*
57. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	Symphony #4 in F minor
56. Brahms, Johannes:	Violin Concerto in D major
55. Schubert, Franz:	Ave Maria
*54. Haydn, Joseph:	Symphony No. 104 in D "London"*
53. Schubert, Franz:	Symphony #8 in B minor "Unfinished"
*52. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	Symphony #5 in E minor
51. Finzi, Gerald:	Ecologue*
*50. Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Vespers*
*49. Brahms, Johannes:	Variations on a Theme by Haydn
48. Gershwin, George:	Rhapsody in Blue*
47. Rossini, Gioachino:	William Tell Overture
46. Ravel, Maurice:	Le Tombeau de Couperin
45. Strauss Jr., Johann:	Tales From the Vienna Woods
*44. Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Piano Concerto #3 in D minor
43. Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini*
42. Berlioz, Hector:	Symphonie Fantastique
*41. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	Sleeping Beauty
40. Pachelbel, Johan:	Canon in D*
39. Britten, Benjamin:	War Requiem
*38. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #3 in E flat major "Eroica"*
37. Strauss Jr., Johann:	The Blue Danube Waltz
*36. Wagner, Richard:	Tristan and Isolde*
*35. Franck, Cesar: Symphony in D major*
*34. Brahms, Johannes:	Wiegenlied (Cradle Song)
33. Britten, Benjamin:	Peter Grimes: Sea Interludes*
32. Still, William Grant:	Symphony No 1 "Afro-American"
*31. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Piano Sonata #14 in C # minor "Moonlight"*
30. Elgar, Edward:	Cello Concerto in E minor
*29. Mussorgsky, Modest:	Pictures at an Exhibition*
*28. Chopin, Frederic:	Polonaise in A flat "Heroic"
27. Smetana, Bedrich:	Ma Vlast (The Moldau)
26. Orff, Carl:	Carmina Burana*
25. Bernstein, Leonard: West Side Story
*24. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	1812 Overture*
*23. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Clarinet Concerto in A major*
*22. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Piano Concerto #5 in E flat "Emperor"*
21. Sibelius, Jean:	Symphony #5 in E flat major
*20. Janacek, Leos:	Sinfonietta*
*19. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Violin Concerto in D major*
18. Debussy, Claude:	Clair de Lune
17. Bruch, Max:	Scottish Fantasy
16. Strauss, Richard:	Four Last Songs
15. Mahler, Gustav:	Symphony #2 in C minor, "Resurrection"
*14. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich:	Swan Lake
13. Vivaldi, Antonio:	The Four Seasons*
12. Wagner, Richard:	Ride of the Valkyries
11. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
*10. Stravinsky, Igor:	Rite of Spring
9. Copland, Aaron:	Appalachian Spring*
8. Elgar, Edward:	Variations on an Original Theme, "Enigma"
*7. Barber, Samuel:	Adagio for Strings
6. Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai:	Scheherezade
5. Barber, Samuel:	Violin Concerto
4. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #5 in C minor*
*3. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #7 in A major
2. Dvorak, Antonin:	Symphony #9 in E minor "From the New World"
1. Beethoven, Ludwig van:	Symphony #9 in D minor "Choral"*


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Note that Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 got dropped this year. I am always fascinated when some piece I've never heard of (like Lumbye's Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop) comes out of nowhere and knocks a piece with an average ranking of 6.5 over the past 8 years completely off the list. What kind of voting coalition does that take? :lol: :tiphat: 
Valentina Lisitsa played Rach 2 with our local orchestra this year! This kind of programming usually results in a bump...

I listened to the Galop on Youtube and the note says this is Lumbye's _2nd_ most famous Galop.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Here's the pieces I now have to uncode as being on the list every year and their previous average rankings:

59. Rodrigo, Joaquin:	Concierto de Aranjuez
54. Ravel, Maurice:	Bolero
48. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Symphony #41 in C major "Jupiter"
44. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus:	Symphony #40 in G minor
32. Handel, George Friedric:	Messiah
7. Rachmaninoff, Sergei:	Piano Concerto #2 in C minor


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

There really ought to be something like the Hugo Awards or the Academy Awards for classical music, rewarding pieces composed or premiered / recorded within that year. These lists are gratifying but not terribly surprising.

Of course now I sound like the type of tedious oldbie I used to roll my eyes at when I first joined this forum. Sigh . . Queuing up _Free Bird_ and _Stairway to Heaven_. . .


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I'd be more concerned if it were the same pieces on the list year after year, only changing in placement. At least the voters mix it up a bit. Here we have 29 pieces newly voted to the list, 30 yearly favourites, and 41 pieces that come and go off the list. As you state so eloquently, I don't believe a vote of rock standards would show many surprises either. 
I'll apply some stat analysis to this later, much like I did last year.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Do they ever tell you how many people voted and, if so, how many works (on average) they voted for?


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Thanks for this. May I inquire as to what the station is?

I'm fascinated that the Rach 2 went from #2 to nowhere, and that the Barber violin concerto suddenly appeared at #6. Although you indicated there's quite a bit of consistency between years, those are a couple of remarkably volatile results. Perhaps a small voting population could produce this kind of change, but still it does seem unlikely that a favourite work from one year would disappear the next.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

I was mildly surprised by the presence of Barber, Britten and Stravinsky here. Three Britten works, in fact. Would you have predicted that, Lunasong?

Happy New Year, all, by the way.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

TurnaboutVox said:


> I was mildly surprised by the presence of Barber, Britten and Stravinsky here. Three Britten works, in fact. Would you have predicted that, Lunasong?
> 
> Happy New Year, all, by the way.


I guess it is an American list that explains Barber.
No Bruckner, Schumann and Nielsen on the list.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

TurnaboutVox said:


> I was mildly surprised by the presence of Barber, Britten and Stravinsky here. Three Britten works, in fact. Would you have predicted that, Lunasong?
> 
> Happy New Year, all, by the way.


It could be an effect of the recent Britten centennial--he got increased exposure worldwide.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Interesting poll and results, but the key datum is/will be the number of people voting. That will definitely correlate inversely with volatility from year to year. The disappearance of the Rach 2 is very diagnostic of a small sample.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Strange Magic said:


> Interesting poll and results, but the key datum is/will be the number of people voting. That will definitely correlate inversely with volatility from year to year. The disappearance of the Rach 2 is very diagnostic of a small sample.


I am really puzzled by that too. Enough that I went through the entire on-line playlist last night and again this AM. I'm fairly confident I didn't miss it. To respond to yours and Nefferid's comments, the radio station never mentions how many votes the results are compiled from, but their vote methodology is you get to submit on-line via standard form a ranked list of 10 pieces and the voting is open for 3 weeks. I have no idea if they validate if people vote more than once, etc. I agree that the more people that vote, the more valid the results.

Now, the other puzzle - how *Barber's Violin Concerto* suddenly appeared on the list - I did find out that was my error. It *has* been on the list before. I am sorry I did not more carefully vet the results before presenting.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

For comparison, here is the similar list from New York's WQXR 2015 poll. It stays pretty consistent year to year here.

100. Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
99. Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Op. 47
98. Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14
97. Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
96. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
95. Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Op. 49
94. Wagner: "Tristan und Isolde"
93. Orff: "Carmina Burana"
92. Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites, Op. 46 & 55
91. Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
90. Elgar: Enigma Variations, Op. 36
89. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35
88. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83
87. Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C, D. 944, "Great"
86. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27/2
85. Prokofiev: "Romeo and Juliet"
84. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G, Op. 58
83. Stravinsky: "The Firebird"
82. Mozart: "The Magic Flute"
81. Mendelssohn: "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"
80. Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
79. Bach: Partita for Violin No. 3 in E, BWV 1006
78. Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, "Organ"
77. Beethoven: String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131
76. Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs
75. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622
74. Mussorgsky: "Pictures at an Exhibition"
73. Verdi: "Aida"
72. Vaughan Williams: "The Lark Ascending"
71. Tchaikovsky: "Swan Lake"
70. Smetana: Ma Vlast, "The Moldau"
69. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47
68. Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
67. Mozart: "Don Giovanni"
66. Faure: Requiem in D minor, Op. 48
65. Copland: Rodeo
64. Chopin: Etudes, Op. 10 and 25
63. Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115
62. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, “Pathetique”
61. Stravinsky: "The Rite of Spring"
60. Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F
59. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59
58. Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor
57. Bach: St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
56. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
55. Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 82
54. Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D, Op. 25, “Classical”
53. Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16
52. Brahms: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77
51. Satie: Gymnopedies
50. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
49. Saint- Saens: The Carnival of the Animals
48. Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
47. Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
46. Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
45. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
44. Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D, “Titan”
43. Handel: Water Music
42. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
41. Puccini: La Boheme
40. Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550
39. Monteverdi: L’Orfeo
38. Mozart: Serenade No. 13 in G, K. 525, “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”
37. Debussy: La Mer
36. Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 43
35. Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro 
34. Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10 
33. Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C, K. 551, “Jupiter” 
32. Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor 
31. Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A, Op. 47, “Kreutzer”
30. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35 
29. Chopin: Grande Valse Brilliante in E-flat, Op. 18 
28. Wagner: The Ring 
27. Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 
26. Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 
25. Ravel: String Quartet in F 
24. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30 
23. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 
22. Debussy: Suite Bergamasque 
21. Handel: Messiah 
20. Copland: Appalachian Spring 
19. Debussy: Arabesque No. 1, L 66 
18. Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 
17. Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61 
16. Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue 
15. Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232 
14. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 
13. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55, “Eroica” 
12. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons 
11. Debussy: Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune 
10. Schubert: Piano Quintet in A, D. 667, “Trout” 
9. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 73 
8. Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, “Resurrection” 
7. Holst: The Planets, Op. 32 
6. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051 
5. Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68, “Pastoral” 
4. Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, “From The New World” 
2.Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 
1.Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D, Op. 125, “Choral”


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Some statistics about the list.

There's a total of 45 pc on the list, including new entries, that were not on the list last year. The highest of these us #11, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. The highest ranking new entry after the correction mentioned above is #20 Jancek's Sinfonietta.

The largest drop was Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral" by Beethoven, which ranked #12 last year. The largest gain was Swan Lake - which ranked #83 last year.

The piece with the smallest avedev over 9 years is Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 1.08. It has never been out of the top 5. No other piece can say that. 
The piece with the next smallest avedev is Beethoven, Ludwig van: Symphony #5 in C minor with an avedev of 1.7 - has never been #1, but has been ranked between 3 and 10 over the years.
Beethoven, Ludwig van: Symphony No. 9 in D minor "Choral" has the most #1 rankings (6), but was ranked #5 two years, including, and had an outlier rank of 9 in 2008. Astonishingly Beethoven #9 and Dvorak #9 have the exact same average ranking of 2.77.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

D Smith, thanks for posting the WQXR poll. I last remember seeing a Gramophone poll decades ago, and there was the Rach 2 at the top, floating there serenely like the giant iceberg into which the Titanic rammed. The Gramophone commented that the Rach 2 never seemed to vary from its top position, poll after poll; my metaphor casts it as that selfsame iceberg resisting indifferently the assault of a fleet of Titanics.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Blancrocher said:


> It could be an effect of the recent Britten centennial--he got increased exposure worldwide.


He is a popular composer probably one of the most popular of the last century.


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