Classic FM reveals their top 300 best-loved classical music pieces, a user-voted compendium of 2011's Hall of Fame from the country of cottages and horses. The Top 30 rank reveals loads that aren't OC's cup of tea (<---lol). Take a look after the jump, although #1 is the morose genius above, Rachmaninov for his Piano Concerto No. 2
Ok, but the real news here is that after poking around the site, Classic FM has an e-dating service. OC's signing-up. It's...it's for a friend. Not me. I'm a s3x maker.
BEST OF 2011 -- THE TOP 30 (from #1 to #30)
1. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2
2. Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
3. Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
4. Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5 (‘Emperor’)
5. Mozart - Clarinet Concerto
6. Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (‘Pastoral’)
7. Elgar - Enigma Variations
8. Elgar - Cello Concerto
9. Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1
10. Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 (‘Choral’)
11. Vivaldi - Four Seasons
12. Holst - The Planets
13. Pachelbel - Canon
14. Barber - Adagio for Strings
15. Jenkins - The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
16. Allegri - Miserere
17. Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture
18. Mozart - Requiem
19. Handel - Messiah
20. Grieg - Piano Concerto
21. Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 (‘Organ’)
22. Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
23. Beethoven - Symphony No. 7
24. Dvořák - Symphony No. 9 (‘New World’)
25. Sibelius - Finlandia
26. Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez
27. Faure - Requiem
28. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 (‘Moonlight’)
29. Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
30 Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake
Of course, Elgar and Vaughan Williams. This list isn't my taste at all. And Rachmaninov's Concerto #2? Not even close!
Posted by: Walls | April 28, 2011 at 10:14 PM
So many mediocre and bad works here that have unfortunately entrenched themselves into the mainstream. I guess I should at least be thankful that there's no Paul Potts or Susan Boyle, both manifestations of British classical music culture.
Posted by: Deborah | April 28, 2011 at 10:20 PM
My mom used to say the British have tin ears. (Sorry, Dr. Bostridge...)
Posted by: Monabel | April 29, 2011 at 12:45 AM
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue!
Posted by: May | April 29, 2011 at 01:06 AM
yes, they didn't put any Donizetti, Bellini-Rossini and even Massenet;)
Any way I like Mozart'5 No.5 and Beethoven No.4 and Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake is just a masterpiece of music...
As to "the real news" - o.k. - I'm looking forward to hear on your matchmaker service activity Dear Miss Chici ;) Hopefully you will make a good music list for your friend's future wedding ;)))
Posted by: Alexander | April 29, 2011 at 01:31 AM
I was stunned to learn today via the media that Prince Charles is in charge of Wm.&Kate's wedding music and that the wedding march will be the same one used at his wedding to Diana. I think that is in very bad taste (besides having Camilla at the wedding).
Posted by: Bill Philin-Ploplis | April 29, 2011 at 06:10 AM
Trivia question: what do Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Schubert, Lizst, Schumann, Ravel, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Haydn, Mahler, and Debussy have in common?
Posted by: David B. | May 02, 2011 at 08:49 PM