ABC Classic 100

to reveal the nation’s favourite composer

this weekend

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After a record breaking 127,971 votes in this year’s Classic 100: Composer poll, Beethoven has officially taken out the top spot as the nation’s favourite composer.

“Beethoven was music’s biggest revolutionary,” says Classic Breakfast presenter Russell Torrance. “He took the niceties of the existing musical world and blew them apart. There are moments of exquisite quiet and contemplation in his music, like the Moonlight Sonata. But his trademark is those barnstormers we know and love, full of power, melancholy, and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

“You just have to say ‘da da da dummm’, and we all know it’s Beethoven. But despite being such an icon, he knew human frailty as well as anyone: he wrote many of this greatest works after he had gone deaf. Even now, two centuries later, his music has the power to touch our lives.”

“This year’s Classic 100 has been an amazing journey,” said Toby Chadd, Content Director of ABC Classic. “We’ve heard about the music that you love  – from iconic film composers to home-grown talent to the acknowledged classical greats. Beethoven narrowly beat Bach and Mozart to the crown, and we’re celebrating in style with a performance of his ‘Ode to Joy’ featuring an 800-strong choir at the Sydney Opera House, followed by a reading of his heart-wrenching ‘Testament’ from John Bell.”

Some facts about Beethoven and the Classic 100:

  • He has had 4 numbers ones in previous Classic 100 countdowns

  • 89 of his works have made it into previous top 100 lists

  • His Choral Symphony (featuring ‘Ode to Joy’) has appeared 8 times

Some other interesting stats emerged in the countdown

  • The oldest composer is the countdown was medieval saint Hildegard von Bingen (921 years old); while the youngest composer was Indigenous Australian William Barton (age 38)

  • There are 18 living composers in the top 100, including John Williams, Arvo Pärt, Ennio Morricone, Howard Shore and Sally Whitwell

  • There were 5 family pairings that made an appearance:

    • JS and CPE Bach (father and son)

    • Clara and Robert Schumann (husband and wife)

    • Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn (sister and brother)

    • Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II (father and son)

    • CPE Bach and Georg Telemann (godson and godfather)

  • 8 composers made their Classic 100 debut: William Barton, Ludovico Einaudi, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Graeme Koehne, Fanny Mendelssohn, Max Richter, Domenico Scarlatti, Clara Schuman

  • 10 Australians appeared in the countdown; however the most common nationality was German with 17 composers making the list

  • The most popular decade to be born was the 1840s: Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Sullivan, Massenet, Grieg, Rimsky-Korsakov, Fauré

Over the coming weeks, ABC Classic will feature the top composers across the network. In the week of 10 June, Beethoven takes centre stage, including live broadcasts of all his Piano Concertos from Adelaide with Australian pianist Jayson Gillham.

Catch up on all the highlights on the ABC Classic website or on the ABC listen app.

Pre-order the Classic 100 Composer boxset now, featuring works by Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and all 100 of Australia’s favourite composers.

ABC Classic: Life’s Better With Music

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Classic 100 Composer – the complete top 100

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