Rachmaninov is new Hall of Fame number 1

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 has knocked Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending off its perch, to become the new number one in The Classic FM Hall of Fame 2011.

The Hall of Fame 2011, in association with NS&I, was revealed over Easter weekend, with number one played just before 9pm on Easter Monday. As the weekend progressed, excitement mounted and predictions of the upper echelons of the chart were rife.

As we entered the top 10, listeners waited with baited breath to see if Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending would reign victorious for a fifth year, but it was superseded by Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2, which last reached number one in 2005.

The Lark Ascending was demoted to number two, followed by another Vaughan Williams work, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, at number three. Also in the top 10 are three Beethoven works, two by Elgar, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

As always, Mozart had the highest number of entries in the Hall of Fame – 20 to Beethoven’s 16. Overall, it was a bad year for Beethoven, but Debussy and Wagner had good years. John Barry and Henryk Gorecki saw surges in votes, prompted by renewed interest in their music following their recent deaths.

To see how all the composers fared, view the complete Hall of Fame 2011 here