Did you know?

go back

Top 40 most popular ‘classical’ tracks on Desert Island discs

Nov 24, 2024

Following on from last weeks top 40 most popular non-classic tracks chosen on Desert Island discs, here is the top most chosen classic tracks and their overall ranking is shown in the right-hand column.

Rank Composer Piece Overall rank
40 Giuseppe Verdi Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves 97
39 Giuseppe Verdi Requiem 92
38 Antonin Dvorak Symphony No 9 in E minor ‘From the New World 85
37 Gustav Mahler The Resurrection 80
36 Carl Orff Carmina Burana 72
35 Franz Schubert String Quintet in C major 70
34 Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor BWV 1043 69
33 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture 64
32 Johann Sebastian Bach Mass in B minor BWV 232 59
31 Max Bruch Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor 57
30 Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations 54
29 Ludwig van Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 52
28 Joaquín Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez 45
27 Claude Debussy Clair De Lune 43
26 Richard Strauss Four Last Songs 42
25 Thomas Tallis Spem In Alium 41
24 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No 7 in A major 40
23 Johann Sebastian Bach St Matthew Passion BWV 244 36
22 George Gershwin Rhapsody In Blue 35
21 Georges Bizet Au fond du temple saint (from The Pearl Fishers) 34
20 Giacomo Puccini Turandot: Nessun Dorma 33
19 Antonio Vivaldi The Four Seasons 32
18 Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5 in E flat major ‘Emperor’ 30
17 Gregorio Allegri – Miserere 28
16 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No 6 in F major ‘Pastoral’ 26
15 Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings 24
14 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major 22
13 Gabriel Fauré Requiem 21
12 Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor 18
11 Sir Hubert Parry Jerusalem 16
10 Gustav Mahler Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor 15
9 Johann Pachelbel Canon in D major 12
8 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem in D minor 10
7 Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis 9
6 Gustav Holst The Planets 8
5 George Frideric Handel The Messiah 7
4 Sir Edward Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor 6
3 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No 9 in D minor ‘Choral’ 3
2 Sir Edward Elgar Enigma Variations 2
1 Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending 1