norman lebrecht
April 07, 2026
Top slot in the station’s Hall of Fame has alternated for years between Rachmaninov’s 2nd piano concerto and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Together, they have come top in 23 out of the past 31 years.
That duopoly was broken last night when a work by Sir Karl Jenkins, The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, was voted by listeners as their favourite piece of ‘classical’ music.
The Armed Man was premiered in April 2000 by the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall and promoted incessantly by Classic FM.
Roll over, Ralphie VW.