A Thanksgiving Tradition on WETA Classical
WETA Classical's annual listeners' choice competition lets YOU determine the most popular classical pieces in the DC area. Last year's Classical Countdown proved that the power really is in your hands with the surprising win by Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Here's to an exciting race again this year!
Classical Countdown voting was open November 6 through November 12. We played back the top 100 picks during Thanksgiving week, counting down to the top piece, which aired on Thanksgiving night.
The 2023 Classical Countdown
- Franz Liszt|Hungarian Rhapsody #2 in C-sharp Minor
- Marin Marais|The Bells of St. Geneviève
- Alexander Borodin|Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances
- George Frideric Handel|The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from "Solomon"
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Symphony #6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique": III. Allegro molto vivace
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Piano Sonata #8 "Pathetique"
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Sleeping Beauty Suite
- Gustav Mahler|Symphony #5
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Triple Concerto
- Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov|Symphony #1
- Antonín Dvorák|Piano Quintet A Major (Op. 81)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Piano Concerto #21
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade, K 525 in G Major)
- Tomaso Albinoni|Adagio (G Minor)
- Gustav Mahler|Symphony #2 in C Minor "Resurrection": III. In ruhig fließender Bewegung
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|The Magic Flute: Overture
- Felix Mendelssohn|Hebrides Overture
- Edvard Grieg|Holberg Suite
- Leonard Bernstein|Candide: Overture
- Jacques Offenbach|Gaîté parisienne: #16-19
- Franz Schubert|String Quintet in C Major
- George Frideric Handel|Music for the Royal Fireworks
- Frédéric Chopin|Ballade #1 in G Minor, Op. 23
- Johann Sebastian Bach|Sheep May Safely Graze (from Cantata #208)
- Johannes Brahms|Symphony #4: I
- Johann Sebastian Bach|Concerto, BWV 1043 in D Minor
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Symphony #40 in G Minor, K 550: I. Molto allegro
- Franz Schubert|Symphony #8 "Unfinished"
- Johann Strauss II|Blue Danube
- Johann Sebastian Bach|Brandenburg Concerto #5 in D Major, BWV 1050
- Frédéric Chopin|Piano Concerto #2 in F Minor, Op. 21
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Symphony #3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica"
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
- Florence Price|Symphony #3 in C Minor
- Sergei Prokofiev|Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the Knights
- Johannes Brahms|Violin Concerto
- Gabriel Fauré|Pavane, Op. 50
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Piano Concerto #1
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Für Elise
- Georges Bizet|Carmen Suite #1
- Franz Schubert|Symphony #9 "Great": III
- Edvard Grieg|Peer Gynt Suite #1
- Johannes Brahms|Symphony #1: I
- Max Bruch|Violin Concerto #1 in G Minor, Op. 26: III. Finale. Allegro energico
- Antonín Dvorák|String Quartet #12 "American"
- Johannes Brahms|Symphony #3 in F Major, Op. 90: IV. Allegro
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Violin Concerto: III
- Johann Sebastian Bach|Brandenburg Concerto #3
- Richard Addinsell|Warsaw Concerto
- Gioachino Rossini|William Tell: Overture
- Camille Saint-Saëns|Carnival of the Animals
- Florence Price|Symphony #1 in E Minor
- Sergei Rachmaninoff|Symphony #2 in E Minor, Op. 27
- Jean Sibelius|Finlandia
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Symphony #41 in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter"
- Felix Mendelssohn|Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
- Johannes Brahms|Piano Concerto #2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Piano Sonata #14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27 #2 "Moonlight"
- Max Bruch|Scottish Fantasy: IV-Finale
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Symphony #5: IV
- Sergei Rachmaninoff|Symphonic Dances, Op. 45: #1. Non allegro
- Maurice Ravel|Bolero
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Violin Concerto: III
- Edvard Grieg|Piano Concerto: I
- Gustav Mahler|Symphony #1 in D Major "Titan"
- Sir Edward Elgar|Enigma Variations: Nimrod
- George Frideric Handel|Water Music Suite #3
- Ralph Vaughan Williams|Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis
- Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
- Richard Wagner|Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries
- Johann Sebastian Bach|Toccata and Fugue D Minor (BWV 565)
- Claude Debussy|Clair de Lune
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Swan Lake Suite
- Frédéric Chopin|Piano Concerto #1
- Aaron Copland|Fanfare for the Common Man
- Sergei Rachmaninoff|Piano Concerto #3 in D Minor, Op. 30
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Symphony #5
- Johann Sebastian Bach|Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (from Cantata #147)
- Felix Mendelssohn|Symphony #4 "Italian"
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Nutcracker Suite
- Johann Pachelbel|Canon and Gigue
- Modest Mussorgsky|Pictures at an Exhibition
- Aaron Copland|Appalachian Spring Suite
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|1812 Overture
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Piano Concerto #5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor"
- Samuel Barber|Adagio for Strings
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Symphony #6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral"
- Camille Saint-Saëns|Symphony #3 "Organ"
- Ralph Vaughan Williams|The Lark Ascending
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Scheherazade, Op. 35
- Antonio Vivaldi|The Four Seasons, Op. 8/1-4
- Sergei Rachmaninoff|Piano Concerto #2 in C Minor, Op. 18
- George Gershwin|Rhapsody in Blue
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Symphony #7 in A Major, Op. 92
- Antonín Dvorák|Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
- Bedrich Smetana|Ma Vlast: The Moldau
- Antonín Dvorák|Symphony #9 "From the New World"
- Gustav Holst|The Planets
- Ludwig van Beethoven|Symphony #9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral"