A Thanksgiving Tradition on WETA Classical
It's that time of year again! Limber up your voting fingers and get ready to take part in WETA Classical's annual listeners' choice competition — which lets YOU determine the most popular classical pieces in the DC area.
Classical Countdown voting is open November 7 through November 13, and we’ll play back the top 100 picks during Thanksgiving week, counting down to the top piece, which will air on Thanksgiving night.
The 2022 Classical Countdown
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The Four Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi
#1
Fabio Biondi (violin) | Europa Galante
Virgin Classics 4546 (Vivaldi: Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione) -
Symphony #9 "Choral"
Ludwig van Beethoven
#2
Philippe Herreweghe (conductor) | Orchestre des Champs Elysees | Melanie Diener (soprano) | Petra Lang (mezzo-soprano) | Endrik Wottrich (tenor) | Dietrich Henschel (baritone) | Collegium Vocale La Chapelle Royale
Harmonia Mundi 90.1687 (Beethoven: Symphony No. 9) -
Symphony #9 in E Minor, Op. 95 "From the New World"
Antonin Dvorák
#3
National Symphony Orchestra | Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
NSO 0001 (Dvorak Symphony No. 9, Copland Billy the Kid; Noseda/NSO) -
Piano Concerto #2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Sergei Rachmaninoff
#4
Yuja Wang (piano) | Mahler Chamber Orchestra | Claudio Abbado (conductor)
DG 0015338 (Rachmaninoff: Paganini Rhapsody, Piano Concerto No. 2) -
Symphony #7 in A Major, Op. 92
Ludwig van Beethoven
#5
Vienna Philharmonic | Andris Nelsons (conductor)
DG 483.7071 (Beethoven Complete Symphonies) -
Rhapsody in Blue
George Gershwin
#6
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) | Baltimore Symphony Orchestra | Marin Alsop (conductor)
Decca 0014091 (Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue & Piano Concerto) -
Scheherazade
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
#7
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam | Kirill Kondrashin (conductor)
Philips 400.021 (Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade) -
Symphony #3 "Organ"
Camille Saint-Saëns
#8
Orchestra of the Bastille | Michael Matthes (organ) | Myung-Whun Chung (conductor)
DG 435.854 (Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 "Organ" - Messiaen: L'Ascension) -
Pictures at an Exhibition
Modest Mussorgsky
#9
Oslo Philharmonic | Mariss Jansons (conductor)
EMI 49797 (Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, etc.) -
Appalachian Spring
Aaron Copland
#10
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra | Hugh Wolff (conductor)
Teldec 2292-46314 (Copland: Appalachian Spring, Music for the Theatre) -
Symphony #6 "Pastoral"
Ludwig van Beethoven
#11
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique | John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
Archiv 439.900 (Beethoven: 9 Symphonies) -
The Lark Ascending
Ralph Vaughan Williams
#12
Anne Akiko Meyers (violin) | Philharmonia Orchestra | Andrew Litton (conductor)
RCA 61700 (Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto - Dvorák: Romance - Vaughn Williams: The lark Ascending - Massenet: Meditation from Thaïs) -
Symphony #5 in C Minor, Op. 67
Ludwig van Beethoven
#13
Le Concert des Nations | Jordi Savall (conductor)
Alia Vox 9937 (Beethoven: Revolution. Symphonies Nos. 1 a 5) -
Nutcracker Suite
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
#14
Boston Pops | John Williams (conductor)
Philips 412.556 (Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf) -
Piano Concerto #5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor"
Ludwig van Beethoven
#15
Stewart Goodyear (piano) | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | Andrew Constantine (conductor)
Orchid 100127 (Beethoven: The Complete Piano Concertos) -
Adagio for Strings
Samuel Barber
#16
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
EMI 49463 (Samuel Barber) -
Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16
Edvard Grieg
#17
Howard Shelley (piano) | Orchestra of Opera North | Howard Shelley (conductor)
Chandos 10509 (Schumann, Grieg & Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos) -
The Planets
Gustav Holst
#18
Boston Symphony Orchestra | New England Conservatory Chorus | William Steinberg (conductor)
DG 463.627 (Gustav Holst: The Planets) -
1812 Overture
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
#19
Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Sir Georg Solti (conductor)
London 417.400 (Tchaikovsky: 1812, Romeo & Juliet, etc.) -
Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
Antonín Dvorák
#20
Gautier Capuçon (cello) | Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra | Paavo Järvi (conductor)
Virgin Classics 519035 (Dvorák & Herbert: Cello Concertos) -
Canon and Gigue
Johann Pachelbel
#21
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields | Sir Neville Marriner (conductor)
Philips 416.386 (Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik - Pachelbel: Canon) -
Ma Vlast: The Moldau
Bedrich Smetana
#22
Oslo Philharmonic | Mariss Jansons (conductor)
EMI 49860 (Dvorák: Symphonie No. 9 - Smetana: The Moldau) -
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (from Cantata #147)
Johann Sebastian Bach
#23
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
DG 429.390 (Albinoni: Adagio - Pachelbel: Canon, etc.) -
Toccata and Fugue D Minor (BWV 565)
Johann Sebastian Bach
#24
Boston Symphony Orchestra | Seiji Ozawa (conductor)
Philips 432.092 (20th Century Bach) -
Water Music
George Frideric Handel
#25
L'Arte dell'Arco | Federico Guglielmo (conductor)
CPO 777.312 (Händel: Water Music, Royal Fireworks) -
Clarinet Concerto A Major (K. 622)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#26
Paul Meyer (clarinet) | English Chamber Orchestra | David Zinman (conductor)
Denon 75289 (Mozart, Busoni & Copland: Clarinet Concertos) -
Bolero
Maurice Ravel
#27
French National Orchestra | Lorin Maazel (conductor)
CBS 44781 (Holst: The Planets - Ravel: Bolero) -
Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis
Ralph Vaughan Williams
#28
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
Telarc 80059 (Vaughn Williams, Barber, Grainger, Faure & Satie) -
Piano Concerto #1
Frédéric Chopin
#29
Martha Argerich (piano) | London Symphony Orchestra | Claudio Abbado (conductor)
DG 415.061 (Chopin & Liszt: Piano Concertos) -
Symphony #2 in E Minor, Op. 27
Sergei Rachmaninoff
#30
Gianandrea Noseda (conductor) | BBC Philharmonic
Chandos 10589 (Rachmaninoff) -
Clair de Lune
Claude Debussy
#31
Boston Pops | John Williams (conductor)
Philips 416.361 (Pops in Love) -
Brandenburg Concerto #5
Johann Sebastian Bach
#32
Berlin Academy for Old Music
Harmonia Mundi 90.1634/5 (Bach: Brandenburgische Konzerte) -
Fanfare for the Common Man
Aaron Copland
#33
London Symphony Orchestra | Aaron Copland (conductor)
CBS 42430 (Copland: Appalachian Spring) -
Gaîté parisienne: #9-15
Jacques Offenbach
#34
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra | Erich Kunzel (conductor)
Telarc 80294 (Offenbach: Gaîté Parisienne - Ibert: Divertissement) -
Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries
Richard Wagner
#35
Cleveland Orchestra | Franz Welser-Möst (conductor)
DG 477.8773 (Wagner: Preludes & Overtures) -
Swan Lake Suite
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
#36
Israel Philharmonic | Zubin Mehta (conductor)
London 410.551 (Tchaikovsky: Suites from Swan Lake) -
Symphony #1 in E Minor
Florence Price
#37
Philadelphia Orchestra | Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor)
DG 486.2029 (Florence Price) -
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Sergei Rachmaninoff
#38
Daniil Trifonov (piano) | Philadelphia Orchestra | Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor)
DG 479.4970 (Rachmaninov Variations: Trifonov) -
Enigma Variations: Nimrod
Sir Edward Elgar
#39
London Philharmonic | Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
RCA 60073 (Elgar: Enigma Variatios, Cockaigne & Froissart Overtures) -
Violin Concerto
Felix Mendelssohn
#40
Maxim Vengerov (violin) | Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra | Kurt Masur (conductor)
Teldec 4509-90875 (Bruch & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos) -
The Bells of St. Geneviève
Marin Marais
#41
Munich Pro Arte Orchestra | Kurt Redel (conductor)
Peters International PLE 044 (Marais: Bells of St. Geneviève) -
Symphony #5
Gustav Mahler
#42
San Francisco Symphony | Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor)
San Francisco Symphony 60012 (Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor) -
Piano Concerto #3 in D Minor, Op. 30
Sergei Rachmaninoff
#43
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) | London Symphony Orchestra | Antonio Pappano (conductor)
EMI 40516 (Sergei Rachmaninov) -
Symphony #3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica"
Ludwig van Beethoven
#44
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra | Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
Decca 478.2721 (Beethoven: The Symphonies) -
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Claude Debussy
#45
Los Angeles Philharmonic | Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
Sony 62599 (Debussy: Images. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, La Mer) -
String Quintet in C Major
Franz Schubert
#46
Emerson String Quartet | Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)
DG 431.792 (Schubert: String Quintet D 956) -
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35: III. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
#47
Ray Chen (violin) | Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Daniel Harding (conductor)
Sony 798410 (Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos) -
Violin Concerto #1: III
Max Bruch
#48
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) | Berlin Philharmonic | Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
DG 400.031 (Mendelssohn & Bruch: Violin Concertos) -
Sheep May Safely Graze (from Cantata #208)
Johann Sebastian Bach
#49
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields | Sir Neville Marriner (conductor)
EMI 47027 (The Academy - By Request) -
Symphony #5 in E Minor, Op 64: IV. Finale. Andante maestoso; Allegro vivace; Moderato assai e molto maestoso; Presto; Molto meno mosso
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
#50
London Symphony Orchestra | Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
LSO 0858 (Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5) -
Peer Gynt Suite #1: Morning Mood
Edvard Grieg
#51
Berlin Philharmonic | Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
DG 0000352 (Karajan Forever, The Greatest Classical Hits) -
Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the Knights
Sergei Prokofiev
#52
San Francisco Symphony | Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor)
RCA 68288 (Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet) -
Violin Concerto
Jean Sibelius
#53
Gil Shaham (violin) | Philharmonia Orchestra | Giuseppe Sinopoli (conductor)
DG 437.540 (Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto) -
Piano Sonata #14 in C-sharp Major, Op. 27 #2 "Moonlight"
Ludwig van Beethoven
#54
Alessio Bax (piano)
Signum Classics 397 (Alessio Bax Plays Beethoven) -
Concerto, BWV 1043
Johann Sebastian Bach
#55
Hilary Hahn (violin) | Margaret Batjer (violin) | Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra | Jeffrey Kahane (conductor)
DG 0000986 (Bach: Concertos) -
Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22
Frédéric Chopin
#56
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
Decca 478.5334 (Dances) -
Symphony #40 in G Minor, K. 550
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#57
Mozart Akadamie Amsterdam | Jaap ter Linden (conductor)
Brilliant 92540 (Mozart: Complete Works) -
Warsaw Concerto
Richard Addinsell
#58
Santiago Rodriguez (piano) | Fairfax Symphony Orchestra | William Hudson (conductor)
Elan 82268 (Piano in Hollywood) -
Music for the Royal Fireworks
George Frideric Handel
#59
English Baroque Soloists | John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
Philips 411.122 (Händel: Music for the Royal Fireworks) -
Piano Concerto #1
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
#60
Mikhail Pletnev (piano) | The Philharmonia | Vladimir Fedoseyev (conductor)
Virgin Classics 91190 (Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, Concert Fantasy) -
Carmen Suite
Georges Bizet
#61
Orchestra of the Bastille | Myung-Whun Chung (conductor)
DG 431.778 (Bizet: Carmen Suite, L'Arsésienne Suites, Etc.) -
Polonaise A-flat Major "Heroic" (Op. 53)
Frédéric Chopin
#62
Olga Kern (piano)
Harmonia Mundi 90.7402 (Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1) -
Violin Concerto
Johannes Brahms
#63
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (violin) | Minnesota Orchestra | Edo de Waart (conductor)
EMI 49429 (Brahms & Bruch: Violin Concertos) -
Symphony #41 in C Major, K 551 "Jupiter"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#64
Tafelmusik | Bruno Weil (conductor)
Analekta 9834 (Mozart: Symphones Nos. 40 & 41) -
Symphony #2 "Resurrection"
Gustav Mahler
#65
Budapest Festival Orchestra | Iván Fischer (conductor) | Hungarian Radio Choir | Lisa Milne (soprano) | Birgit Remmert (contralto)
Channel 23506 -
Triple Concerto
Ludwig van Beethoven
#66
Beaux Arts Trio | Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra | Kurt Masur (conductor)
Philips 438.005 (Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Choral Fantasy) -
Symphony #1
Johannes Brahms
#67
Berlin Philharmonic | Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
DG 423.141 (Brahms: Symphony No. 1) -
Finlandia
Jean Sibelius
#68
Oslo Philharmonic | Mariss Jansons (conductor)
EMI 54273 (Sibelius: Symphony No. 1, Finlandia & Karelia) -
Carnival of the Animals
Camille Saint-Saëns
#69
The Kanneh-Masons
Decca 485.1156 (Carnival of the Animals) -
Tannhauser: Overture
Richard Wagner
#70
Philharmonia Orchestra | Lorin Maazel (conductor)
CBS 36699 (Wagner: Overtures) -
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#71
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields | Sir Neville Marriner (conductor)
Philips 416.386 (Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik - Pachelbel: Canon) -
Brandenburg Concerto #4
Johann Sebastian Bach
#72
Taverner Players | Andrew Parrott (conductor)
EMI 49806 (Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos, etc.) -
Violin Concerto: III
Ludwig van Beethoven
#73
Vadim Repin (violin) | Vienna Philharmonic | Riccardo Muti (conductor)
DG 0009663 (Beethoven: Violin Concerto, "Kreutzer" Sonata) -
Symphony #1 "Titan"
Gustav Mahler
#74
Cleveland Orchestra | Christoph von Dohnányi (conductor)
London 425.718 (Mahler: Symphony No. 1) -
Adagio (after Tomaso Albinoni)
Remo Giazotto
#75
Gautier Capuçon (cello) | Chamber Orchestra of Paris | Adrien Perruchon (conductor)
Erato 521413 (Gautier Capucon: Emotions) -
Piano Concerto #21
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#76
Alfred Brendel (piano) | Academy of St. Martin in the Fields | Sir Neville Marriner (conductor)
London 460.621 (Mozart: Piano Concertos 21 & 23) -
Symphony #4: IV
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
#77
Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Sir Georg Solti (conductor)
London 414.192 (Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4) -
Piano Sonata #21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"
Ludwig van Beethoven
#78
Igor Levit (piano)
Sony 584318 (Igor Levit: Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas) -
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45: #1. Non allegro
Sergei Rachmaninoff
#79
Philadelphia Orchestra | Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor)
DG 483.9839 (Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1; Symphonic Dances) -
Brandenburg Concerto #3
Johann Sebastian Bach
#80
Musica Antiqua Köln | Reinhard Goebel (conductor)
Archiv 0001413 (Charpentier: Musique sacrée) -
The Pines of Rome
Ottorino Respighi
#81
San Francisco Symphony | Edo de Waart (conductor)
Philips 411.419 (Respighi: Pini di Roma, Fontane di Roma, Gli Uccelli) -
Symphony #8 in B Minor "Unfinished", D 759
Franz Schubert
#82
Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Örebro | Thomas Dausgaard (conductor)
BIS 1656 (Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9) -
Piano Concerto #2
Frédéric Chopin
#83
Murray Perahia (piano) | Israel Philharmonic | Zubin Mehta (conductor)
Sony Classical 44922 (Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2) -
William Tell: Overture
Gioachino Rossini
#84
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma | Antonio Pappano (conductor)
Warner Classics 624344 (Rossini: Overtures) -
Symphony #3 "Scottish"
Felix Mendelssohn
#85
Cleveland Orchestra | Christoph von Dohnányi (conductor)
Telarc 80184 (Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3, "Scottish") -
Symphony #8
Antonín Dvorák
#86
Budapest Festival Orchestra | Iván Fischer (conductor)
Quintana 90.3017 (Dvorák: Symphonie No. 8) -
Für Elise
Ludwig van Beethoven
#87
Paul Lewis (piano)
Harmonia Mundi 90.2416 (Beethoven: Fur Elise; Bagatelles) -
Symphony #7 in D Minor, Op. 70
Antonín Dvorák
#88
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra | Marin Alsop (conductor)
Naxos 572.112 (Dvorák: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8) -
Pavane
Gabriel Fauré
#89
San Francisco Symphony | Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor)
SFS 60 (Masterpieces in Miniature) -
String Quartet #12 "American"
Antonín Dvorák
#90
Cleveland Quartet
Telarc 80283 (Dvorák: Quartet No. 14, Quartet No. 12 "American") -
Symphony #9 "Great"
Franz Schubert
#91
Cleveland Orchestra | Christoph von Dohnányi (conductor)
Telarc 80110 (Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C, "The Great") -
Tristan und Isolde: Liebestod
Richard Wagner
#92
Philadelphia Orchestra | Christian Thielemann (conductor)
DG 453.485 (Wagner: Preludes & Orchestra Music) -
Fantasie-Impromptu C-sharp Minor
Frédéric Chopin
#93
Bella Davidovich (piano)
Philips 411.427 (Chopin: Ballades, Impromputs) -
Symphony #1
Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov
#94
Scottish National Orchestra | Neeme Järvi (conductor)
Chandos 8611 (Kalinnikov: Symphony No. 1, etc.) -
Piano Concerto #4 in G Major, Op. 58
Ludwig van Beethoven
#95
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) | Mahler Chamber Orchestra | Leif Ove Andsnes (conductor)
Sony 370548 (Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4) -
The Marriage of Figaro: Overture
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
#96
MusicAeterna | Teodor Currentzis (conductor)
Sony 370926 (Le nozze di Figaro) -
Holberg Suite
Edvard Grieg
#97
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | Neeme Järvi (conductor)
DG 437.520 (Grieg: Works for String Orchestra) -
Scottish Fantasy: IV-Finale
Max Bruch
#98
Rachel Barton Pine (violin) | Scottish Chamber Orchestra | Alexander Platt (conductor)
Cedille 90000.083 (Scottish Fantasies for Violin & Orchestra) -
Blue Danube
Johann Strauss II
#99
Vienna Philharmonic | Mariss Jansons (conductor)
DG 477.5566 (New Year's Concert 2006) -
Symphony #3 in C Minor
Florence Price
#100
Philadelphia Orchestra | Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor)
DG 486.2029 (Florence Price)