Remember “Roll Over Beethoven”? It appears that Chuck Berry misunderestimated the Romantic German composer. Classical radio station WQXR-FM in New York City has published the results of its annual listener survey, which consists of one question: “What is your favorite piece of classical music?” The responses were ranked down to the 105th favorite. Looking at the top ten pieces, the answer appears to be Beethoven, plus Beethoven, then some more Beethoven.
The number one pick was Beethoven’s Ninth “Choral” Symphony; number two was Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony; number four was Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, followed by Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Numbers seven and eight were Beethoven’s Sixth “Pastoral” and Third “Eroica” Symphony.
Squeaking past Beethoven in the top ten tier were pieces by Dvorak (his “New World Symphony”), Mahler (Symphony Number Two “Resurrection”), Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, and Handel’s Messiah. But number eleven was Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
In conclusion, it seems that Beethoven is still The Dude, at least in the greater New York/New Jersey radio market.
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