Forget the Triple J Hottest 100, the results are in for ABC’s top 100 classical composers.
After a record-breaking 127,971 votes in this year’s Classic 100: Composer poll, Beethoven has officially taken out the top spot as the nation’s favourite composer.
ABC Classic breakfast presenter, Russell Torrance said: “Beethoven was music’s biggest revolutionary.
“He took the niceties of the existing musical world and blew them apart.
“There are moments of exquisite quiet and contemplation in his music, like the Moonlight Sonata.
“But his trademark is those barnstormers we know and love, full of power, melancholy, and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.”
Torrance continued: “You just have to say ‘da da da dummm’, and we all know it’s Beethoven.
“But despite being such an icon, he knew human frailty as well as anyone: he wrote many of this greatest works after he had gone deaf.
“Even now, two centuries later, his music has the power to touch our lives.”
ABC Classic content director, Toby Chadd commented: “This year’s Classic 100 has been an amazing journey.
“We’ve heard about the music that you love – from iconic film composers to home-grown talent to the acknowledged classical greats.
“Beethoven narrowly beat Bach and Mozart to the crown, and we’re celebrating in style with a performance of his ‘Ode to Joy’ featuring an 800-strong choir at the Sydney Opera House, followed by a reading of his heart-wrenching ‘Testament’ from John Bell.”
Over the coming weeks, ABC Classic will feature the top composers across the network.
