As voted by listeners to ABC Classic FM

Selected highlights

THE CLASSIC 100

thCentury

3

What is the one pieceof 20th-century music

you cannot live without?

The 20th century was a time of extremes. We hear it in the language we invented to describe what’shappened to us in the last hundred years: we talk about the ‘totalitarian’ state and ‘total war’, we follow events through ‘mass’ media, and we call the dominant economic and cultural force of theage ‘globalisation’.

In music too the 20th century often seems to have been an age of extremes. Mention the phrase‘20th-century music’ and many people will immediately think of sounds that are discordant and spiky,of music that can be demanding and confrontational. When we announced the Classic 100 20thCentury, some of our listeners declared that they didn’t like any of it, or would at least be hard pressedto find ten works to vote for. But when voting opened and the long list of suggested works appearedon our website, many listeners told us they faced a different challenge: there was actually so muchmusic that they knew and loved, it was impossible to whittle their choices down to ten.

The final list of one hundred works is a collection of music of remarkable expressive power. Some ofthe music tells stories of the passions and conflicts of the century’s history. Other pieces expressvarieties of personal faith and doubt. And throughout the Classic 100 20th Century list are works thatinvite us to share in the sheer pleasure of listening and the mysteries and joys of music itself.

There is grief and pain, sometimes expressed in music of haunting beauty and gentleness (Barber’sAdagio for Strings; Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), sometimes made eloquent in works aboutconflict and loss (the symphonies of Shostakovich; Britten’s War Requiem). There is joy and delight(Ross Edwards’ Maninyas), passion (Ravel’s Boléro; Puccini’s Tosca and Turandot) and good humour(Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf). There is earthy vitality (Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring) and spiritualexaltation (Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony). There are many pieces which

4

express a connection to place and nation, from the defiant patriotism of Sibelius’s Finlandia and thepastoral nostalgia of Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending, to Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne,Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Peter Sculthorpe’s Small Town and Kakadu.

We might have expected the top works in this year’s survey to look much the same as the 20th-century works included in last year’s Classic 100: Ten Years On. While it’s true that all 24 of the20th-century works from last year have made it into this year’s Top 100, they appear in a very differentorder. Last year, Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto was at the head of the 20th-century roll-call,and the Elgar Cello Concerto in second place. This year, the two have swapped around, and between them come Holst, Gershwin and Vaughan Williams, with The Planets, Rhapsody in Blueand The Lark Ascending.

Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, Strauss’s Four Last Songs and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme byThomas Tallis, in the top ten last year, have been bumped down into the teens this year; Górecki hasleaped up from last place among the 20th-century works last year (and near to last place overall) to 14th place. Pushing some of last year’s choices down the ranks in this year’s list are twentynewcomers, including West Side Story, Porgy and Bess, Song of the Earth, and Quartet for the End of Time.

This year the range of musical styles and genres is broader than in any of the previous Classic 100surveys. In part this is the result of some 20th-century inventions: the talkies, television and theBroadway musical account for the appearance of West Side Story, The Mission, The Lord of the Ringsand The Gadfly (originally a film score, but also famous as the theme of the TV series Reilly Ace ofSpies). Similarly, 20th-century ‘classical music’ absorbed the blues (An American in Paris), the gallowshumour of German cabaret (The Threepenny Opera) and indigenous folk traditions (Misa Criolla).

The still and contemplative music of the ‘holy minimalist’ composers of the eastern Orthodoxtraditions, represented in previous Classic 100 surveys by Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, now featuresmore prominently with the addition of Pärt’s Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten and the Song toAthene of John Tavener. Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil has also won a place in this year’s list, adding tothe symphonies and concertos which have featured in previous surveys.

5

This year some composers appear in a Classic 100 list for the first time. Aaron Copland is here withAppalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man. Benjamin Britten has five works in this year’slist: A Ceremony of Carols, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Peter Grimes, A Young Person’sGuide to the Orchestra and the War Requiem – a testimony to the extraordinary breadth of his genius.Other newcomers on this year’s list include the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos with his lush andlyrical Bachiana brasileiras No. 5; Hubert Parry has been chosen for that great anthem of social justiceJerusalem; and two contemporary and popular British composers also appear, Andrew Lloyd Webber(Requiem) and Karl Jenkins (The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace).

In the Classic 100 Concerto there were four Australian works; there were three in the Classic 100Symphony, and two each in Chamber Music and Piano. There were no Australian works in either theoriginal Classic 100 or last year’s Classic 100 – Ten Years On. This year, we can celebrate theappearance of eight Australian pieces in the list, including three which have never before rated in thesesurveys: Nigel Westlake’s Antarctica Suite, Percy Grainger’s arrangement of the Irish Tune from CountyDerry, and Ross Edwards’ Dawn Mantras, which had its premiere performance at sunrise on 1 January2000 from the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

This Classic 100 is a celebration of the music of the last hundred years, and an affirmation bythousands of listeners to ABC Classic FM that the ‘classical’ music of our own time is a living presencein our lives, and one that will continue to grow with new voices and new stories to tell.

Richard Buckham, Manager, ABC Classic FMNovember 2011

6

CD1

TRACK RANK

EDWARD ELGAR 1857-1934

1 Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 [29’44]1 I. Adagio – Moderato 8’222 II. Lento – Allegro molto 4’373 III. Adagio 5’054 IV. Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non troppo 11’37

Li-Wei cello, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite conductor

GUSTAV HOLST 1874-1934

2 The Planets, Op. 32 [45’57]5 I. Mars, the Bringer of War 6’316 II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace 7’237 III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger 3’558 IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity 7’579 V. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age 7’420 VI. Uranus, the Magician 5’21! VII. Neptune, the Mystic 6’48

New England Conservatory Chorus !, Boston Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg conductor

Total Playing Time 75’53

7

CD2

TRACK RANK

GEORGE GERSHWIN 1898-1937 orch. Ferde Grofé1 3 Rhapsody in Blue 15’44

Julius Katchen piano, London Symphony Orchestra, István Kertész conductor

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 1872-1958

2 4 The Lark Ascending – Romance for violin and orchestra 17’04Dimity Hall violin, Sinfonia Australis, Antony Walker conductor

SERGE RACHMANINOFF 1873-1943

3 5 Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18: I. Moderato 10’22Isador Goodman piano, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Patrick Thomas conductor

JOAQUÍN RODRIGO 1901-1999

4 6 Concierto de Aranjuez: II. Adagio 11’29Slava Grigoryan guitar; Alexa Murray cor anglais, The Queensland Orchestra, Brett Kelly conductor

SAMUEL BARBER 1910-1981

5 7 Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 8’08Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Jorge Mester conductor

CARL ORFF 1895-1982

6 8 Carmina burana: I. O Fortuna 2’35Sydney Philharmonia Motet and Symphonic Choirs, Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra,Antony Walker conductor LIVE RECORDING

IGOR STRAVINSKY 1882-1971

7 9 Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) – Part I (Adoration of the Earth): Introduction 3’06Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Willem van Otterloo conductor

SERGEI PROKOFIEV 1891-1953

8 10 Romeo and Juliet (Suite No. 2): Montagues and Capulets 3’36West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Northey conductor

Bonus track: the top-ranking Australian work

NIGEL WESTLAKE b. 1958

9 29 Antarctica – Suite for guitar and orchestra: III. Penguin Ballet 3’12Timothy Kain guitar, Alison Lazaroff-Somssich violin, Vanessa Souter harp, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, David Porcelijn conductor

Total Playing Time 76’36

8

The Classic 100: 20th Century – Complete List

1 ELGAR Cello Concerto

2 HOLST The Planets

3 GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue

4 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending

5 RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2

6 RODRIGO Concierto de Aranjuez

7 BARBER Adagio for Strings

8 ORFF Carmina burana

9 STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

10 PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet

11 R. STRAUSS Four Last Songs

12 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a

Theme by Thomas Tallis

13 BERNSTEIN West Side Story

14 GORECKI Symphony No. 3

‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’

15 SIBELIUS Finlandia

16 PÄRT Spiegel im Spiegel

17 PUCCINI Madama Butterfly

18 COPLAND Appalachian Spring

19 RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3

20 RAVEL Boléro

21 ELGAR Pomp and Circumstance

March No. 1

22 RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a

Theme of Paganini

23 SIBELIUS Violin Concerto

24 GERSHWIN Porgy and Bess

25 MAHLER Symphony No. 5

26 KHACHATURIAN Spartacus

27 SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2

28 PUCCINI Tosca

29 WESTLAKE Antarctica Suite

30 SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5

31 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5

32 COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man

33 MAHLER The Song of the Earth

34 DEBUSSY La Mer

35 STRAVINSKY The Firebird

36 MORRICONE The Mission

37 RAVEL String Quartet

38 PROKOFIEV Peter and the Wolf

39 KATS-CHERNIN Wild Swans

40 R. STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier

41 MESSIAEN Quartet for the End of Time

42 BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

43 GLASS Violin Concerto No. 1

44 RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2

45 EDWARDS Violin Concerto ‘Maninyas’

46 SCULTHORPE Small Town

47 STRAVINSKY Petrushka

48 SHOSTAKOVICH Gadfly Suite

49 EDWARDS Dawn Mantras

50 BRITTEN Peter Grimes

51 SCULTHORPE Kakadu

52 PUCCINI Turandot

53 RESPIGHI Ancient Airs and Dances

54 RAVEL Pavane for a Dead Princess

55 CANTELOUBE Songs of the Auvergne

56 PÄRT Cantus in memory of

Benjamin Britten

57 PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 ‘Classical’

58 MAHLER Symphony No. 8 ‘Symphony

of a Thousand’

59 BRITTEN War Requiem

9

60 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 7

‘Leningrad’

61 MAHLER Symphony No. 4

62 RAVEL Piano Concerto in G major

63 SCHOENBERG Transfigured Night

64 RESPIGHI Pines of Rome

65 PARRY Jerusalem

66 MAHLER Symphony No. 9

67 DEBUSSY Preludes

68 JENKINS The Armed Man:

A Mass for Peace

69 RACHMANINOFF Vespers (All-Night Vigil)

70 BRITTEN A Ceremony of Carols

71 BRITTEN A Young Person’s Guide to

the Orchestra

72 GERSHWIN An American in Paris

73 MAHLER Symphony No. 6 ‘Tragic’

74 KORNGOLD Violin Concerto

75 R. STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony

76 BERNSTEIN Candide

77 GERSHWIN Concerto in F

78 ELGAR Symphony No. 1

79 BARBER Violin Concerto

80 GRAINGER Irish Tune from County Derry

81 MESSIAEN Turangalîla-Symphonie

82 GLASS Akhnaten

83 RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe

84 VILLA LOBOS Bachianas brasileiras No. 5

85 WEILL The Threepenny Opera

86 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia

on Greensleeves

87 O’BOYLE Concerto for Didgeridoo

88 ELGAR The Dream of Gerontius

89 LEHÁR The Merry Widow

90 SHORE The Lord of the Rings

91 LLOYD WEBBER Requiem

92 BRITTEN Serenade for Tenor, Horn

and Strings

93 ELGAR Violin Concerto in B minor

94 SIBELIUS Symphony No. 7

95 TAVENER Song for Athene

96 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10

97 ADDINSELL Warsaw Concerto

98 PROKOFIEV Lieutenant Kijé Suite

99 RAMIREZ Misa Criolla

100 ADAMS Nixon in China

10

Executive Producers Martin Buzacott, Robert Patterson

Mastering Virginia Read

Publications Editor Natalie Shea

Marketing and Catalogue Coordinator Laura Bell

Cover Concept Spring in Alaska

Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd

For ABC Classic FM

Manager Richard Buckham

Program Director Wendy McLeod

Marketing Manager Emma Paillas

ABC Classics thanks Cyrus Meher-Homji and Avanti Deshpande (Universal Music Australia), Richard Buckham,

John Crawford, Emma Paillas and Peter Pearce (ABC Classic FM) and Jonathan Villanueva (ABC Classics).

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending is published by Oxford University Press.

Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Carl Orff’s Carmina burana are published by Schott, Mainz.

Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings is published by Schirmer.

Igor Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps is published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Nigel Westlake’s Antarctica Suite is published by Rimshot Music.

www.abcclassics.com

CD1 5-!, CD2 1 licensed courtesy of Universal Music Australia Pty Limited www.getmusic.com.au

� 1971 CD1 5-! Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg. � 1969 CD2 1 Decca Music Group Limited.

� 1990 CD2 3; � 1993 CD2 5; � 2001 CD2 6; � 2003 CD2 2; � 2004 CD2 9; � 2005 CD1 1-4, CD2 4;

� 2008 CD2 7; � 2011 CD2 8 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

This compilation was first published in 2011 and any and all copyright in this compilation is owned by the Australian BroadcastingCorporation. � 2011 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Universal Music Group, underexclusive licence. Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved. Any copying, renting, lending, diffusion, publicperformance or broadcast of this record without the authority of the copyright owner is prohibited.

11

13

480 5901