This year at the ABC we've been celebrating the piano. Between our annual Classic 100 countdown and hit new show The Piano on ABC TV and iview, there's been something for everyone.
With the Classic 100: Piano countdown now concluded, you cast 139,586 votes for your favourite works featuring the piano. These ranged from solo pieces, to concertos, to orchestral and chamber works and included several film, television and game scores.
First place in the second Classic 100: Piano
Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto, his Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, was Australia's favourite work for the piano. Previously, the 'Emperor' came in at number 1 in countdowns from 2021, The Music You Can't Live Without and 2007, Concerto.
The 'Emperor' didn't make the list at all in the original Piano countdown in 2004, let alone the top ten, because only solo piano works were eligible for nomination. Instead, the 'Moonlight' Sonata made number 1 in the original Piano countdown, but this year it's been bumped to number 2.
Although Beethoven topped the list again, for once he was not your only favourite composer. Beethoven was tied with Chopin for most number of works, with nine entries each in the final 100, followed by Bach with six entries and Rachmaninov with five. Rachmaninov was the only composer other than Beethoven with two entries in the top 10.
Who voted for who in 2025
Australia was divided between the top two Beethoven works. Voters from the ACT, NSW, Tasmania and WA favoured the 'Emperor', but folks in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria went for the 'Moonlight' Sonata. In Queensland, both works broke even with an equal number of votes each.
Voters 40 and over were similarly divided, with those aged 40-54 picking the 'Moonlight' Sonata and those 55 and up choosing the 'Emperor' Concerto. If you're aged 25-39, Chopin's Nocturnes are likely your piano go-to.
For ages 18-24, they couldn't decide either: both Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto number 2 and Joe Hisaishi's Howl's Moving Castle soundtrack were their most voted-for works. Ages 10-17 concurred, with the latter at least, also showing their love for the music of the 2004 Studio Ghibli film.
This year, we included ages nine and under as its own separate category. If that's you, your favourite piano work was most likely to be Scott Joplin's The Entertainer.
Music from the 20th and 21st centuries came out on top again
Nearly half of the top 100 works for piano hailed from the minds of 20th or 21st century composers — including 27 who are still alive today. That's one more than in the Classic 100: Feel Good. The highest placed was Arvo Pärt, whose beloved Spiegel im Spiegel came in at number 12.
The newest work on the list was Nat Bartsch's Brightness in the Hills, from her 2021 album Hope, landing the number 79 spot. Bartsch's Forever, and No Time at All came in at number 84. Bartsch's entries were two of a total of 11 by Australian composers this year, as well as 11 entries by female composers.
However, Bartsch was beaten by Elena Kats-Chernin who had three entries at numbers 24, 52 and 58 respectively.
The oldest confirmed work on the list was J.S. Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze, from his cantata BWV 208, Was mir behagt, is nur die muntre Jagd or Only the lively hunt pleases me (also known as the Hunting Cantata). The cantata was written in 1713, however, another work attributed to Bach, the iconic Toccata and Fugue in D minor at number 30, could potentially have been written earlier than that. Its composition time frame has only been narrowed down to 1704 to the 1740s, if indeed it is by Bach (another unanswered question).
Music written for the screen still a favourite
19 out of 100 entries were works for the screen, proving you still love a good soundtrack, whatever the instrumentation. One game soundtrack made the final 100: the music from the ever-popular Minecraft, composed by C418, aka Daniel Rosenfeld.
16 entries were from films, ranging from Joe Hisaishi's work for Studio Ghibli, to Mancini's The Pink Panther score, to 2001's whimsical Amélie soundtrack by Yann Tiersen.
Jane Austen made the list not once but twice — both screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice reached your top 100. Carl Davis's 1995 television score was at number 28 and Dario Marianelli's 2005 film version was at number 47.
Find out all the results of the Classic 100: Piano and relive your favourite moments on ABC Classic and the ABC listen app. Get the latest classical music stories direct to your inbox.
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
