Monday (1/24) on the Guardian’s blog On Classical (London), Tom Service writes, “Here’s a fun game: what was the most performed work of classical music throughout the world last year? Who was the busiest conductor? Which was the most performed opera? And who was the most overpaid diva? At last, answers to all of those questions and more (apart, alas, from the last one) are revealed today by Bachtrack, the classical music listing site. The data is based on trawling through the thousands of orchestral concerts and operas that Bachtrack lists annually, and the crunched numbers throw up some surprising facts—as well as some satisfying confirmations of interval-drink gossip. … There are some interesting differences between American tastes and the rest of the world, with Brahms and Richard Strauss represented across the pond, but neither composer making the global hit parade. Most revealingly and encouragingly, while the tub-thumpers of the Romantic period are still the meat and drink of most orchestral programmes, with 42% of all works performed, 20th and 21st-century music made up 35% of the music played in the world’s concert halls in 2010.”
Posted January 25, 2011
