Sir Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace reaches number two in the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2025
In its 25th anniversary year, The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace has reached the highest ever position for a work by a living composer in the Classic FM Hall of Fame; its arrival in at number two marks it as Britian’s favourite piece of contemporary classical music for the third year in a row.
Sir Karl Jenkins writes, “I’m honoured and humbled that The Armed Man has reached its highest ever position in the 2025 Classic FM Hall of Fame, particularly as I look at all the great masters, past and present, that sit on this list with me. With 2025 marking the 25th anniversary of The Armed Man, I look back with great fondness to the premiere in 2000 at the first ever Classic FM Live concert, and I’m delighted that this piece has found resonance globally with so many of you over the years. I regret to say that there has been no let-up in war and conflict since I dedicated the piece to the victims of Kosovo, but we continue to make music in remembrance of those who have fallen and in the hope that humanity can find a way to heal”. He also shares the accolade of being voted the most popular living British composer, with four entries in the top 300 including his Palladio, Adiemus, and Requiem.
Commissioned for the millennium year by The Royal Armouries, The Armed Man has travelled the world since its premiere at the Royal Albert Hall by the National Youth Choir with Julian Lloyd Webber as a soloist, and passed the 3000th performance mark in 2024 during Sir Karl’s 80th birthday year. Jenkins takes to the conductor’s rostrum for a special 25th anniversary performance of The Armed Man on 7 June at the Royal Festival Hall in London, alongside mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus. In April 2025, Decca Records launch the 25th anniversary edition on CD, vinyl, and digital of the iconic recording, which additionally features a history of the commission by Guy Wilson, Master of the Armouries, and a new note from Julian Lloyd Webber reflecting on the premiere performance. Pre-orders available from Tuesday 22 April 2025, releasing on 6 June 2025.
The Classic FM Hall of Fame 2025 featured multiple works by Boosey & Hawkes composers, including pieces by Eric Whitacre, Peter Maxwell Davies, Aaron Copland and Gerald Finzi. Christopher Tin’s The Lost Birds rose 52 places to 32nd, plus Tin’s music from the Civilization franchise became the first piece of video game music to win a Grammy to enter the Classic FM Hall of Fame. There were several works by Dmitiri Shostakovich, for whom 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of death, including his Piano Concerto No. 2 at number 6, Jazz Suite No. 2 at 31, plus The Gadfly, Symphony No. 5, and Jazz Suite No.1 also featuring on the list.
View the complete Classic FM Hall of Fame 2025
Photo: Rhys Frampton