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One-hit wonders in classical music

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A one-hit wonder is usually thought of as a popular musician who has had a single song reach the Top-40 then faded into obscurity. Extending the term to classical composers is more subjective since there is no Top-40 chart for classical music. The primary problem is determining what constitutes a "hit" in classical music. Without ready access to recording sales records and classical concert programs this must be determined by a subjective guess. This guess can only be based on a collective idea of what is frequently performed in concerts, played by classical radio stations and recorded by a variety of orchestras.

Another problem is that a composer may have a single work achieve popularity outside classical circles but have several other works achieve popularity among classical music enthusiasts. Would this qualify as a one-hit wonder? Yet another problem could be a composer who had a single work become popular (in or out of classical circles) but other works become popular in a particular niche.

Since qualifying as a one-hit wonder in classical music is subjective some composers listed here may fall into the gray area where they may or may not have multiple hits. These composers are marked with and asterisk (*) and arguments for and against qualifying them as a one-hit wonder are on the discussion page.

Baroque

Classical

Romantic

20th Century

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