Reading edition Baseball reads its players through batting average and OPS. Classical music can do the same, to the extent that scores and recordings are available as open data. This is the reading edition of the site's main results; definitions and full tables live under Metrics .
1. Scores — 518 Bach, 161 Beethoven and 54 Mozart movements
From open annotated corpora: Bach's chorales, English and French Suites and solo works; Beethoven's complete string quartets and 28 piano sonatas (Nos. 22, 25, 27 and 28 are not in the corpus); Mozart's 18 piano sonatas — 740,002 notes, measured by one codebase. Medians by collection:
Collection Movements Chromatic ratio Rhythm entropy Off-beat onset ratio Note density Top-line leap ratio Harmonic rhythm Seventh-chord ratio Modulation rate Bach · Chorales 361 0.064 1.49 0.208 4.32 0.140 Bach · English and French Suites 89 0.103 1.49 0.564 3.64 0.307 3.05 0.242 7.1 Bach · Solo violin, cello and flute 68 0.114 1.08 0.579 2.75 0.419 1.77 0.211 4.4 Beethoven · String quartets 70 0.130 1.93 0.442 4.86 0.369 1.84 0.309 5.8 Beethoven · Piano sonatas 91 0.150 2.04 0.503 4.81 0.501 1.83 0.309 2.8 Mozart · Piano sonatas 54 0.098 1.89 0.574 4.68 0.419 2.05 0.264 3.7
Three things stand out. First, the chromatic ratio more than doubles from the chorales (0.06) to Beethoven's sonatas (0.15), yet Bach's solo works (0.11) and Beethoven's quartets (0.13) sit close together — the gap between composers can be smaller than the gap between forces, so this table alone cannot establish the cliché "Baroque diatonic, Classical chromatic" (it is not a genre-controlled comparison). Second, harmonic rhythm runs the other way: Bach's suites change chord about three times a bar, Beethoven fewer than twice, so Beethoven holds each chord longer. Third, the top-line leap ratio is lowest in chorale sopranos (0.14) and highest in Beethoven's sonatas (0.50): vocal line versus instrumental figuration, in one number.
Mozart's and Beethoven's piano sonatas share instrument and genre, which makes them the most controlled comparison on this site (Beethoven: 28 sonatas, 91 movements; harmony metrics on the 64 movements with harmony annotations). The chromatic ratio (Mozart 0.098, Beethoven 0.150), the applied-chord ratio (0.097, 0.165) and the top-line leap ratio (0.42, 0.50) are all higher in Beethoven. Yet Mozart changes local key more often: 3.7 times per 100 bars against 2.8. He moves key more often while using fewer notes outside the signature. One could read this as frequent short-range modulation versus more chromaticism within a key, but the table alone does not establish that reading.
These numbers say what differs, not why or which is better. Forces, genre and annotators all differ; the caveats column on each metric page says so.
2. Beethoven's metronome — how far below the marks do 36 conductors play?
Beethoven left metronome marks for Symphonies 1–8, and for two centuries they have been called too fast. Martín-Castro and Ucar (2020) extracted tempi from 1,332 tracks by 36 conductors. Re-aggregating their open data (Symphony 9 excluded, as in the paper):
Performance style Movement × conductor Median (bpm) Q1 Q3 HIP 198 −6.0 −10.9 −1.0 HIP-influenced 231 −8.0 −13.0 −2.0 Romantic 759 −12.7 −18.0 −6.0
Romantic conductors sit 12.7 beats a minute below the marks at the median; even period-instrument conductors are 6 below. No conductor's median is faster than the marks. Movement by movement, though, 152 of 1,188 readings (12.8%) run faster: the distribution leans slow, but not every performance is slow. The authors note that this gap of about 13 bpm matches the height of the weight on a Maelzel metronome of the period (15 mm on its scale = 12 bpm) and suggest Beethoven misread the scale. Whatever one makes of that reading, the fact that all 36 conductors are slower on average is borne out by the data.
Romantic HIP-influenced HIP
−15.0 −10.0 −5.0 +0.0 bpm Böhm (Romantic) Böhm (Romantic): −17.5 Klemperer (Romantic) Klemperer (Romantic): −17.0 Furtwängler (Romantic) Furtwängler (Romantic): −16.5 Ferencsik (Romantic) Ferencsik (Romantic): −16.0 Davis (Romantic) Davis (Romantic): −16.0 Barenboim (Romantic) Barenboim (Romantic): −15.0 Jochum (Romantic) Jochum (Romantic): −15.0 Walter (Romantic) Walter (Romantic): −15.0 Kegel (Romantic) Kegel (Romantic): −14.0 Cluytens (Romantic) Cluytens (Romantic): −14.0 Hickox (HIP-influenced) Hickox (HIP-influenced): −13.5 Masur (Romantic) Masur (Romantic): −12.7 Szell (Romantic) Szell (Romantic): −12.7 Karajan (Romantic) Karajan (Romantic): −12.0 Haitink (Romantic) Haitink (Romantic): −12.0 Polizzi (Romantic) Polizzi (Romantic): −12.0 Wand (Romantic) Wand (Romantic): −12.0 Bernstein (Romantic) Bernstein (Romantic): −11.7 Leinsdorf (Romantic) Leinsdorf (Romantic): −11.0 Muti (Romantic) Muti (Romantic): −10.0 Harnoncourt (HIP-influenced) Harnoncourt (HIP-influenced): −10.0 Solti (Romantic) Solti (Romantic): −10.0 Abbado (HIP-influenced) Abbado (HIP-influenced): −9.0 Brüggen (HIP) Brüggen (HIP): −8.0 Rattle (HIP-influenced) Rattle (HIP-influenced): −8.0 Gielen (HIP-influenced) Gielen (HIP-influenced): −8.0 Mengelberg (Romantic) Mengelberg (Romantic): −7.0 Hugget (HIP) Hugget (HIP): −7.0 Toscanini (Romantic) Toscanini (Romantic): −7.0 Tremblay (HIP-influenced) Tremblay (HIP-influenced): −7.0 Hogwood (HIP) Hogwood (HIP): −7.0 Immerseel (HIP) Immerseel (HIP): −6.0 Norrington (HIP) Norrington (HIP): −6.0 Pletnev (Romantic) Pletnev (Romantic): −4.0 Gardiner (HIP) Gardiner (HIP): −2.0 Chailly (HIP-influenced) Chailly (HIP-influenced): −1.0 Median per conductor over 33 movements, from the slowest (Böhm, −17.5) to the closest (Chailly, −1.0). 3. How differently do pianists play the same piece?
ASAP aligns 169 performances of 59 Well-Tempered Clavier pieces and 259 performances of 56 Beethoven sonata movements to their scores, beat by beat (12 of the 271 Beethoven performances whose beat counts do not match the score are left out). The performers are International Piano-e-Competition entrants. Mozart, added in 1.1, has only 6 pieces and 16 performances, so it is left out of the comparison below and shown only in the metric tables.
Across-performer tempo spread (median CV over pieces with two or more performances: 40 Bach, 33 Beethoven): Bach 0.064, Beethoven 0.047. The SD of a piece's mean tempi is 5–6% of the mean — competition pianists agree on tempo more than one might expect.Beat-to-beat tempo change (rubato): Bach 0.042, Beethoven 0.078. More stretching per beat in Beethoven.Dynamic spread (velocity SD): Bach 11.3, Beethoven 16.6. Markedly wider dynamics in Beethoven.4. 180 years of repertoire — the New York Philharmonic
15,006 programs are publicly available, from the first concert on December 7, 1842 (it opened with Beethoven's Fifth) to the 2025–26 season (15,027 including the season in progress; the archive also holds programs of related bodies such as the New York Symphony and the Stadium concerts, which are included). 3,217 names appear, 3,126 of them individual composers; the full ranking is on the Composers page.
What counts as one comes first. More than a third of the archive's work entries are excerpts — overtures, preludes, arias. Version 1.1 counts each work on a program once (97,432 work performances) and, separately, those that are not excerpts (73,314 complete performances). The most performed work is Wagner's MEISTERSINGER, DIE, WWV 96 (as titled in the archive; 800 times), but only 2 of those were complete; the rest are excerpts such as the Act I prelude. By complete performances the leader is Beethoven's SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN C MINOR, OP.67 (569). Wagner ranks 2nd by work performances and 27th by complete performances. The excerpt share itself fell from 42% in the 1840s (decade median) to 15% in the 1990s and rose to 23% in the 2020s.
Beethoven Mozart Bach
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 share of work performances per season Beethoven · 1842: 19% Beethoven · 1843: 9% Beethoven · 1844: 15% Beethoven · 1845: 9% Beethoven · 1846: 12% Beethoven · 1847: 11% Beethoven · 1848: 5% Beethoven · 1849: 12% Beethoven · 1850: 9% Beethoven · 1851: 7% Beethoven · 1852: 10% Beethoven · 1853: 11% Beethoven · 1854: 15% Beethoven · 1855: 7% Beethoven · 1856: 10% Beethoven · 1857: 11% Beethoven · 1858: 11% Beethoven · 1859: 12% Beethoven · 1860: 8% Beethoven · 1861: 15% Beethoven · 1862: 17% Beethoven · 1863: 11% Beethoven · 1864: 21% Beethoven · 1865: 11% Beethoven · 1866: 15% Beethoven · 1867: 12% Beethoven · 1868: 23% Beethoven · 1869: 21% Beethoven · 1870: 22% Beethoven · 1871: 17% Beethoven · 1872: 14% Beethoven · 1873: 12% Beethoven · 1874: 13% Beethoven · 1875: 16% Beethoven · 1876: 22% Beethoven · 1877: 20% Beethoven · 1878: 14% Beethoven · 1879: 18% Beethoven · 1880: 14% Beethoven · 1881: 24% Beethoven · 1882: 15% Beethoven · 1883: 12% Beethoven · 1884: 14% Beethoven · 1885: 13% Beethoven · 1886: 12% Beethoven · 1887: 14% Beethoven · 1888: 12% Beethoven · 1889: 11% Beethoven · 1890: 8% Beethoven · 1891: 12% Beethoven · 1892: 12% Beethoven · 1893: 7% Beethoven · 1894: 11% Beethoven · 1895: 14% Beethoven · 1896: 6% Beethoven · 1897: 10% Beethoven · 1898: 7% Beethoven · 1899: 8% Beethoven · 1900: 5% Beethoven · 1901: 14% Beethoven · 1902: 6% Beethoven · 1903: 6% Beethoven · 1904: 10% Beethoven · 1905: 11% Beethoven · 1906: 8% Beethoven · 1907: 21% Beethoven · 1908: 15% Beethoven · 1909: 14% Beethoven · 1910: 6% Beethoven · 1911: 6% Beethoven · 1912: 7% Beethoven · 1913: 9% Beethoven · 1914: 8% Beethoven · 1915: 5% Beethoven · 1916: 7% Beethoven · 1917: 5% Beethoven · 1918: 5% Beethoven · 1919: 7% Beethoven · 1920: 9% Beethoven · 1921: 8% Beethoven · 1922: 8% Beethoven · 1923: 13% Beethoven · 1924: 7% Beethoven · 1925: 10% Beethoven · 1926: 10% Beethoven · 1927: 7% Beethoven · 1928: 8% Beethoven · 1929: 9% Beethoven · 1930: 6% Beethoven · 1931: 7% Beethoven · 1932: 8% Beethoven · 1933: 12% Beethoven · 1934: 6% Beethoven · 1935: 9% Beethoven · 1936: 6% Beethoven · 1937: 7% Beethoven · 1938: 11% Beethoven · 1939: 6% Beethoven · 1940: 6% Beethoven · 1941: 8% Beethoven · 1942: 6% Beethoven · 1943: 7% Beethoven · 1944: 8% Beethoven · 1945: 5% Beethoven · 1946: 8% Beethoven · 1947: 8% Beethoven · 1948: 10% Beethoven · 1949: 6% Beethoven · 1950: 5% Beethoven · 1951: 7% Beethoven · 1952: 8% Beethoven · 1953: 7% Beethoven · 1954: 7% Beethoven · 1955: 7% Beethoven · 1956: 7% Beethoven · 1957: 4% Beethoven · 1958: 8% Beethoven · 1959: 8% Beethoven · 1960: 7% Beethoven · 1961: 6% Beethoven · 1962: 8% Beethoven · 1963: 8% Beethoven · 1964: 5% Beethoven · 1965: 5% Beethoven · 1966: 8% Beethoven · 1967: 7% Beethoven · 1968: 4% Beethoven · 1969: 6% Beethoven · 1970: 7% Beethoven · 1971: 3% Beethoven · 1972: 2% Beethoven · 1973: 6% Beethoven · 1974: 5% Beethoven · 1975: 5% Beethoven · 1976: 5% Beethoven · 1977: 6% Beethoven · 1978: 5% Beethoven · 1979: 12% Beethoven · 1980: 5% Beethoven · 1981: 5% Beethoven · 1982: 5% Beethoven · 1983: 7% Beethoven · 1984: 7% Beethoven · 1985: 2% Beethoven · 1986: 5% Beethoven · 1987: 5% Beethoven · 1988: 5% Beethoven · 1989: 9% Beethoven · 1990: 3% Beethoven · 1991: 4% Beethoven · 1992: 5% Beethoven · 1993: 11% Beethoven · 1994: 7% Beethoven · 1995: 6% Beethoven · 1996: 3% Beethoven · 1997: 3% Beethoven · 1998: 13% Beethoven · 1999: 3% Beethoven · 2000: 3% Beethoven · 2001: 7% Beethoven · 2002: 6% Beethoven · 2003: 6% Beethoven · 2004: 2% Beethoven · 2005: 3% Beethoven · 2006: 5% Beethoven · 2007: 6% Beethoven · 2008: 3% Beethoven · 2009: 6% Beethoven · 2010: 6% Beethoven · 2011: 7% Beethoven · 2012: 3% Beethoven · 2013: 6% Beethoven · 2014: 3% Beethoven · 2015: 5% Beethoven · 2016: 7% Beethoven · 2017: 3% Beethoven · 2018: 4% Beethoven · 2019: 6% Beethoven · 2020: 2% Beethoven · 2021: 6% Beethoven · 2022: 3% Beethoven · 2023: 4% Beethoven · 2024: 5% Beethoven · 2025: 2% Beethoven Mozart · 1842: 6% Mozart · 1843: 9% Mozart · 1844: 4% Mozart · 1845: 9% Mozart · 1846: 8% Mozart · 1847: 18% Mozart · 1848: 0% Mozart · 1849: 0% Mozart · 1850: 9% Mozart · 1851: 4% Mozart · 1852: 3% Mozart · 1853: 4% Mozart · 1854: 6% Mozart · 1855: 0% Mozart · 1856: 10% Mozart · 1857: 15% Mozart · 1858: 3% Mozart · 1859: 9% Mozart · 1860: 4% Mozart · 1861: 6% Mozart · 1862: 6% Mozart · 1863: 8% Mozart · 1864: 3% Mozart · 1865: 7% Mozart · 1866: 18% Mozart · 1867: 12% Mozart · 1868: 3% Mozart · 1869: 12% Mozart · 1870: 8% Mozart · 1871: 6% Mozart · 1872: 3% Mozart · 1873: 3% Mozart · 1874: 11% Mozart · 1875: 3% Mozart · 1876: 2% Mozart · 1877: 4% Mozart · 1878: 3% Mozart · 1879: 5% Mozart · 1880: 4% Mozart · 1881: 7% Mozart · 1882: 4% Mozart · 1883: 5% Mozart · 1884: 1% Mozart · 1885: 2% Mozart · 1886: 3% Mozart · 1887: 4% Mozart · 1888: 8% Mozart · 1889: 6% Mozart · 1890: 4% Mozart · 1891: 6% Mozart · 1892: 1% Mozart · 1893: 2% Mozart · 1894: 2% Mozart · 1895: 0% Mozart · 1896: 0% Mozart · 1897: 5% Mozart · 1898: 7% Mozart · 1899: 0% Mozart · 1900: 1% Mozart · 1901: 3% Mozart · 1902: 3% Mozart · 1903: 2% Mozart · 1904: 4% Mozart · 1905: 3% Mozart · 1906: 5% Mozart · 1907: 3% Mozart · 1908: 4% Mozart · 1909: 2% Mozart · 1910: 3% Mozart · 1911: 3% Mozart · 1912: 4% Mozart · 1913: 2% Mozart · 1914: 2% Mozart · 1915: 1% Mozart · 1916: 1% Mozart · 1917: 2% Mozart · 1918: 3% Mozart · 1919: 2% Mozart · 1920: 3% Mozart · 1921: 2% Mozart · 1922: 4% Mozart · 1923: 2% Mozart · 1924: 3% Mozart · 1925: 2% Mozart · 1926: 3% Mozart · 1927: 3% Mozart · 1928: 4% Mozart · 1929: 4% Mozart · 1930: 3% Mozart · 1931: 7% Mozart · 1932: 3% Mozart · 1933: 6% Mozart · 1934: 4% Mozart · 1935: 5% Mozart · 1936: 5% Mozart · 1937: 4% Mozart · 1938: 3% Mozart · 1939: 4% Mozart · 1940: 5% Mozart · 1941: 5% Mozart · 1942: 3% Mozart · 1943: 3% Mozart · 1944: 4% Mozart · 1945: 2% Mozart · 1946: 3% Mozart · 1947: 4% Mozart · 1948: 3% Mozart · 1949: 5% Mozart · 1950: 4% Mozart · 1951: 4% Mozart · 1952: 7% Mozart · 1953: 5% Mozart · 1954: 4% Mozart · 1955: 8% Mozart · 1956: 4% Mozart · 1957: 3% Mozart · 1958: 3% Mozart · 1959: 5% Mozart · 1960: 4% Mozart · 1961: 5% Mozart · 1962: 6% Mozart · 1963: 6% Mozart · 1964: 5% Mozart · 1965: 7% Mozart · 1966: 5% Mozart · 1967: 6% Mozart · 1968: 5% Mozart · 1969: 8% Mozart · 1970: 3% Mozart · 1971: 8% Mozart · 1972: 5% Mozart · 1973: 5% Mozart · 1974: 8% Mozart · 1975: 8% Mozart · 1976: 5% Mozart · 1977: 7% Mozart · 1978: 4% Mozart · 1979: 4% Mozart · 1980: 7% Mozart · 1981: 9% Mozart · 1982: 6% Mozart · 1983: 6% Mozart · 1984: 6% Mozart · 1985: 6% Mozart · 1986: 6% Mozart · 1987: 6% Mozart · 1988: 5% Mozart · 1989: 4% Mozart · 1990: 23% Mozart · 1991: 20% Mozart · 1992: 3% Mozart · 1993: 5% Mozart · 1994: 4% Mozart · 1995: 2% Mozart · 1996: 4% Mozart · 1997: 5% Mozart · 1998: 4% Mozart · 1999: 4% Mozart · 2000: 6% Mozart · 2001: 8% Mozart · 2002: 4% Mozart · 2003: 5% Mozart · 2004: 2% Mozart · 2005: 11% Mozart · 2006: 5% Mozart · 2007: 3% Mozart · 2008: 4% Mozart · 2009: 7% Mozart · 2010: 4% Mozart · 2011: 7% Mozart · 2012: 4% Mozart · 2013: 3% Mozart · 2014: 5% Mozart · 2015: 3% Mozart · 2016: 5% Mozart · 2017: 5% Mozart · 2018: 5% Mozart · 2019: 2% Mozart · 2020: 5% Mozart · 2021: 2% Mozart · 2022: 4% Mozart · 2023: 6% Mozart · 2024: 2% Mozart · 2025: 4% Mozart Bach · 1842: 0% Bach · 1843: 0% Bach · 1844: 0% Bach · 1845: 0% Bach · 1846: 0% Bach · 1847: 0% Bach · 1848: 0% Bach · 1849: 0% Bach · 1850: 0% Bach · 1851: 0% Bach · 1852: 0% Bach · 1853: 0% Bach · 1854: 0% Bach · 1855: 0% Bach · 1856: 0% Bach · 1857: 0% Bach · 1858: 0% Bach · 1859: 0% Bach · 1860: 0% Bach · 1861: 0% Bach · 1862: 3% Bach · 1863: 0% Bach · 1864: 0% Bach · 1865: 0% Bach · 1866: 0% Bach · 1867: 0% Bach · 1868: 3% Bach · 1869: 0% Bach · 1870: 0% Bach · 1871: 3% Bach · 1872: 0% Bach · 1873: 3% Bach · 1874: 5% Bach · 1875: 6% Bach · 1876: 2% Bach · 1877: 0% Bach · 1878: 2% Bach · 1879: 5% Bach · 1880: 5% Bach · 1881: 1% Bach · 1882: 0% Bach · 1883: 5% Bach · 1884: 0% Bach · 1885: 1% Bach · 1886: 5% Bach · 1887: 2% Bach · 1888: 3% Bach · 1889: 4% Bach · 1890: 2% Bach · 1891: 2% Bach · 1892: 2% Bach · 1893: 4% Bach · 1894: 3% Bach · 1895: 5% Bach · 1896: 4% Bach · 1897: 5% Bach · 1898: 3% Bach · 1899: 4% Bach · 1900: 2% Bach · 1901: 8% Bach · 1902: 2% Bach · 1903: 2% Bach · 1904: 5% Bach · 1905: 1% Bach · 1906: 2% Bach · 1907: 1% Bach · 1908: 2% Bach · 1909: 3% Bach · 1910: 6% Bach · 1911: 2% Bach · 1912: 0% Bach · 1913: 2% Bach · 1914: 1% Bach · 1915: 2% Bach · 1916: 3% Bach · 1917: 2% Bach · 1918: 3% Bach · 1919: 1% Bach · 1920: 3% Bach · 1921: 2% Bach · 1922: 2% Bach · 1923: 2% Bach · 1924: 3% Bach · 1925: 2% Bach · 1926: 3% Bach · 1927: 2% Bach · 1928: 3% Bach · 1929: 3% Bach · 1930: 5% Bach · 1931: 1% Bach · 1932: 3% Bach · 1933: 4% Bach · 1934: 4% Bach · 1935: 6% Bach · 1936: 3% Bach · 1937: 1% Bach · 1938: 3% Bach · 1939: 2% Bach · 1940: 4% Bach · 1941: 2% Bach · 1942: 2% Bach · 1943: 2% Bach · 1944: 2% Bach · 1945: 1% Bach · 1946: 6% Bach · 1947: 3% Bach · 1948: 5% Bach · 1949: 3% Bach · 1950: 3% Bach · 1951: 3% Bach · 1952: 3% Bach · 1953: 1% Bach · 1954: 2% Bach · 1955: 2% Bach · 1956: 2% Bach · 1957: 2% Bach · 1958: 2% Bach · 1959: 4% Bach · 1960: 1% Bach · 1961: 2% Bach · 1962: 1% Bach · 1963: 1% Bach · 1964: 3% Bach · 1965: 2% Bach · 1966: 1% Bach · 1967: 1% Bach · 1968: 3% Bach · 1969: 1% Bach · 1970: 1% Bach · 1971: 0% Bach · 1972: 1% Bach · 1973: 1% Bach · 1974: 1% Bach · 1975: 1% Bach · 1976: 2% Bach · 1977: 1% Bach · 1978: 1% Bach · 1979: 2% Bach · 1980: 1% Bach · 1981: 1% Bach · 1982: 1% Bach · 1983: 4% Bach · 1984: 8% Bach · 1985: 1% Bach · 1986: 2% Bach · 1987: 1% Bach · 1988: 0% Bach · 1989: 1% Bach · 1990: 0% Bach · 1991: 2% Bach · 1992: 1% Bach · 1993: 2% Bach · 1994: 0% Bach · 1995: 3% Bach · 1996: 0% Bach · 1997: 1% Bach · 1998: 2% Bach · 1999: 1% Bach · 2000: 1% Bach · 2001: 1% Bach · 2002: 1% Bach · 2003: 1% Bach · 2004: 4% Bach · 2005: 1% Bach · 2006: 2% Bach · 2007: 2% Bach · 2008: 3% Bach · 2009: 2% Bach · 2010: 1% Bach · 2011: 3% Bach · 2012: 7% Bach · 2013: 0% Bach · 2014: 2% Bach · 2015: 2% Bach · 2016: 2% Bach · 2017: 2% Bach · 2018: 1% Bach · 2019: 5% Bach · 2020: 1% Bach · 2021: 1% Bach · 2022: 4% Bach · 2023: 4% Bach · 2024: 4% Bach · 2025: 1% Bach Beethoven's share falls from 19.4% in 1842–43 to 2.0% in 2025–26. Mozart passed 20% around the bicentenary of his death (1990–91, 1991–92). Bach's season median is 1.7%. 0.000 0.025 0.050 0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 composer concentration (HHI) HHI · 1842: 0.099 HHI · 1843: 0.083 HHI · 1844: 0.092 HHI · 1845: 0.069 HHI · 1846: 0.073 HHI · 1847: 0.153 HHI · 1848: 0.066 HHI · 1849: 0.149 HHI · 1850: 0.066 HHI · 1851: 0.107 HHI · 1852: 0.060 HHI · 1853: 0.071 HHI · 1854: 0.069 HHI · 1855: 0.073 HHI · 1856: 0.056 HHI · 1857: 0.070 HHI · 1858: 0.047 HHI · 1859: 0.061 HHI · 1860: 0.036 HHI · 1861: 0.065 HHI · 1862: 0.071 HHI · 1863: 0.055 HHI · 1864: 0.094 HHI · 1865: 0.092 HHI · 1866: 0.099 HHI · 1867: 0.101 HHI · 1868: 0.093 HHI · 1869: 0.093 HHI · 1870: 0.088 HHI · 1871: 0.071 HHI · 1872: 0.068 HHI · 1873: 0.060 HHI · 1874: 0.072 HHI · 1875: 0.072 HHI · 1876: 0.083 HHI · 1877: 0.094 HHI · 1878: 0.052 HHI · 1879: 0.072 HHI · 1880: 0.064 HHI · 1881: 0.097 HHI · 1882: 0.069 HHI · 1883: 0.057 HHI · 1884: 0.071 HHI · 1885: 0.056 HHI · 1886: 0.057 HHI · 1887: 0.060 HHI · 1888: 0.060 HHI · 1889: 0.051 HHI · 1890: 0.043 HHI · 1891: 0.061 HHI · 1892: 0.071 HHI · 1893: 0.046 HHI · 1894: 0.065 HHI · 1895: 0.065 HHI · 1896: 0.065 HHI · 1897: 0.060 HHI · 1898: 0.052 HHI · 1899: 0.047 HHI · 1900: 0.033 HHI · 1901: 0.060 HHI · 1902: 0.067 HHI · 1903: 0.090 HHI · 1904: 0.045 HHI · 1905: 0.040 HHI · 1906: 0.051 HHI · 1907: 0.085 HHI · 1908: 0.075 HHI · 1909: 0.060 HHI · 1910: 0.076 HHI · 1911: 0.048 HHI · 1912: 0.051 HHI · 1913: 0.052 HHI · 1914: 0.042 HHI · 1915: 0.046 HHI · 1916: 0.051 HHI · 1917: 0.040 HHI · 1918: 0.035 HHI · 1919: 0.050 HHI · 1920: 0.072 HHI · 1921: 0.057 HHI · 1922: 0.051 HHI · 1923: 0.049 HHI · 1924: 0.032 HHI · 1925: 0.038 HHI · 1926: 0.039 HHI · 1927: 0.026 HHI · 1928: 0.031 HHI · 1929: 0.036 HHI · 1930: 0.031 HHI · 1931: 0.030 HHI · 1932: 0.035 HHI · 1933: 0.035 HHI · 1934: 0.033 HHI · 1935: 0.028 HHI · 1936: 0.024 HHI · 1937: 0.024 HHI · 1938: 0.032 HHI · 1939: 0.023 HHI · 1940: 0.024 HHI · 1941: 0.025 HHI · 1942: 0.018 HHI · 1943: 0.025 HHI · 1944: 0.022 HHI · 1945: 0.015 HHI · 1946: 0.027 HHI · 1947: 0.025 HHI · 1948: 0.032 HHI · 1949: 0.019 HHI · 1950: 0.029 HHI · 1951: 0.020 HHI · 1952: 0.024 HHI · 1953: 0.024 HHI · 1954: 0.023 HHI · 1955: 0.025 HHI · 1956: 0.019 HHI · 1957: 0.025 HHI · 1958: 0.022 HHI · 1959: 0.024 HHI · 1960: 0.024 HHI · 1961: 0.025 HHI · 1962: 0.023 HHI · 1963: 0.024 HHI · 1964: 0.023 HHI · 1965: 0.025 HHI · 1966: 0.022 HHI · 1967: 0.023 HHI · 1968: 0.023 HHI · 1969: 0.028 HHI · 1970: 0.025 HHI · 1971: 0.034 HHI · 1972: 0.043 HHI · 1973: 0.026 HHI · 1974: 0.027 HHI · 1975: 0.031 HHI · 1976: 0.022 HHI · 1977: 0.026 HHI · 1978: 0.029 HHI · 1979: 0.035 HHI · 1980: 0.029 HHI · 1981: 0.034 HHI · 1982: 0.022 HHI · 1983: 0.028 HHI · 1984: 0.032 HHI · 1985: 0.030 HHI · 1986: 0.026 HHI · 1987: 0.025 HHI · 1988: 0.028 HHI · 1989: 0.027 HHI · 1990: 0.069 HHI · 1991: 0.061 HHI · 1992: 0.033 HHI · 1993: 0.026 HHI · 1994: 0.029 HHI · 1995: 0.019 HHI · 1996: 0.022 HHI · 1997: 0.025 HHI · 1998: 0.044 HHI · 1999: 0.049 HHI · 2000: 0.039 HHI · 2001: 0.026 HHI · 2002: 0.022 HHI · 2003: 0.021 HHI · 2004: 0.021 HHI · 2005: 0.030 HHI · 2006: 0.022 HHI · 2007: 0.020 HHI · 2008: 0.022 HHI · 2009: 0.021 HHI · 2010: 0.019 HHI · 2011: 0.026 HHI · 2012: 0.020 HHI · 2013: 0.015 HHI · 2014: 0.016 HHI · 2015: 0.015 HHI · 2016: 0.024 HHI · 2017: 0.028 HHI · 2018: 0.017 HHI · 2019: 0.018 HHI · 2020: 0.032 HHI · 2021: 0.018 HHI · 2022: 0.014 HHI · 2023: 0.015 HHI · 2024: 0.019 HHI · 2025: 0.011 Concentration falls from 0.099 (16 composers) to 0.011 (207 composers). It swings from season to season, but comparing the first season with the latest, the repertoire has widened considerably. Wider, but wider toward the past. The share of composers alive at the time fell from 41% in the 1840s (decade median) to 7% in the 1990s and rose to 14% in the 2020s. The time since the composers' deaths (median weighted by work performances) went from 15 years in 1842–43 to 76 in 2025–26. Recent seasons include many emerging composers without dates, so the 2025–26 living share of 15.8% should be read as lying between 11.3% and 39.7%.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 living-composer share living composers · 1842: 29% living composers · 1843: 39% living composers · 1844: 55% living composers · 1845: 50% living composers · 1846: 50% living composers · 1847: 25% living composers · 1848: 43% living composers · 1849: 40% living composers · 1850: 21% living composers · 1851: 10% living composers · 1852: 30% living composers · 1853: 50% living composers · 1854: 21% living composers · 1855: 42% living composers · 1856: 25% living composers · 1857: 25% living composers · 1858: 41% living composers · 1859: 22% living composers · 1860: 38% living composers · 1861: 24% living composers · 1862: 28% living composers · 1863: 37% living composers · 1864: 24% living composers · 1865: 29% living composers · 1866: 38% living composers · 1867: 18% living composers · 1868: 22% living composers · 1869: 25% living composers · 1870: 31% living composers · 1871: 24% living composers · 1872: 32% living composers · 1873: 32% living composers · 1874: 25% living composers · 1875: 34% living composers · 1876: 28% living composers · 1877: 48% living composers · 1878: 36% living composers · 1879: 42% living composers · 1880: 33% living composers · 1881: 31% living composers · 1882: 45% living composers · 1883: 23% living composers · 1884: 32% living composers · 1885: 29% living composers · 1886: 27% living composers · 1887: 32% living composers · 1888: 20% living composers · 1889: 30% living composers · 1890: 39% living composers · 1891: 30% living composers · 1892: 36% living composers · 1893: 25% living composers · 1894: 31% living composers · 1895: 24% living composers · 1896: 18% living composers · 1897: 22% living composers · 1898: 11% living composers · 1899: 14% living composers · 1900: 22% living composers · 1901: 24% living composers · 1902: 29% living composers · 1903: 23% living composers · 1904: 21% living composers · 1905: 27% living composers · 1906: 26% living composers · 1907: 15% living composers · 1908: 11% living composers · 1909: 18% living composers · 1910: 19% living composers · 1911: 19% living composers · 1912: 21% living composers · 1913: 23% living composers · 1914: 19% living composers · 1915: 19% living composers · 1916: 21% living composers · 1917: 27% living composers · 1918: 23% living composers · 1919: 23% living composers · 1920: 24% living composers · 1921: 21% living composers · 1922: 18% living composers · 1923: 18% living composers · 1924: 24% living composers · 1925: 26% living composers · 1926: 26% living composers · 1927: 24% living composers · 1928: 27% living composers · 1929: 27% living composers · 1930: 29% living composers · 1931: 25% living composers · 1932: 23% living composers · 1933: 22% living composers · 1934: 19% living composers · 1935: 22% living composers · 1936: 28% living composers · 1937: 20% living composers · 1938: 19% living composers · 1939: 20% living composers · 1940: 21% living composers · 1941: 22% living composers · 1942: 29% living composers · 1943: 25% living composers · 1944: 27% living composers · 1945: 26% living composers · 1946: 26% living composers · 1947: 23% living composers · 1948: 25% living composers · 1949: 23% living composers · 1950: 14% living composers · 1951: 14% living composers · 1952: 21% living composers · 1953: 14% living composers · 1954: 18% living composers · 1955: 20% living composers · 1956: 21% living composers · 1957: 22% living composers · 1958: 20% living composers · 1959: 24% living composers · 1960: 28% living composers · 1961: 19% living composers · 1962: 19% living composers · 1963: 28% living composers · 1964: 15% living composers · 1965: 23% living composers · 1966: 14% living composers · 1967: 21% living composers · 1968: 20% living composers · 1969: 15% living composers · 1970: 19% living composers · 1971: 10% living composers · 1972: 10% living composers · 1973: 12% living composers · 1974: 10% living composers · 1975: 24% living composers · 1976: 10% living composers · 1977: 7% living composers · 1978: 8% living composers · 1979: 5% living composers · 1980: 18% living composers · 1981: 5% living composers · 1982: 11% living composers · 1983: 9% living composers · 1984: 10% living composers · 1985: 23% living composers · 1986: 10% living composers · 1987: 7% living composers · 1988: 13% living composers · 1989: 11% living composers · 1990: 7% living composers · 1991: 6% living composers · 1992: 7% living composers · 1993: 4% living composers · 1994: 5% living composers · 1995: 8% living composers · 1996: 8% living composers · 1997: 10% living composers · 1998: 7% living composers · 1999: 12% living composers · 2000: 6% living composers · 2001: 4% living composers · 2002: 11% living composers · 2003: 7% living composers · 2004: 7% living composers · 2005: 8% living composers · 2006: 4% living composers · 2007: 9% living composers · 2008: 7% living composers · 2009: 11% living composers · 2010: 6% living composers · 2011: 8% living composers · 2012: 9% living composers · 2013: 20% living composers · 2014: 8% living composers · 2015: 12% living composers · 2016: 13% living composers · 2017: 6% living composers · 2018: 14% living composers · 2019: 14% living composers · 2020: 10% living composers · 2021: 13% living composers · 2022: 17% living composers · 2023: 8% living composers · 2024: 18% living composers · 2025: 16% living composers upper bound · 1842: 45% upper bound · 1843: 50% upper bound · 1844: 62% upper bound · 1845: 61% upper bound · 1846: 59% upper bound · 1847: 36% upper bound · 1848: 62% upper bound · 1849: 47% upper bound · 1850: 50% upper bound · 1851: 36% upper bound · 1852: 53% upper bound · 1853: 61% upper bound · 1854: 42% upper bound · 1855: 59% upper bound · 1856: 48% upper bound · 1857: 44% upper bound · 1858: 55% upper bound · 1859: 38% upper bound · 1860: 59% upper bound · 1861: 42% upper bound · 1862: 42% upper bound · 1863: 54% upper bound · 1864: 34% upper bound · 1865: 39% upper bound · 1866: 38% upper bound · 1867: 28% upper bound · 1868: 32% upper bound · 1869: 34% upper bound · 1870: 39% upper bound · 1871: 37% upper bound · 1872: 41% upper bound · 1873: 36% upper bound · 1874: 29% upper bound · 1875: 41% upper bound · 1876: 35% upper bound · 1877: 48% upper bound · 1878: 41% upper bound · 1879: 46% upper bound · 1880: 39% upper bound · 1881: 33% upper bound · 1882: 49% upper bound · 1883: 30% upper bound · 1884: 36% upper bound · 1885: 32% upper bound · 1886: 34% upper bound · 1887: 35% upper bound · 1888: 22% upper bound · 1889: 34% upper bound · 1890: 44% upper bound · 1891: 32% upper bound · 1892: 42% upper bound · 1893: 30% upper bound · 1894: 37% upper bound · 1895: 31% upper bound · 1896: 23% upper bound · 1897: 27% upper bound · 1898: 17% upper bound · 1899: 22% upper bound · 1900: 28% upper bound · 1901: 32% upper bound · 1902: 34% upper bound · 1903: 27% upper bound · 1904: 25% upper bound · 1905: 33% upper bound · 1906: 29% upper bound · 1907: 18% upper bound · 1908: 15% upper bound · 1909: 21% upper bound · 1910: 22% upper bound · 1911: 23% upper bound · 1912: 26% upper bound · 1913: 27% upper bound · 1914: 25% upper bound · 1915: 24% upper bound · 1916: 24% upper bound · 1917: 31% upper bound · 1918: 26% upper bound · 1919: 26% upper bound · 1920: 25% upper bound · 1921: 25% upper bound · 1922: 23% upper bound · 1923: 22% upper bound · 1924: 27% upper bound · 1925: 29% upper bound · 1926: 29% upper bound · 1927: 29% upper bound · 1928: 30% upper bound · 1929: 31% upper bound · 1930: 31% upper bound · 1931: 28% upper bound · 1932: 27% upper bound · 1933: 24% upper bound · 1934: 22% upper bound · 1935: 26% upper bound · 1936: 32% upper bound · 1937: 26% upper bound · 1938: 25% upper bound · 1939: 25% upper bound · 1940: 26% upper bound · 1941: 26% upper bound · 1942: 34% upper bound · 1943: 28% upper bound · 1944: 32% upper bound · 1945: 35% upper bound · 1946: 33% upper bound · 1947: 26% upper bound · 1948: 30% upper bound · 1949: 29% upper bound · 1950: 15% upper bound · 1951: 19% upper bound · 1952: 25% upper bound · 1953: 18% upper bound · 1954: 23% upper bound · 1955: 25% upper bound · 1956: 28% upper bound · 1957: 26% upper bound · 1958: 25% upper bound · 1959: 29% upper bound · 1960: 31% upper bound · 1961: 23% upper bound · 1962: 22% upper bound · 1963: 30% upper bound · 1964: 16% upper bound · 1965: 24% upper bound · 1966: 23% upper bound · 1967: 24% upper bound · 1968: 22% upper bound · 1969: 17% upper bound · 1970: 21% upper bound · 1971: 14% upper bound · 1972: 12% upper bound · 1973: 13% upper bound · 1974: 12% upper bound · 1975: 26% upper bound · 1976: 16% upper bound · 1977: 14% upper bound · 1978: 10% upper bound · 1979: 10% upper bound · 1980: 19% upper bound · 1981: 7% upper bound · 1982: 17% upper bound · 1983: 16% upper bound · 1984: 11% upper bound · 1985: 29% upper bound · 1986: 14% upper bound · 1987: 10% upper bound · 1988: 14% upper bound · 1989: 15% upper bound · 1990: 10% upper bound · 1991: 8% upper bound · 1992: 11% upper bound · 1993: 13% upper bound · 1994: 11% upper bound · 1995: 15% upper bound · 1996: 14% upper bound · 1997: 17% upper bound · 1998: 11% upper bound · 1999: 19% upper bound · 2000: 10% upper bound · 2001: 10% upper bound · 2002: 14% upper bound · 2003: 11% upper bound · 2004: 12% upper bound · 2005: 14% upper bound · 2006: 10% upper bound · 2007: 19% upper bound · 2008: 14% upper bound · 2009: 19% upper bound · 2010: 20% upper bound · 2011: 17% upper bound · 2012: 20% upper bound · 2013: 39% upper bound · 2014: 21% upper bound · 2015: 32% upper bound · 2016: 25% upper bound · 2017: 17% upper bound · 2018: 25% upper bound · 2019: 29% upper bound · 2020: 30% upper bound · 2021: 37% upper bound · 2022: 38% upper bound · 2023: 29% upper bound · 2024: 33% upper bound · 2025: 40% upper bound Completed seasons. The upper bound treats composers without dates as living. The list of most-performed composers changes more than one might think. The median overlap (Jaccard) of each decade's top 10 with the previous decade's is 0.54: roughly seven of ten stay and three or four change (canon turnover ).
5. Limits and next steps
What is missing matters as much as what is here. The Beethoven symphonies have performance metrics but no score metrics (no open machine-readable full scores). Bach's performance data is piano only; the change in recorded durations around the period-instrument movement is not yet measured. The repertoire series is one orchestra. The caveats on each metric page and the long-term list under Method & sources record those gaps.