During 2011 the Australian radio station ABC Classic FM held a Classic 100 Twentieth Century countdown.
Voting for the countdown was held between 1 October 2011 and 23 October 2011, with each listener permitted to vote for up to 10 pieces of music that were "composed since 1900".
The broadcasting of the results of the countdown began on 26 November 2011 and concluded on 3 December 2011 (with the top-ranked works played live by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in concert at the Adelaide Festival Theatre).
The results of the countdown were as follows:
| Rank | Composer | Work | Genre | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Adams, John | The Chairman Dances (derived from Nixon in China) | Orchestral | 1985 | |
| 99 | Ramírez, Ariel | Misa Criolla | Choral, mass | 1964 | |
| 98 | Prokofiev, Sergei | Lieutenant Kijé | Symphonic suite | 1933 | |
| 97 | Addinsell, Richard | Warsaw Concerto | Concerto for piano | 1941 | |
| 96 | Shostakovich, Dmitri | Symphony No. 10 in E minor | Symphony | 1953 | |
| 95 | Tavener, John | Song for Athene | Choral, a cappella (four-part) | 1993 | |
| 94 | Sibelius, Jean | Symphony No. 7 in C major | Symphony | 1924 | |
| 93 | Elgar, Edward | Violin Concerto in B minor | Concerto for violin | 1910 | |
| 92 | Britten, Benjamin | Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings | Song cycle | 1943 | |
| 91 | Lloyd Webber, Andrew | Requiem (Pie Jesu) | Choral, mass | 1985 | |
| 90 | Shore, Howard | Lord of the Rings score | Film soundtrack | 2001 | |
| 89 | Lehár, Franz | The Merry Widow | Operetta | 1905 | |
| 88 | Elgar, Edward | The Dream of Gerontius | Choral and orchestra | 1900 | |
| 87 | O'Boyle, Sean | Concerto for Didgeridoo | Concerto for didgeridoo | 2003? | |
| 86 | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | Sir John in Love, (fantasia on Greensleeves) | Orchestral, fantasia | 1929 | |
| 85 | Weill, Kurt | The Threepenny Opera | Musical | 1928 | |
| 84 | Villa-Lobos, Heitor | Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 | Orchestral, suite, with voice | 1938 | |
| 83 | Ravel, Maurice | Daphnis et Chloé | Ballet score | 1912 | |
| 82 | Glass, Philip | Akhnaten | Opera | 1983 | |
| 81 | Messiaen, Olivier | Turangalîla-Symphonie | Orchestral, with piano | 1948 | |
| 80 | Grainger, Percy | Irish tune from County Derry | Folksong adaptation | 1911 | |
| 79 | Barber, Samuel | Violin Concerto | Concerto for violin | 1939 | |
| 78 | Elgar, Edward | Symphony No. 1 in A-flat major | Symphony | 1908 | |
| 77 | Gershwin, George | Concerto in F | Concerto for piano | 1925 | |
| 76 | Bernstein, Leonard | Candide | Operetta | 1956 | |
| 75 | Strauss, Richard | An Alpine Symphony | Symphonic poem | 1915 | |
| 74 | Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | Violin Concerto in D major | Concerto for violin | 1945 | |
| 73 | Mahler, Gustav | Symphony No. 6 in A minor (Tragic) | Symphony | 1904 | |
| 72 | Gershwin, George | An American in Paris | Symphonic poem | 1928 | |
| 71 | Britten, Benjamin | The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra | Orchestral, with narrator | 1946 | |
| 70 | Britten, Benjamin | A Ceremony of Carols | Choral | 1942 | |
| 69 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | All-Night Vigil | Choral, a cappella | 1915 | |
| 68 | Jenkins, Karl | The Armed Man | Choral, mass | 1999 | |
| 67 | Debussy, Claude | Preludes, Book 1 | Piano | 1910 | |
| 66 | Mahler, Gustav | Symphony No. 9 | Symphony | 1910 | |
| 65 | Parry, Sir Hubert | Jerusalem | Choral, hymn | 1916 | |
| 64 | Respighi, Ottorino | Pines of Rome | Symphonic poem | 1924 | |
| 63 | Schoenberg, Arnold | Transfigured Night | String sextet | 1899 | |
| 62 | Ravel, Maurice | Piano Concerto in G major | Concerto for piano | 1931 | |
| 61 | Mahler, Gustav | Symphony No. 4 | Symphony | 1901 | |
| 60 | Shostakovich, Dmitri | Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad) | Symphony | 1941 | |
| 59 | Britten, Benjamin | War Requiem (Dies irae) | Choral, mass | 1962 | |
| 58 | Mahler, Gustav | Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) | Symphony | 1906 | |
| 57 | Prokofiev, Sergei | Symphony No. 1 (The Classical) | Symphony | 1917 | |
| 56 | Pärt, Arvo | Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten | String orchestra, with bell | 1977 | |
| 55 | Canteloube, Joseph | Songs of the Auvergne | Choral, folk songs | 1930 | |
| 54 | Ravel, Maurice | Pavane for a Dead Princess | Orchestral | 1910 | |
| 53 | Respighi, Ottorino | Ancient Airs and Dances | Orchestral, suite | 1923 | |
| 52 | Puccini, Giacomo | Turandot | Opera | 1924 | |
| 51 | Sculthorpe, Peter | Kakadu | Orchestral | 1988 | |
| 50 | Britten, Benjamin | Four Sea Interludes (from Peter Grimes) | Orchestral, suite | 1945 | |
| 49 | Edwards, Ross | Dawn Mantras | Choral | 1999 | |
| 48 | Shostakovich, Dmitri | The Gadfly Suite | Orchestral, suite | 1955 | |
| 47 | Stravinsky, Igor | Petrushka | Ballet score | 1911 | |
| 46 | Sculthorpe, Peter | Small Town | Ensemble | 1976 | |
| 45 | Edwards, Ross | Violin Concerto (Maninyas) | Concerto for Violin | 1988 | |
| 44 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | Symphony No. 2 | Symphony | 1907 | |
| 43 | Glass, Philip | Violin Concerto No. 1 | Concerto for violin | 1987 | |
| 42 | Bartók, Béla | Concerto for Orchestra | Concerto for various instruments | 1943 | |
| 41 | Messiaen, Olivier | Quartet for the End of Time | Chamber | 1941 | |
| 40 | Strauss, Richard | Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) | Opera, comic | 1911 | |
| 39 | Kats-Chernin, Elena | Wild Swans | Ballet score | 2002 | |
| 38 | Prokofiev, Sergei | Peter and the Wolf | Orchestral, with narrator | 1936 | |
| 37 | Ravel, Maurice | String Quartet in F major | Chamber, string quartet | 1903 | |
| 36 | Morricone, Ennio | The Mission | Film soundtrack | 1986 | |
| 35 | Stravinsky, Igor | The Firebird (suite) | Ballet score | 1910 | |
| 34 | Debussy, Claude | La mer (The sea) | Orchestral | 1905 | |
| 33 | Mahler, Gustav | Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) | Orchestral, with voice | 1909 | |
| 32 | Copland, Aaron | Fanfare for the Common Man | Fanfare, brass and percussion | 1942 | |
| 31 | Shostakovich, Dmitri | Symphony No. 5 in D minor | Symphony | 1937 | |
| 30 | Sibelius, Jean | Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major | Symphony | 1915 | |
| 29 | Westlake, Nigel | Antarctica | Film soundtrack, suite | 1992 | |
| 28 | Puccini, Giacomo | Tosca | Opera | 1899 | |
| 27 | Sibelius, Jean | Symphony No. 2 in D major | Symphony | 1902 | |
| 26 | Khachaturian, Aram | Spartacus | Ballet score | 1954 | |
| 25 | Mahler, Gustav | Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor | Symphony | 1902 | |
| 24 | Gershwin, George | Porgy and Bess | Opera | 1935 | |
| 23 | Sibelius, Jean | Violin Concerto in D minor | Concerto for violin | 1904 | |
| 22 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A minor | Orchestral, with piano | 1934 | |
| 21 | Elgar, Edward | Pomp and Circumstance March (No. 1 in D major) | Orchestral, march | 1901 | |
| 20 | Ravel, Maurice | Boléro | Orchestral | 1928 | |
| 19 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor | Concerto for piano | 1909 | |
| 18 | Copland, Aaron | Appalachian Spring | Orchestral, suite | 1944 | |
| 17 | Puccini, Giacomo | Madama Butterfly | Opera | 1904 | |
| 16 | Pärt, Arvo | Spiegel im Spiegel (Mirror in the mirror) | Tintinnabular (piano and violin) | 1978 | |
| 15 | Sibelius, Jean | Finlandia | Symphonic poem, with voice | 1900 | |
| 14 | Górecki, Henryk | Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) | Symphony, with voice | 1976 | |
| 13 | Bernstein, Leonard | West Side Story | Musical | 1957 | |
| 12 | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis | String orchestra, fantasia | 1910 | |
| 11 | Strauss, Richard | Four Last Songs | Orchestral, with soprano | 1948 | |
| 10 | Prokofiev, Sergei | Romeo and Juliet | Ballet score | 1935 | |
| 9 | Stravinsky, Igor | The Rite of Spring | Ballet score | 1913 | |
| 8 | Orff, Carl | Carmina Burana | Choral, scenic cantata | 1936 | |
| 7 | Barber, Samuel | Adagio for Strings | String orchestra | 1936 | |
| 6 | Rodrigo, Joaquín | Concierto de Aranjuez | Orchestral, with guitar | 1939 | |
| 5 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | Piano Concerto No. 2 | Concerto for piano | 1901 | |
| 4 | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | The Lark Ascending | Violin and piano | 1914 | |
| 3 | Gershwin, George | Rhapsody in Blue | Orchestral, with piano | 1924 | |
| 2 | Holst, Gustav | The Planets | Orchestral, suite | 1916 | |
| 1 | Elgar, Edward | Cello Concerto in E minor | Concerto for cello | 1919 |
For more information about the works broadcast (including performers and recording details), see ABC Classic FM's programming notes:
Numbers 100 to 88
Numbers 87 to 78
Numbers 77 to 66
Numbers 65 to 55
Numbers 54 to 41
Numbers 40 to 29
Numbers 28 to 19
Numbers 18 to 1
The following 48 composers were featured in the countdown: