The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace has been crowned Britian’s favourite piece of classical music, claiming the number one position in the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2026. This monumental achievement marks the first time a living composer has topped the poll as the nation’s classical favourite.

Sir Karl writes, “I am deeply honoured to learn that The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, has been voted Britain’s favourite piece of classical music in the 2026 Classic FM Hall of Fame. To become the first living composer to reach the number one position is profoundly humbling and gratifying, and to some degree I’m taken aback, especially when I reflect on the great masters, past and present, that sit below me on this list. As the cliché says, we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before, and I cherish the fact that through my music, I have introduced many new devotees to the great composers of the genre. As I look back with great fondness to the premiere in 2000 at the first ever Classic FM concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, I’m delighted that this piece has found resonance globally with so many of you over the years. While it is with regret that I acknowledge that there has been no let-up in war and conflict since I dedicated the piece to the victims of Kosovo, we continue to make music in remembrance of those who have fallen and in the hope that humanity can find a way to heal”.

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.

Throughout 2026, Sir Karl takes to the conductor’s rostrum for a UK tour of The Armed Man, opening in Nottingham on Sunday 19 April, with dates following in Liverpool, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester. Sir Karl will be joined on tour by mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge, full orchestra and choruses including Crouch End Festival Chorus, Canzonetta choir, Côr Caerdydd, RSNO Chorus and Manchester Chorale choir. This summer, Sir Karl also conducts his most recent major choral work, One World, at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales on 7 July 2026.

The Armed Man is based on the 15th century French poem L’homme armé, and 25 years on from its conception, still remains a powerful and moving reflection on the horror of war and its consequences. Notable performances to date include those in New York to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and in 2018, when Sir Karl conducted the work at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin with the World Orchestra for Peace and a choir of 2000 members from 30 countries, commemorating 100 years since the end of World War I.