In its 25^th anniversary year, Sir Karl’s 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 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.

Sir Karl 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”.

Sir Karl 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.

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.

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.

Over 75 performances of The Armed Man are so far announced to take place around the world during the 25th anniversary year, which also coincides with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.