The British may be a nation of music lovers but they are clueless when it comes to classical composers, a according to a survey.

One in three people (33 per cent) have never listened to classical music and a small number of people (four per cent) wrongly identified Bocconcini – small Italian cheese balls – as a composer.

Most people were unable to link composers to their masterpieces, the Reader’s Digest survey of 1,516 people found.

Three out of four (75 per cent) did not know that Elgar wrote Pomp and Circumstance, the music for Land of Hope and Glory, and 27 per cent did not even know he was a composer.

And 68 per cent did not know that Tchaikovsky wrote the 1812 Overture.

The Welsh were more likely to own a Vivaldi or a Wagner, with 72 per cent owning at least one classical CD compared with the British average of 59 per cent.

Most people (61 per cent) said they liked classical music either a little or a lot, with the older generation much keener than the younger generation.

Gill Hudson, editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest, said: “As our survey shows, there’s clearly an appetite for classical music.