Enjoy new music with our classical music chart for this week. Our weekly selections are based on sales numbers and simply what albums we love and think you NEED to hear.
For the complete top 20, tune into Classical Chartz with the New Classical FM’s Mark Wigmore every Saturday from 3-5 p.m.
Andrew Bocelli Duets (30th Anniversary) hangs on to the No. 1 position for the third week in a row, proving the timing of his retrospective impeccable.
Canadian pianist Bruce Liu makes the leap from No. 6 to rest at the No. 2 spot this week with his release The Seasons. Liu is building on a wave of popularity that kicked off after his win at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021, with no end in sight. His January 19, 2025 appearance at Koerner Hall is already sold out.
Jon Batiste makes a splashy debut on the Classical Chartz not only in the Top Ten, but way up in the No. 3 position with his Beethoven Blues. The five-time Grammy and Oscar winner reimagines some of Beethoven’s iconic works like Für Elise in a bluesy fusion, with results like the Symphony No. 5 Stomp, and Moonlight Sonata Blues. Alongside his New Orleans-tinged reinterpretations, he adds original works that were inspired by his younger days, split between competing in classical competitions, and boogying with a band in The Big Easy.
One other artists climb into the Top Ten for the first time this week. Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Scott’s Merci lands at No. 6, up from No. 11 last week. Cellist Ma and pianist Scott have been collaborators for more than four decades, both in live performance and in the recording studio. This album dives into the Romantic repertoire with pieces that have a personal connection to the artists. It’s intended to be the “final chapter of their combined story” (as per the liner notes).
Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Scott both have connections to Gabriel Fauré through their respective teachers, and the French composer’s works (Berceuse, Op. 16; Andante, Op. 75; Papillon, Op. 77; Sicilienne, Op. 78; Morceau de lecture; Romance, Op. 69; Élégie, Op. 24; Sérénade, Op. 98; and Romance, Op. 28), form the heart of the album. It also includes pieces by Saint-Saëns, Lili and Nadia Boulanger, and Viardot.
Alison Balsom’s Baroque Concertos climbs back into the Classical Chartz Top Ten, from No. 12 last week to re-enter at No. 9 this week. The English trumpeter explores concertos by Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, Albinoni and Marcello on the modern piccolo trumpet.
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