Enjoy new music with our classical music chart. Our 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.
The Classical Chartz Top 20 of 2024 is a cross section of the vibrant world of contemporary Western art music in its varied forms, from the traditional to neoclassical, contemporary music and more. All of the albums hit No. 1 on the Chartz this past year.
At the top of the list is Yunchan Lim’s Chopin: Études. Yunchan Lim has it all: superhuman technique, finesse in interpretation, and an international fan base that can’t wait for news about the photogenic pianist. The South Korean pianist shot to fame when he became the youngest ever to win the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at age 18.
The release comes on the heels of his well reviewed Live from the Cliburn recording of Liszt: Transcendental Etudes (2023) that captured his gold medal winning performance, and is his first recording on the Decca label after signing an exclusive contract. It went on to win the Piano Award at the 2024 Gramophone Classical Music Awards.
Lim began his piano studies at the tender age of seven in Seoul, and after two years at the Korea National University of the Arts, is continuing his studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Canadians are well represented on the list, beginning with No. 2: the National Arts Centre Orchestra and conductor Alexander Shelley and their Truth in Our Time. It’s a poignant topic for our current political turmoil, and showcases Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 13, commissioned for the album by the NAC Orchestra in honour of the late Canadian journalist Peter Jennings. Also on the album is Canadian treasure James Ehnes performing Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9, and Strange Absurdity / Étrange absurdité by Yao.
Ottawa native François Dompierre comes in at No. 3 with his uber-popular Requiem, an excursion into the musical imagination of the movie music specialist. At No. 4 on the year end list, Canadian contemporary composer Stephen Moccio’s solo piano album Legends, Myths And Lavender held sway in the Top Ten for months.
Soprano Karina Gauvin’s Marie Hubert – Fille du Roy explores the rich territory of Québecois and French folklore in the story of one of the young women who left France for New France with music from the 20th century. It finishes the year at No. 9 on the 2024 Chartz.
Tafelmusik & Rachel Podger’s simply titled Haydn Symphonies 43 & 49 sits at No. 11. It’s the first recording for the baroque and classical specialists and the newly installed Principal Guest Director. The recording has historical significance for Tafelmusik, in that the Haydn symphonies were part of its much lauded recording series with conductor Bruno Weill in the 1980s. You can check out LvT’s interview with Rachel about the recording here.
Podger turned Haydn into something sensational during her September concert in Toronto, and she’ll be back in early 2025 to perform with Tafelmusik.
It’s no surprise to find Canada’s international superstars like Emily D’Angelo (Freezing, No. 12) and Bruce Liu (The Seasons, No. 15) included in the year’s top 20.
Jon Batiste is currently taking the Classical Chartz by storm with Beethoven Blues (No. 10), and the rest of the Top 20 for 2024 tap into a stellar year of recordings, including Daniel Hope’s Dance at No. 13, Hauser’s Classic II, where he explores gorgeous classical melodies in new arrangements, and Jonas Kaufmann’s Puccini Love Affairs, the only operatic album on the list, landing at No. 6.
It was also a year for anniversaries, like Andrea Bocelli’s hugely popular Duets (30th Anniversary), which had a stranglehold on the No. 1 position for weeks. Along with his autobiographical documentary, it looks back on an extraordinary career. He’s at No. 4 to end the year.
Il Divo celebrated two decades on the charts with XX. The album includes all new material, including a new original song in their signature crossover classical style. It’s romantic and emotional, and sung in several languages. It’s their 10th studio album, and the first with a new member after the death of Spanish baritone Carlos Marín Menchero about three years ago.
Other veterans of the concert circuit make a strong showing in the year end Chartz, including Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott with Merci. The release marks another type of milestone: the last time the two longtime colleagues will be collaborating on an album. Stott will be retiring from the performing stage to concentrate on teaching and family. Merci — thank you — is Ma’s message to a favourite fellow musician.
Early Music is still an important part of the classical music repertoire. The Poor Clares of Arundel explore music from the 13th century, recorded at the convent chapel in Arundel, West Sussex and mixed at Abbey Road Studios, on the album My Peace I Give You.
The release of Béla Fleck’s Rhapsody in Blue, recorded with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, (No. 7) was timed to coincide with the premiere of Gershwin’s original work a century earlier in New York on Feb. 12, 1924. The banjo virtuoso uses the piece as a starting point for exploration, and includes his own variations on the theme.
Violinist Mari Samuelsen’s imaginative Life (No. 16) takes a creative approach to programming. Based on her experiences becoming a mother, the music includes works by contemporary composers from Bryce Dessner to Steve Reich, with a dash of Schubert.
Traditional music from Northern Europe, from Denmark through Norway to Ireland and England is the fertile territory for The Danish String Quartet on Keel Road, which lands at No. 18 on the year end Chartz.
Andre Rieu’s Love Is All Around hit all the right notes with listeners in 2024, and sits at the No. 20 spot at the end of the year.
How many did you sample from this year…?
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