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.
The top two spots on the Classical Chartz are unchanged from last week, with Hauser‘s Cinema at No. 1, and Yunchan Lim‘s Tchaikovsky: Seasons at No. 2. The soundtrack for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale by John Lunn comes in at No. 3, up from No. 5 last week.
Alain Lefèvre‘s Consolation is the only newcomer to the Classical Chartz Top Ten this week. The album leaps to No. 8 from No. 16 last week, making it also one of the fastest rising releases on the Chartz. The album includes 11 original tracks by Lefèvre.
“Consolation is intended as a balm, a haven of peace, a ray of light on our shared humanity.”
Lefèvre is one of a growing number of pianists who are also composers. As a concert pianist, Alain has performed in more than 40 countries, and on prominent stages such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Théatre des Champs-Élysées, Palais Princier de Monaco, Teatro Colon, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and Odeon of Herodes Atticus, among others, and participated in international festivals including SPAC, Ravinia, Wolf Trap, Athens, Epidaurus, Istanbul , Cervantino, Mozart Plus, Orford Musique, Domaine Forget, Lanaudière and Expo 2010 Shanghaï, to name but a few.
He’s a dedicated champion of new music, and has commissioned and premiered works by Henri Dutilleux, John Corigliano, Pierre Max Dubois, Walter Boudreau, François Dompierre, Alain Payette and Alexander Brott. His discography includes about 40 releases, and works by Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Franck, Gershwin, Liszt, Mozart, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Rameau, Ravel, Scarlatti, Shostakovich, Schubert, Scriabin and Soler, along with seven of his own compositions. Since 2018, he’s been sigend to Warner Classics label.
He was named as an Officer to the Order of Canada, Chevalier of the National Order of Quebec, Chevalier of the Pléiade Order, and a 2010 JUNO Award for Best Classical Album of the Year, among other accolades.
In interviews, he’s said that composing was a natural step that he began to work with at the age of 15. He’s composed more than 60 works since then.
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