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.
André Rieu enters the Classical Chartz at No. 1, an impressive feat that speaks to his global popularity. His release Thank You, Johann Strauss! Marks the iconic composer’s 200th birthday. The album pays tribute to the Waltz King and other members of the Strauss family through 39 tracks. If you purchase the physical media, it includes three CDs and a DVD.
They include the expected, like the Radetzky March by Strauss Sr., the Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, and An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314, along with perhaps lesser known fare such as Perpetual Mobile, Op. 257, by Strauss Jr.
Rieu says in the liner notes, “2025 is a momentous year because this year marks exactly 200 years since the birth of the man who inspires me with his beautiful, music every night — Johann Strauss. There is a reason I named my orchestra after him, and that’s because I can’t think of any other composer who has brought so much joy to the world with his music. Every evening at every concert all over the world we play his most famous waltz, ‘An der schönen blauen Donau,’ and every evening people jump up as soon as they hear the first bars of this beautiful waltz. When I see these couples hold each other close and dance the night away, it fills my heart with happiness.”
The New Year’s Concert 2026, featuring the Vienna Philharmonic and Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin also enters the Chartz for the first time on a high note, coming in at No. 3. It was the first time that Maestro Nézet-Séguin took the helm of the fabled Vienna Phil for the iconic New Year’s Day event, which is broadcast to more than 50 million viewers across 50 countries from the Golden Hall of the city’s Musikverein.
The double CD on the Sony label includes a program of beloved works, heavy on the Strauss family, including four from Johann Strauss II (Overtüre to the Operetta “Indigo and the Forty Thieves”, Fledermaus-Quadrille, op. 363, Rosen aus dem Süden (Roses from the South), Waltz, op. 388, and Diplomaten-Polka. Polka francaise, op. 448), another two from his brother Josef Strauss (Olive Branch Waltz, op. 207 and Frauenwürde. Walzer, op. 277), one from Eduard Strauss, another brother (Brausteufelchen. Polka schnell, op. 154), and one by father Johann Strauss I. (Der Karneval in Paris. Galopp, op. 100).
Other music from Carl Michael Ziehrer, Josephine Weinlich, Joseph Lanner, Florence Price, and Hans Christian Lumbye round out the program.
Violin Café by Nicola Benedetti comes in at No. 7 on the Classical Chartz. The beloved violinist is joined by Plínio Fernandes (guitar) Samuele Telari (accordion) Thomas Carroll (cello) Yume Fujise (violin) Brighde Chaimbeul (Scottish smallpipes). Benedetti writes that the unusual arrangements “came to me in the middle of the night”.
They perform music by music by Bloch, Davies, Debussy, Dushkin, Ponce, Sarasate along with traditional Scottish favourites like Hackey Honey Reel, Skye Boat Song, and A’ Choille Gruamach, in a musical tribute to her Scottish heritage.
The album is a kind of love letter to her fans, and fans of classical music more broadly. She’s been performing with the unusual ensemble live in the UK. Debussy’s Beau soir is the final track on the album, a work that she says, incorporates “uplifting virtuosity with seductive romance”.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- CLASSICAL CHARTZ | The Top Ten Classical Music Albums For The Week Of January 12 To 18 2026 - January 12, 2026
- CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical Music Events You Absolutely Need To See This Week: January 12 – January 18 2026 - January 12, 2026
- CLASSICAL CHARTZ | The Top Ten Classical Music Albums For The Year 2025 - December 24, 2025
