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. Check out the full Top 20 here.
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra retains its hold on the No. 1 spot on the Classical Chartz this week with their release The Miraculous Mandarin. Likewise, the Bridgerton Season 4 Soundtrack by various artistts holds on to the No. 2 spot for a second week.
The Swan, by Hauser, and Christopher Tin’s Turandot: Christopher Tin Finale switch places from their positions last week, with Hauser taking over No. 3, and Tin dropping to No. 4.
It’s what happens in the lower rungs of the Top Ten that’s new and interesting this week.
Hania Rani’s Sentimental Value comes in at No. 5, making the leap up all the way from No. 11 last week. It’s the soundtracks for Joachim Trier’s film of the same name, starring Elle Fanning and Renate Reinsve, and represents Rani’s first foray into film music. She wrote the music directly from the script, without having an edit of the film to reference.
The story takes place in an apartment in Oslo, Norway, and Rani recorded ambient sounds directly from the building itself. The music was recorded in Abbey Road Studios as well as Polish Radio studios.
Despite its ties to film, the album is intended to be experienced as a work on its own, and includes additional tracks that aren’t in the movie. The music revolves around themes of memory and the way places, like the film’s apartment, can carry emotional resonance. The style can be described as modern classical music, performed on pianos, keyboards, a string quartet, and woodwinds.
Italian neoclassical superstar Ludovico Einaudi makes an impressive debut to the Classical Chartz with his simply titled Solo Piano. The album comes in at No. 7 for its first week on the Chartz. In a recent Facebook post, Einaudi says of the release, “It includes a selection of my favourite solo piano pieces such as Le Onde, Nuvole Bianche, Experience, and the brand new piece, Memory One.”
In an interview, he elaborates on Memory One. “Memory One is a special piece. It’s the song of who we were, transformed by who we’ve become.”
It’s his very first collection of solo piano works, and includes some new tracks, along with reprises of some of his most famous pieces, including Elegy for the Arctic, a solo version of his song Experience, (his highest streamed piece of all time,) and arrangements of more recent work, including a track from The Summer Portraits, which was released in 2025. Nuvole Bianche, from the TV series This Is England and Derek, and Una Mattina from the film The Intouchables (2011) are also included.
Einaudi will be embarking on a Solo Piano tour of the UK and Ireland, already sold out although it’s not set to launch until April 25.
At No. 10, South Korean virtuoso Yunchan Lim’s Bach Goldberg Variations, Live at Carnegie Hall steps up from No. 13 last week. The album was recorded live at the venerable New York venue in 2025 during his sold-out concert, and represents his fourth album on the Decca Classics label.
Bach’s Goldberg Variations is a touchstone for classical pianists, and Lim’s interpretation is both personal and daring in many respects. Unlike studio versions, which of course can be endlessly polished, a live version must capture the work, and the audience’s attention, all at once.
Lim’s version of the Baroque masterpiece is confident and assured, with a well developed sensibility. In the liner notes, he calls the work “a journey of life in music — from the first opening of our eyes in the Aria, through thirty deeply human variations, to the final Aria, when our eyes gently close.” He adds, “The first time I heard Bach’s Goldberg Variations was when I was eight years old and I discovered a box set of Glenn Gould’s Bach recordings. When I first listened to it, I was amazed by its grandeur and beauty, and it has remained close to my heart ever since. I’ve dreamt of releasing this piece as a live album from Carnegie Hall.”
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