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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.<\/p>\n
For the complete top 20, tune into Classical Chartz<\/a><\/strong> with the New Classical FM\u2019s Mark Wigmore every Saturday from 3-5 p.m.<\/p>\n Josh Groban<\/strong>\u2019s Gems<\/strong> refuses to give up the top spot on the Classical Chartz for yet another week. Just below, though, there\u2019s a shuffle as Jean-Michel Blais & Lara Somogyi (Desert) and Yunchan Lim (Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3) exchange places to land at No. 3 and No. 2 respectively.<\/p>\n The fastest riser in the Classical Chartz Top Ten is French guitarist Rapha\u00ebl Feuill\u00e2tre<\/strong> and Spanish Serenades<\/strong>, which makes the leap from No. 9 last week to end up at No. 4.<\/p>\n There are two newcomers to the Top Ten this week: Sondheim<\/strong> by Opus 2<\/strong>, and J.S. Bach Mass in B Minor<\/strong> by Pygmalion & Rapha\u00ebl Pichon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Opus Two is William Terwilliger, violin, and Andrew Cooperstock, piano. After winning the United States Information Agency\u2019s Artistic Ambassador Auditions in 1993, the duo has gone on to carve an international performing career, playing on stages across North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe.<\/p>\n The album consists of highlights form Sondheim\u2019s much lauded Broadway shows in new arrangements.<\/p>\n The arrangements were created by Eric Stern, who worked closely with Sondheim before his death. \u201cI was one of the many lucky ones who got to work with Sondheim and experience close hand his genius, collaborative nature,\u00a0and inherent kindness,\u201d he says in the liner notes to the album.<\/p>\n Stern’s work with Sondheim was extensive, and included the 1984 revival of\u00a0Pacific Overtures, co-music directing the first production of\u00a0Into the Woods, conducting productions of\u00a0Follies, and\u00a0conducting\u00a0Merrily We Roll Along\u00a0at the Kennedy Center, among others.<\/p>\n He writes, \u201cMy last conversation with him was about the\u00a0Little Night Music\u00a0suite\u00a0which you\u2019ll find on this album. We are all extremely grateful for his enthusiastic endorsement\u00a0of the arrangement and performance, muted only by our sorrow that the rest were\u00a0written after his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n Rapha\u00ebl Pichon conducts the Baroque ensemble Pygmalion, and it\u2019s their fifth recording of iconic Bach works. The ensemble consists of 30 singers, plus soloists and musicians performing on period instruments. The soloists n the recording are: Julie Roset (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano). Lucile Richardot (alto), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenor), and Christian Immler (bass).<\/p>\n Bach\u2019s Mass in B minor, BWV 232, is a monumental work, and considered among his finest choral pieces. Haydn and Beethoven were known to have studied the score, and Liszt attended what many consider the first complete premiere in 1859, more than 100 years after the composer\u2019s death.<\/p>\n As he often did, Bach recycled some of his earlier works in the Mass, including the Kyrie and Gloria (also known as the \u201cMissa\u201d), which he had written as part of his application for the post of court composer at Dresden.<\/p>\n Are you looking to promote an event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong>![\"Top](\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/CHARTZ-Jul-14-2025.jpg\")
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