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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 Lang Lang<\/strong> and Piano Book II<\/strong> top the Classical Chartz for another week, holding on to the No. 1 spot. Just below, Hildur Gu\u00f0nad\u00f3ttir<\/strong>\u2019s Where To From<\/strong> and Christopher Tin<\/strong>\u2019s Song Offerings<\/strong> exchange places to end up at No. 3 and No. 2 respectively. Isabelle Faust<\/strong>\u2019s Telemann Violin Concertos<\/strong> holds the line at No. 4 for a second week.<\/p>\n This week, there are three newcomers to the Classical Chartz Top Ten \u2014 Gautier Capu\u00e7on<\/strong>\u2019s Ga\u00efa<\/strong>, which makes the leap from No. 11 to No. 6, Vikingur \u00d3lafsson<\/strong>\u2019s Opus 109<\/strong>, which lands at No. 9, up from No. 14, and Alexandra Whittingham<\/strong>\u2019s Letters From Paris<\/strong>, which rounds out the list at No. 10, up from No. 16.<\/p>\n French cellist Gautier Capu\u00e7on<\/strong>\u2019s Ga\u00efa features 17 world premiere original works by 16 composers, each exploring the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Many different lenses are used to depict that relationship, with Capu\u00e7on\u2019s cello becoming the voice of the earth in each.<\/p>\n \u201cEach track gives its own voice to the cello, immersing us in the power and depth of nature and the Earth, the source of life,\u201d Gautier explains in the album notes. \u201cIn each piece, it is the Earth that expresses itself in music: sometimes fragile, sometimes majestic, always essential. \u2026 This album is also a song of warning, a hymn to this threatened beauty, a prayer for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Composers on the album include well known names like Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, and Joe Hisaishi, along with lesser known artists such as Armand Amar, Jasmine Barnes, Olivia Belli, Quenton Blache, Michael Canitrot, JB Dunckel, Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Montero, Nico Muhly, Xavier Foley, and Ayanna Witter-Johnson. Bryce Dessner contributes two pieces.<\/p>\n Beethoven\u2019s Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 lies at the heart of GRAMMY\u00ae-winning pianist V\u00edkingur \u00d3lafsson<\/strong>\u2019s latest release on the Deutsche Grammophon label. The work comes from Beethoven\u2019s late period, and \u00d3lafsson has bookended the masterwork with the work of two composers he considers vital to Op. 109.<\/p>\n The album includes pieces by J.S. Bach, including his The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 846-869, Prelude & Fugue in E Major, BWV 854, Partita No.6 in E minor, BWV 830, and French Suite No.6 in E, BWV 817. The Icelandic pianist sees the works as precursors of Beethoven\u2019s Sonata No. 30, as well as his Piano Sonata No. 27 in E Minor, Op. 90, which is also included on the album.<\/p>\n At the other end of the scale, coming after Beethoven, he incorporates Schubert\u2019s Piano Sonata No.6 in E minor, D566, an early work of the composer which was influenced by Op. 90.<\/p>\n Both Schubert and Beethoven, as \u00d3lafsson notes, confront Bach \u201cas every great composer must.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrance is where it all started for me,\u201d says British guitarist Alexandra Whittingham<\/strong> in the album notes for Letters From Paris.<\/p>\n Alexandra Whittingham\u2019s new release on the Decca Classics label is, not surprisingly, an album of that celebrates French music, and France in a broader sense, drawing from centuries of music. There are works by Cabral, Piaf, Louiguy, Debussy, Durand, Tiersen, Faur\u00e9, Monnot, Kleynjans, Hahn, Aznavour, Satie, Chopin, Presti, Lutyens, Pravi, Igit, and Poe. The guitarist\u2019s personal connections to France, in particular the southwest, began at age 19, when she performed her very first professional recital at Puy-l\u2019\u00c9v\u00eaque before an audience that included her parents. They subsequently bought a property next to the church where she\u2019d performed, and since that time, Alexandra has spent a great deal of time in France.<\/p>\n In addition to her performances, Alexandra has built a formidable online presence, with more than 500,000 followers across various social media platforms. She\u2019s joined on the album by saxophonist Jess Gillam, fellow classical guitarist, Stephanie Jones, and cellist Margarita Balanas.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m incredibly excited to release this album,\u201d she says in the album notes. \u201cThis is a project I\u2019ve had in mind for so long, and it\u2019s been such a lot of fun being able to realise these ideas whilst collaborating with such great friends and musicians. I\u2019ve always loved pairing music by popular household names alongside composers that might be less well-known outside of the guitar world, and this record does exactly that.\u201d<\/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\/12\/CHARTZ-Dec-8-2025.jpg\")
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