The Official Charts Company has launched a new chart focused on classical albums released in the last 12 months.
Titled the Official Classical Chart, it showcases albums that are making an impact in the UK, joining the company’s charts slate which is published every Friday.
It marks the Official Charts Company’s first new classical chart launch in more than a decade. The chart is compiled in close collaboration with the UK classical music industry and is supported by BBC Radio 3.
As with the company’s existing charts, combined UK sales and streams will be tallied for the weekly entries. Figures begin collecting from today. The first chart will publish next Friday, (February 13) at 5.45pm at OfficialCharts.com, with weekly on-air support from BBC Radio 3’s Essential Classics.
Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, said the team is “delighted” to showcase the “freshest classical talent” in the chart.
“While the classical genre has roots reaching back over many centuries, it is also a thriving sector of contemporary innovation and inventiveness – and, in the modern digital era, there is faster, easier access to explore all of this creativity than ever before. Thank you to BBC Radio 3 and the wider classical community for their passion for this project,” he said.
According to Official Charts Company data, in 2025 more than 1.34 million classical albums were enjoyed by listeners in the UK. Streaming makes up over two thirds of UK classical consumption today but sales of classical albums on vinyl have hiked, rising 25% year on year in 2025. This is almost double the growth rate of the UK’s growing vinyl market.
Last year, the genre’s biggest British solo release was Firedove by Anna Lapwood (pictured), the official organist of the Royal Albert Hall in London. Brad Kella, winner of Channel 4’s The Piano, secured the top debut album release in 2025. Ludovico Einaudi’s The Summer Portraits was the biggest classical release of the year overall across all formats, while Hans Zimmer’s The World of Hans Zimmer – Part II: A New Dimension, was classical music’s best seller on vinyl.
Sam Jackson, controller, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, said: “BBC Radio 3 broadcasts more new recordings and premieres of classical music than any other radio station across programmes including The New Music Show, Radio 3 in Concert and Record Review. Now listeners will have another opportunity to engage with the most popular and exciting musical voices shaping the classical world, as BBC Radio 3 airs selections from the Official Classical Chart every week.”
Becky Lees, director of LSO Live and co-chair of the BPI Classical Committee, added that the launch shows a “shared commitment” across the music industry “to spotlight the most vibrant new classical recordings”.
“We’re proud to support an initiative that celebrates innovation and connects listeners with the artists redefining the classical landscape,” she added.
Sarah Thwaites, label director, Sony Classical, said: “It’s incredibly exciting that the Official Classical Chart will open the door for even more artists – particularly rising talent – to be discovered, enjoyed and celebrated. Anna Lapwood is an inspiration, paving the way for the next generation of exceptional musicians, and it’s fantastic to have BBC Radio 3 providing such a great platform for artists to reach new fans.”
For too long classical has been seen as a kind of museum piece but the reality is there’s an incredibly vibrant scene out there...
Adrian Chandler
See more reaction from classical artists and conductors below:
British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason: “I’m so excited about the launch of the new Official Classical Chart. This is really important for classical music because it is something that has typically been left out of the mainstream, so it’s very exciting that it can now reach a wider audience.”
Adrian Chandler of baroque string ensemble La Serenissima: “The introduction of the Official Classical Chart is huge for classical music because it shows what people are actually listening to and loving right now.
“For too long classical has been seen as a kind of museum piece but the reality is there’s an incredibly vibrant scene out there of new recordings, new discoveries and artists doing all sorts of things. A chart makes all of that visible and it celebrates what’s connecting with audiences - gold dust for musicians, labels, and anyone trying to find their way into this world. It puts classical music in conversation with the rest of the industry, and that’s where it belongs.”
Classical pianist Boris Giltburg: “Whether you listen to Bach whose music was written 300 years ago, or Beethoven, or Rachmaninov from 100 years ago, it is all music that can touch and move us today because it speaks a universal language which transcends culture, time and boundaries.
“All of us who live and breathe classical music have the burning desire to share it with as many people as possible and I hope that the launch of the new Official Classical Chart will bring classical music to the attention of many more.”
Joseph Fort, conductor of King’s College Choir London: “The introduction of an Official Classical Chart is tremendously important for the classical scene because it recognises what we do and it shows the extraordinary variety, quality and sheer quantity of recordings coming out every week. The classical music industry is so alive at the moment and perhaps nowhere more so than in recordings and new releases and the Official Classical Chart will recognise and capture that.”
