Rafał Blechacz Tops August’s Classical Charts

Every month, the IDAGIO Classical Charts show what listeners around the world have been playing across albums, conductors, soloists and ensembles. In August, three new releases fill the album Top 3, while Rafał Blechacz climbs 190 places to lead the soloists and Gustavo Dudamel rises 13 places to No. 1 among conductors. Explore the full results and hear the month’s notable recordings in the companion playlist.

Albums

Three August releases enter at the top. Rafał Blechacz, Kent Nagano and the Dresdner Philharmonie lead with Mozart and Beethoven concertos, followed by Bruce Liu in Lunaris and Gustavo Dudamel in the complete Schumann symphonies with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

1. 1. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor; 32 Variations in C Minor, with Kent Nagano, Rafał Blechacz and the Dresdner Philharmonie; Deutsche Grammophon (DG) (new)

2. 2. Lunaris, with Bruce Liu; Deutsche Grammophon (DG) (new)

3. 3. Schumann: Complete Symphonies, with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Platoon (new)

4. 4. Mozart: The Piano Concertos, with Murray Perahia and the English Chamber Orchestra; Sony Classical (−2)

5. 5. Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 22, with Peter Bruns, Tilman Büning, Ivo Bauer, Stefan Arzberger and the Leipziger Streichquartett; Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm (new)

6. 6. Haydn: The Complete Symphonies, with Ádám Fischer and the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra; Nimbus Records (+8)

7. 7. Homage to Heifetz, with Gustavo Dudamel, María Dueñas and the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar; Deutsche Grammophon (DG) (new)

8. 8. Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Opp. 109, 110 & 111 (Live at Suntory Hall, Tokyo, 2025), with Mitsuko Uchida; Decca Music Group Ltd. (−1)

9. 9. Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas, with Alfred Brendel; Universal (−3)

10. 10. Mahler: Symphony No. 3, with Simone Young and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. (+161)

Conductors

Gustavo Dudamel rises 13 places to No. 1 and appears on two new Top 10 albums. Kent Nagano climbs 121 places to No. 4, and Reinhard Goebel enters the Top 10 after a rise of 28 places.

1. 1. Gustavo Dudamel (+13)

2. 2. Herbert von Karajan (−1)

3. 3. Claudio Abbado (−1)

4. 4. Kent Nagano (+121)

5. 5. Sir John Eliot Gardiner (−2)

6. 6. Sir Simon Rattle (−2)

7. 7. Neeme Järvi

8. 8. Leonard Bernstein (−3)

9. 9. Paavo Järvi (−3)

10. 10. Reinhard Goebel (+28)

Soloists

Rafał Blechacz climbs 190 places into the top position. The largest Top 10 gain belongs to Bruce Liu, who rises 207 places to No. 3 after the release of Lunaris.

1. 1. Rafał Blechacz (+190)

2. 2. Murray Perahia (−1)

3. 3. Bruce Liu (+207)

4. 4. Mitsuko Uchida (−2)

5. 5. Alfred Brendel (−2)

6. 6. Sir András Schiff

7. 7. Maria João Pires (−3)

8. 8. Víkingur Ólafsson (−1)

9. 9. Daniel Barenboim

10. 10. Martha Argerich (+1)

Ensembles

The Berliner Philharmoniker remains at No. 1. Two orchestras heard on the leading August releases make the largest moves in the Top 10: the Dresdner Philharmonie rises 111 places to No. 5, while the Los Angeles Philharmonic gains 25 places to No. 6.

1. 1. Berliner Philharmoniker

2. 2. Wiener Philharmoniker

3. 3. English Chamber Orchestra

4. 4. London Symphony Orchestra

5. 5. Dresdner Philharmonie (+111)

6. 6. Los Angeles Philharmonic (+25)

7. 7. Philharmonia Orchestra (−1)

8. 8. London Philharmonic Orchestra (−3)

9. 9. Academy of St Martin in the Fields (−1)

10. 10. Concertgebouworkest (−3)

Listen to the charts

Hear the releases and artists shaping August in The IDAGIO Classical Charts: August 2026.

Methodology: The IDAGIO Classical Charts reflect global listening on IDAGIO in August 2026. Movement compares each entry with July 2026. “New” marks a new release or a first appearance in the chart. Entries with no movement value in the source are shown without a marker.

Photo: Christoph Köstlin.