Every year, we face the difficult task of selecting our top recordings for our Year In Review – The Best Classical Music Albums, 2025. But often, the stories that captivate our audience tell a different tale. This year’s most-read reviews highlight a fascinating mix of returning legends and bold newcomers that you, our readers, found most compelling. From intimate solo performances to grand orchestral statements, here are the ten reviews that defined your listening year.
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10. “Opus 109” – Víkingur Ólafsson, Piano
Víkingur Ólafsson plays Bach’s sixth keyboard partita, Beethoven’s piano sonatas Op. 90 & 109, and Schubert’s Piano Sonata D. 566.
9. John Field – Complete Nocturnes – Alice Sara Ott
Alice Sara Ott plays John field’s 18 Nocturnes.
8. Ravel – Complete Works For Solo Piano – Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet performs Maurice Ravel’s complete works for solo piano.
7. Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique, Le carnaval romain – Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Rafael Payare
Rafael Payare conducts Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in Berlioz’s Le carnaval romain and Symphonie fantastique
6. Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 3 – Yunchan Lim
Yunchan Lim plays Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, in a live recording from the Van Cliburn Competition.
5. Mahler – Symphony No. 7 – Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Rattle in his third recording of Mahler’s symphony No. 7, with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
4. Ravel – Piano Concertos – Seong-Jin Cho, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Nelsons
Seong-Jin Cho rounds up his Ravel cycle with a recording of the two piano concertos, accompanied by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons.
3. Brahms – Complete Symphonies – Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in his second recording of the complete Brahms symphonies.
2. Ravel – Complete Piano Works – Seong-Jin Cho
Seong-Jin Cho in a 2-CD set of the compete solo piano works by Maurice Ravel.
1. Bach – Mass in B Minor – Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
Raphaël Pichon leads Pygmalion and soloists in Bach’s Mass in B Minor.
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