A breath of fresh air this year - the No. 1 spot going not to an established big hitter with legions of devoted fans, but to a debut recording. Yunchan Lim's recording of Chopin's two sets of Études, with its cover evoking Decca recordings of decades past, swept all before it. Also performing well were Paul McCreesh's jaw-dropping account of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, an early English-focused collection from Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque, and concerto recordings from Steven Isserlis and Janine Jansen. The musical force of nature that is Víkingur Ólafsson made it in at No. 6 with his seemingly unstoppable Goldberg Variations - even though they came out in late 2023!
Not surprisingly, many of these best-sellers featured as Presto Recordings of the Year - do head over to our YouTube Channel to view acceptance-videos from some of the featured artists (including Vladimir Jurowski, Pablo Heras-Casado and Paavo Järvi), or check out our promotion on the 100 classical finalists (which runs until 25th January).
No. 1
Yunchan Lim (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 2
Rachel Podger (violin), Brecon Baroque
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 3
Steven Isserlis (cello), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 4
Janine Jansen (violin), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 5
Nicky Spence (Gerontius), Anna Stéphany (The Angel), Andrew Foster-Williams (The Priest/Angel of the Agony)
Polish National Youth Choir, Gabrieli, Paul McCreesh
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 6
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 7
Nathaniel Hackmann (Billy Bigelow), Mikaela Bennett (Julie Jordan), Sierra Boggess (Carrie Pipperidge), Julian Ovenden (Enoch Snow), Francesca Chiejina (Nettie Fowler), David Seadon-Young (Jigger Craigin)
Sinfonia of London, ‘Carousel’ Ensemble, John Wilson
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 8
Chadi Lazreq (treble), Ying Fang (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Alex Rosen (bass)
Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 9
Nicola Benedetti (violin), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), Gerald Finley (bass-baritone), Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 10
Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 11
Vilde Frang (violin), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 12
Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin/director), Le Consort
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 13
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, Black Dyke Band, Darius Battiwalla, Nicholas Childs
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 14
Oslo Philharmonic, Klaus Mäkelä
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 15
Katharine Mehrling (Anna), Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Joana Mallwitz
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 16
Winner of Channel 4's The Piano
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 17
Alison Balsom (trumpet), Pinnock's Players, Trevor Pinnock
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 18
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 19
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 20
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Available Formats: 4 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 21
Kammerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antonini
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 22
Isabelle Faust (violin), Alexander Melnikov (piano), Boris Faust (viola), Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Jakub Hrůša
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 23
Hilary Hahn (violin)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 24
Yuja Wang (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 25
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 26
Quatuor Ebène, Antoine Tamestit (viola)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 27
Veronika Jarůšková (violin), Peter Jarůšek (cello), Boris Giltburg (piano)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 28
Beatrice Rana (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 29
Mishka Rushdie Momen (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 30
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 31
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 32
BBC Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic (Brass Section), Albany Symphony Orchestra, George Lloyd
Available Formats: 4 CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 33
BBC Philharmonic, Albany Symphony Orchestra, George Lloyd
Available Formats: 4 CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 34
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 35
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 36
Isabelle Faust (violin), Anne-Katharina Schreiber (violin, Antoine Tamestit (viola), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 37
BBC Philharmonic, John Wilson
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 38
Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 39
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available Formats: 2 Vinyl Records, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 40
I Fagiolini, Robert Hollingworth
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 41
Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 42
BBC Concert Orchestra, Rebecca Miller
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 43
Benjamin Appl (baritone), Regensburger Domspatzen, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Florian Helgath
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 44
John Osborn (Jean de Leyde), Elizabeth DeShong (Fidès), Mané Galoyan (Berthe), Edwin Crossley-Mercer (Count Oberthal)
London Symphony Orchestra, Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône, Lyon Opera Chorus, Sir Mark Elder
Available Formats: 3 SACDs, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 45
Pumeza Matshikiza (soprano), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Joshua Stewart (tenor), Ashley Riches (bass-baritone)
BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Andrew Davis
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 46
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 47
L'Arpeggiata, Christina Pluhar
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 48
Daniil Trifonov (piano), Sergei Babayan (piano)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 49
Magdalena Kožená (Alcina), Anna Bonitatibus (Ruggiero), Erin Morley (Morgana), Elizabeth DeShong (Bradamante), Alois Mühlbacher (Oberto), Alex Rosen (Melisso), Valerio Contaldo (Oronte)
Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski
Available Formats: 3 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
No. 50
Behzod Abduraimov (piano)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
