Yunchan Lim’s Goldberg Variations named Apple Music Classical’s 2026 Classical Album of the Year

Apple Music Classical has named Yunchan Lim’s Bach: Goldberg Variations – Live at Carnegie Hall its 2026 Classical Album of the Year. The award was announced on November 12, 2026. The South Korean pianist recorded the album in concert at Carnegie Hall in New York in April 2025, and Decca Classics released it in February.

Apple says the album spent 16 weeks at No. 1 and 39 weeks in the top 10 of the Classical Top 100 chart on Apple Music Classical. Lim’s previous album, Chopin: Études, was the platform’s most-streamed release of 2024. Lim first heard the Goldberg Variations at the age of eight, on a recording by Glenn Gould.

Apple Music Classical has an exclusive deluxe edition of the album that includes commentary from Lim. An exclusive Classical Session recorded at the new Apple Music Hall at Battersea Power Station in London is due in early 2027.

Source: Apple, The Korea Herald