People love to debate the importance — or lack thereof — of the Grammy Awards. Watching the wearisome telecasts, you have no idea classical music is even a concern. Still, most classical musicians will tell you it's still a pretty big deal to actually win a Grammy.
But the Grammys aren't the only game in classical music. It's also quite an honor to win a Gramophone Award. The British have their own classical awards, the most important of which are doled out each fall by the venerable Gramophone magazine, which has been publishing record reviews and articles on classical music since 1923. Unlike the Grammys, a Gramophone award feels like it's handed out by people who really care about the music. On the other hand, the recordings they care about are routinely Brit-heavy and Eurocentric; you'll find few North American musicians on this list.
Yesterday, the magazine released its annual shortlist of nominees, a preliminary roundup of the best albums of the past year. Out of thousands of recordings issued, Gramophone determined a list of 646, and from that jurors have winnowed it down to 45 contenders. Below, you can see the top three picks in 15 categories. Plus, you can vote for artist of the year from a list of 10. All winners will be announced at a ceremony Oct. 6 at London's Dorchester Hotel.
Like the American classical Grammys of recent years, a trend toward nominating recordings by smaller labels has been emerging in the Gramophone awards. Out of the 45 recordings listed below only six are from major labels — labels like Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, EMI, Sony and RCA (the last two merged a few years back) — which used to dominate the field. For instance, in the opera category, the top three recordings come from Harmonia Mundi, Opera Rara and the London Symphony's own label LSO Live. This is clearly an era where online CD sales and downloads have leveled the playing field, toppling old-school distribution channels and brick-and-mortar record stores.
Gramophone Short List:
BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL
CPE Bach: Harpsichord Concertos
Andreas Staier; Freiburg Baroque / Müllejans (Harmonia Mundi HMC902083/84)
Avison Ensemble (Linn Records CKD362)
Freiburger Barockorchester (Harmonia Mundi HMC90 2042/5)
BAROQUE VOCAL
La Risonanza (Glossa GCD921527)
Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn (Chandos CHAN0773(2))
Soloists; Les Talens Lyriques / Christophe Rousset (Aparté AP015)
CHAMBER
Bartók, Grieg. R Strauss: Violin Sonatas
Vilde Frang; Michail Lifits (EMI 9476392)
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas, Vol 3
Alina Ibragimova; Cédric Tiberghien (Wigmore Hall Live WHLIVE0045)
Dvorak: String Quartets Op. 106 & 96
Pavel Haas Quartet (Supraphon SU40382)
CHORAL
Delius: Appalachia. The Song of the High Hills
BBC Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Andrew Davis (Chandos CHSA5088)
Claire Rutter; Susan Bickley; John Hudson; Iain Paterson; Hallé Choir & Orchestra / Sir Mark Elder (Hallé CDHLD7526)
Macmillan: Visitatio Sepulchri. Sun-Dogs
Netherlands Radio Choir; Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic / Celso Antunes, James MacMillan (BIS BIS-SACD1719)
CONCERTO
Bartók: Piano Concertos Nos 1-3
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet; BBC Philharmonic / Gianandrea Noseda Chandos (CHAN10610)
Debussy: Fantaisie Ravel Piano Concertos Massenet Piano works
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet; BBC Symphony Orchestra / Yan Pascal Tortelier Chandos (CHSA5084)
Reger, R Strauss: The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 53
Marc-André Hamelin; Berlin RSO / Ilan Volkov Hyperion (CDA67635)
CONTEMPORARY
Birtwistle: Night's Black Bird
Hallé Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth (NMC NMCD156)
Nash Ensemble (NMC NMCD152)
Music of Poul Ruders Vol. 6: Piano Concerto No. 2; Bel Canto; Serenade on the Shores of the Cosmic Ocean
Vassily Primakov; Norwegian Radio Orchestra / Thomas Søndergård; Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen; Mikko Luoma; iO Quartet (Bridge BRIDGE9336)
EARLY MUSIC
Capilla Flamenca / Dirk Snellings (Ricercar RIC306)
Phantasm (Linn Records CKD372)
Striggio: Mass in 40 Parts etc
I Fagiolini et al / Robert Hollingworth (Decca 4782734)
HISTORIC
Leonid Kogan; Rudolf Barshai; Mstislav Rostropovich (Supraphon SU40522)
LSO, Philharmonia / Berthold Goldschmidt (Testament SBT31457)
Monteverdi: Coronation of Poppea
Janet Baker et al Sadlers Wells Chorus and Orchestra / Raymond Leppard (Chandos CHAN3172(2))
INSTRUMENTAL
Brahms: Handel Variations. Piano works, Opp 118 & 119
Murray Perahia (Sony Classical 88697727252)
Nelson Freire (Decca 4782728)
Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Music
Steven Osborne (Hyperion CDA67731/2)
OPERA
Soloists, RIAS Kammerchor; Akademie für Alte Musik / René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi HMC902068/70)
Soloists; Geoffrey Matchell Choir; LPO / David Parry (Opera Rara ORC42)
Soloists; London Symphony Chorus; LSO / Sir Colin Davis (LSO Live LSO0700)
ORCHESTRAL
RLPO / Vasily Petrenko (Naxos 8572461)
Czech PO / Sir Charles Mackerras (Supraphon SU40432)
English Spring: Bax, Bridge, Delius - orchestral works
Hallé / Sir Mark Elder (Hallé CDHLL7528)
RECITAL
"Ne me refuse pas" French Opera Arias
Marie-Nicole Lemieux; Orchestre National de France / Fabien Gabel (Naïve V5201)
"Diva, Divo" (various composers)
Joyce DiDonato; L'Opéra National de Lyon / Kazushi Ono (Virgin Classics 6419860)
Verismo Arias (various composers)
Jonas Kaufmann; Chorus and Orchestra of the Santa Cecilia Academy, Rome / Antonio Pappano (Decca 4782258)
SOLO VOCAL
RR Bennett: Songs before Sleep
Sophie Daneman; Susan Bickley; Hulett; Iain Burnside (NMC Recordings NMCD155)
Britten: Songs & Proverbs of William Blake
Gerald Finley; Julius Drake (Hyperion CDA67778)
Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch
Christoph Prégardien; Julia Kleiter; Hilko Dumno (Challenge Classics CC72378)
ARTIST OF THE YEAR (vote)
Andris Nelsons – Conductor CBSO
Gustavo Dudamel – conductor LA Phil
Ivan Fischer – conductor Budapest Fest. Orch
Jordi Savall – gamba, conductor, etc
Mitsuko Uchida – pianist
Lang Lang – pianist
Alison Balsam – trumpet
Ilina Ibragimova – violinist
Jonas Kaufmann – tenor
Berlin Philharmonic - orchestra
DVD DOCUMENTARY
Carlos Kleiber: Traces to Nowhere
A film by Eric Schultz (Arthaus 101553)
Carlos Kleiber: I am lost to the world
A film by Georg Wübbolt (C Major 705608)
André Previn: A bridge between two worlds
A film by Lilian Birnbaum and Peter Stephan Jungk (C Major 703208)
DVD PERFORMANCE
Soloists; Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice / Bruno Bartoletti (dir Pier Luigi Pizzi) Dynamic 33608
Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Claudio Abbado (ACCENTUS ACC20214)
Soloists; Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Antonio Pappano (EMI Classics 6316099)
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