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 The WinnersEighteen recordings in six categories were selected by an expert jury for public online voting. The nominations represented the best of more than 1,500 recordings reviewed by BBC Music Magazine each year, and featured an eclectic array of household names as well as newcomers to the field. The BBC Music Magazine Awards are the only classical music awards in which the main categories are voted for by the public.
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The votes are now in, and the winning discs were announced on 12th April, together with the special jury awards. |
Disc of the Year |
 Prokofiev: Romeo and JulietLondon Symphony Orchestra, Valery GergievThe jury says… "This great ballet score has never been served better on disc. Under Valery Gergiev’s direction Romeo and Juliet tells its story so compellingly that you can put aside the booklet and let the music carry you forward to the stunning tragic climax. But that doesn’t mean detail or local colour get sacrificed along the way. At times the atmosphere is totally riveting, even in the most hushed moments. But then another of those glorious Prokofiev tunes rouses itself and it’s the impassioned sensuality that holds the ear." Stephen Johnson |
Category Award Winners |
 Violin Sonatas by Janacek, Grieg and FranckVadim Repin (violin), Nikolai Lugansky (piano)The jury says… "This attractive programme of late-Romantic works benefits from characterised playing from both participants, who offer a huge range of colour and effect. The neglected Grieg Sonata No. 2 is given a fresh and direct reading, highlighting its melodic virtues, while the Franck is subtly expressive and the Janácek delivered with detailed imaginative vitality." George Hall |
 J S Bach: MotetsYukari Nonoshita, Aki Matsui, Damien Guillon, Satoshi Mizukoshi, Dominik Wörner; Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki SuzukiThe jury says… "Suzuki and his choir brilliantly illuminate this most virtuosic of Bach’s choral works. Bach poured all his artistry – double choirs, fugues, species counterpoint – into his motets. Despite the density of Bach’s ideas, this performance is ebullient and elegant. The choir’s flawless ensemble and translucent sound keep the texture light. Suzuki brings out not only the complexity of Bach’s writing but also the joy with which he celebrates his faith." Berta Joncus |
Prokofiev: Romeo and JulietLondon Symphony Orchestra, Valery GergievThe jury says… "This great ballet score has never been served better on disc. Under Valery Gergiev’s direction Romeo and Juliet tells its story so compellingly that you can put aside the booklet and let the music carry you forward to the stunning tragic climax. But that doesn’t mean detail or local colour get sacrificed along the way. At times the atmosphere is totally riveting, even in the most hushed moments. But then another of those glorious Prokofiev tunes rouses itself and it’s the impassioned sensuality that holds the ear." Stephen Johnson |
 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & FuguesAlexander Melnikov (piano)The jury says… "This young Russian pianist approaches Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues with such freshness that you’d think he’d never heard the ‘definitive’ Tatyana Nikolayeva versions. Alexander Melnikov neither follows tradition nor strives to be different for its own sake. And in his hands the cycle builds magnificently to the monumental final fugue. At times the playing has grand orchestral richness and power; at others the intimacy and feeling for keyboard colour take us somewhere much more private. The recording captures this range and scale superbly." Stephen Johnson |
 Mozart: Die ZauberflöteDaniel Behle, Marlis Petersen, Daniel Schmutzhard, Sunhae Im, Anna-Kristiina Kaappola, Marcos Fink; RIAS Kammerchor; Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René JacobsThe jury says… "A joy from start to finish, and not just from a musical point of view. Jacobs tackles the dialogue like a radio drama, with a cast that can act, witty fortepiano commentary, and striking sound effects. The eloquence of the singing, the dramatic flair of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and the convincing reintegration of words and music allow this Flute to weave its magic with more refreshing immediacy than ever before." Andrew McGregor |
 Schubert: Die WinterreiseWerner Güra (tenor), Christoph Berner (piano)The jury says… "Intimacy, passion, and breathtaking musicianship make this a new benchmark in Winterreise recordings. The distinction between poetry and music evaporates in Güra’s reading, enveloping the listener in heart-wrenching emotion. Berner’s performance is equally wonderful. Playing an 1872 pianoforte, he brings new colours, warmth and depth to a this score. For both artists, silence and subtlety are as moving as musical utterance and grand gesture. True to Schubert’s spirit, their performance attests to the inexhaustible creative potential of this cycle." Berta Joncus |
Jury Award Winners |
 Award for Technical ExcellenceDavid Briggs: Mass for Notre Dame"Sensational organ playing from Briggs himself, drawing sounds of surging eloquence and grandeur from the splendid instrument at Gloucester Cathedral. An exceptional, truly immersive recording." |
 DVD of the YearPurcell: The Fairy Queen (DVD)"Director Jonathan Kent's joyous Glyndebourne production bursts with opulent stage-craft and achieves the near-miracle of fashioning something coherent out of the piece... altogether a riotously funny, ravishingly intelligent production." |
 DVD of the YearPurcell: The Fairy Queen (Blu-ray)... even better, as a Blu-ray! |
 Newcomer of the YearIn the Mists - Ivana Gavrić plays Jancek, Schubert, Liszt & Rachmaninov"Playing of an extraordinary calibre... she has real empathy for the dark and brooding timbres of Rachmaninov and invests the Schubert with a beautifully veiled lyricism. An outstandingly recorded programme." |
 Premiere Recording of the YearDavid Matthews: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6"David Matthews's music is fill of paradoxes – all of them positive. It clearly comes from the heart, but there's no sense of living in the past. The performance is wonderfully warm and insightful." |
Other Finalists |
 Schubert: Works for Violin and PianoJulia Fischer (violin, piano), Martin Helmchen (piano)The jury says… "It is a sign of great artistry when performers can take a composer’s lesser works and make them compelling. That Fischer and Helmchen have done so with Schubert’s modest violin and piano works to such joyous effect is remarkable. The revelation comes when Fischer joins Helmchen at the piano in the sublime Fantasia." Christopher Dingle |
 Ruders: Four Dances and other worksBirmingham Contemporary Music Group, Oliver KnussenThe jury says… "From the flittering opening of Four Dances to the unresolved menace that closes Abysm, the performances, marshalled by Knussen, bristle with controlled energy and colour. The music both beguiles and unsettles, revealing a stunning mastery of chamber forces from a composer associated with a larger canvas." Christopher Dingle |
 Langgaard: Music of the SpheresInger Dam-Jensen, Hetna Regitze Bruun, Peter Lodahl, Johan Reuter; Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Choirs, Thomas DausgaardThe jury says… "The Dane Rued Langgaard is one of the outstanding oddities of 20th-century music. At his best he is breathtakingly original, and nowhere more so than in Music of the Spheres. The score abounds in effects that seem ahead of their time, while the dreamlike sequence of events seems closer to contemporary ‘trance music’ than anything from the 1910s. No one has got closer to the heart of this music than Thomas Dausgaard in this truly ‘live’ recording." Stephen Johnson |
 Poulenc: Figure HumaineTenebrae, Nigel ShortThe jury says… "Poulenc’s Figure Humaine makes extreme demands on ensemble and intonation, as plenty of commercial recordings can prove. Nigel Short’s Tenebrae is astonishing, and instead of being diverted by the musical struggle, you’re free to focus on Eluard’s texts. The sense of liberation at the end is no less powerfully expressed, and as a showcase for Poulenc’s choral writing, I’m finding it hard to imagine this recital being bettered." Andrew McGregor |
 Louis Couperin: Keyboard SuitesChristophe Rousset (harpsichord)The jury says… "For simply releasing a disc of this repertoire Aparté deserves a pat on the back. However, the French label and Christophe Rousset haven’t just gone through the motions here – never have the words ‘bringing the music to life’ meant more. His playing of these remarkable, beautiful suites is exquisite, phrasing exemplary and the improvisatory element to the music executed with simple grace. The mean-tuned 17th-century Louis Denis harpsichord zings with a delicious full tone, delivering a satisfying bite when the music strays into the more remote keys." Oliver Condy |
 Chopin chez PleyelAlain Planès (piano)The jury says… "In a year where the Chopin bicentenary has inspired some stunning releases, this beautifully played recital stands out as going a bit further. Based on a concert given by Chopin in 1842, and played on an exquisitely toned 1836 Pleyel piano, Alain Planès draws upon annotations and variants on pupils’ scores and other evidence of the composer’s playing style. This is no dry exercise, for Planès lifts the music off the page, combining intimacy with a vivid and fresh voice." Christopher Dingle |
 Dvorak: RusalkaMischa Schelomianski, Ana María Martínez, Larissa Diadkova, Brandon Jovanovich; Glyndebourne Chorus; LPO, Jirí BelohlávekThe jury says… "This live account of Dvorák’s opera from Glyndebourne’s 2009 festival highlights the lyricism and warmth that make the work so powerfully evocative. The London Philharmonic produces an extraordinary range of colours, providing an ideal realisation of the complexity and emotional directness of the score. Equally strong is the cast, led by Ana María Martínez’s sentient performance of the title role, Brandon Jovanovich’s bold Prince and Larissa Diadkova’s fearsome witch." George Hall |
 Wagner: GötterdämmerungKatarina Dalayman, Lars Cleveman, Peter Coleman-Wright, Attila Jun, Nancy Gustafson, Susan Bickley, Andrew Shore; Hallé Choir; BBC Symphony Chorus; London Symphony Chorus, Royal Opera Chorus; Hallé, Mark ElderThe jury says… "In 2009 the Hallé performed the last and arguably greatest opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle. Chief conductor Mark Elder complemented his powerful and appropriately refulgent orchestra with a superlative cast. Originally performed over two nights in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, these critically acclaimed performances can now be enjoyed in one impressive instalment on the Hallé’s own label." Daniel Jaffé |
 Bartók: Piano ConcertosJean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano); BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea NosedaThe jury says… "Bartók’s three Piano Concertos have had a rather forbidding reputation for allegedly exemplifying his supposedly percussive style of piano writing. No more. Here, in the inspired partnership of Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Gianandrea Noseda, we can hear them as the colourful, joyous and, yes, fun works that they are. And what better orchestra can there be to realise Bartók’s clean-cut and iridescent orchestration than the BBC Philharmonic? Here are revelatory performances which will surely win more enthusiasts to Bartók’s extraordinary music." Daniel Jaffé |
 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily PetrenkoThe jury says… "Vasily Petrenko’s straight-as-a-die reading of Shostakovich’s mighty Tenth Symphony is electrifying. Tempos are fast and furious – the scherzo blistering – but never at the expense of detail: illuminating solos from the orchestra have depth and precision, while the whole work crackles with fiery colour. For all the emotional fervour, Petrenko treats this as a symphony, not a personal confession bogged down in rhetorical posturing. Though each movement is powerfully delineated, he draws all threads together for a truly celebratory and utterly coherent finale." Helen Wallace |
 Verismo AriasJonas Kaufmann (tenor); Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Chorus & Orchestra, Antonio PappanoThe jury says… "The versatile German tenor Jonas Kaufmann here shows just how wonderful the sometimes underrated verismo composers can sound when sung with discrimination and taste. Applying scrupulous musicianship and a voice of varied tone and impeccable control, he reveals the expressive distinction of familiar items from Pagliacci, Cavalleria rusticana and Andrea Chénier as well as the worth of much rarer pieces by Zandonai, Ponchielli and Refice, with Antonio Pappano and his Accademia di Santa Cecilia players supplying ideal accompaniments." George Hall |
 Wolf: Italienisches LiederbuchChristoph Prégardien (tenor), Julia Kleiter (soprano), Hilko Dumno (piano)The jury says… "Wolf’s Italian Songbook is a treasure trove of subtle, exquisite evocations; these performances remind us of their emotional power. The voices of Prégardien and Kleiter are perfectly contrasted – one shadowy, densely textured, the other clear and shining – and they have devised their own narrative from the 46 songs, following lovers from innocent wooing through the trials of love and rejection to reconciliation. Together with the superb Hilko Dumno, they create an atmosphere of spine-tingling intimacy, savouring the often startling, bittersweet taste of Wolf’s harmonies." Helen Wallace |
For details of the 2010 and earlier awards, click here. |
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