  Record of the Year Byrd: Infelix egoThe Cardinall's Musick, Andrew Carwood"the craftsmanship [is] impeccable, and the expression seemingly so heartfelt...There is and has been much to praise...the commitment of singers and label alike is a cause for gratitude, perhaps even optimism. Congratulations to all concerned." Gramophone Magazine, April 2010 More ... |
Artist of the Year - Joyce DiDonato Wherever she sings, Joyce DiDonato earns rhapsodic reviews. With a voice "nothing less than 24-carat gold" as proclaimed by the Times of London, she is among the world's most enchanting performers. Opera News magazine states: "The buoyant progress of DiDonato's career has been one of the happiest opera events of the past decade", while critics have called her technique "fearless" and praised performances ranging from "playful eroticism to imploding self-delusion to near-catatonic depression". DiDonato has soared to international prominence in operas by Rossini, Handel, and Mozart, as well as in high-profile world premieres. Her signature parts include Rossini’s La cenerentola and Il barbiere di Siviglia - her Rosina at the Metropolitan Opera won over audiences in New York and on cinema screens all over the world, and she was called "the best Rosina around" by the London Sunday Times for the portrayal. Born and educated in Kansas, she was a member of the young artist programs of the San Francisco, Houston Grand, and Santa Fe Opera companies ... More ... |
Lifetime Achievement - Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel (born January 5, 1931) is an Austrian pianist, born in Czecho-slovakia. He is widely regarded as one of the great classical pianists of the second half of the 20th century. Brendel's playing is sometimes described as being analytic, and he has said that he believes the primary job of the pianist is to respect the composer's wishes without showing off himself, or adding his own spin on the music. "I am responsible to the composer, and particularly to the piece," he has said. As well as his old teacher, Edwin Fischer, he cites Alfred Cortot, Wilhelm Kempff, and the conductors Bruno Walter and Wilhelm Furtwängler as particular influences. More ... |
Label of the Year - Linn Records Part of Linn Products Ltd, one of the world leaders in sound reproduction equipment, Linn Records was formed in 1983. While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became frustrated with the poor quality of some of the specialist test LPs they were using. Better test discs were needed so work began on an LP cutting lathe as a research product to improve testing. Thus Linn Records was born... Today the label is one of the world's leading audiophile labels specialising in classical, jazz and Celtic music. Their award-winning artists delight listeners with distinctive repertoire choices and outstanding musicality. As Linn themselves say: "We exist to introduce the broadest range of involving musical experiences to a worldwide audience of discriminating individuals who are on a personal quest of musical ecstasy and enlightenment. The beautiful compositions and artistic performances are perfectly captured by our expert engineers on recordings of unprecedented truth. We believe music is essential for human well-being and the better it is reproduced the more benefit it delivers. Because of this we record our music to the highest specification. This means that great care is taken in recording sessions and in the manufacturing process to ensure that the atmosphere and integrity of the musical performance is maintained." More ... |
Young Artist of the Year - Sol Gabetta Cellist Sol Gabetta was born in 1981 in Argentina to parents of French and Russian descent. In 2004 she created an international sensation when, as winner of the Crédit Suisse Young Artist Award, she gave her début with the Vienna Philharmonic under Valery Gergiev at the Lucerne Festival. She is a winner of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition and the ARD Competition in Munich and was Artist of the Year at the Echo Awards in 2009. Her busy schedule includes regular recordings on the RCA label, as well as appearances at festivals including ... More ... |
Special Achievement - Brian Couzens of Chandos Brian Couzens started trading as Chandos Records in May 1979 following a successful career working for other record labels such as RCA and EMI as a Producer and Sound Engineer mostly on a freelance basis. Brian began his career in the music industry as a music copyist and arranger. He worked with composers such as Ron Goodwin, orchestrating film scores such as 633 Squadron and Where Eagles Dare and even composed music himself. Brian was soon using son Ralph in the studio and on recording sessions and the rest as they say is history. "Looking back on the last thirty years, I remember the hard work particularly in the early days when Ralph and I used to do everything. I have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful artists, and my philosophy has always been to produce beautiful recordings that people wanted to hear. I have seen the progression from LP and cassette through CD and DAT to digital downloads, although it’s a very different world now to when I started making records. I am proud of Chandos and what we have achieved during thirty years: the awards, the reviews, the sales, but most of all the recordings themselves. I hope Ralph will keep the flame alight for many years to come." - Brian Couzens |
Category Winners |
 Best of Category - Early Music and Record of the YearByrd: Infelix egoThe Cardinall's Musick, Andrew Carwood More ... |
 Best of Category - Baroque InstrumentalVivaldi: The French ConnectionLa Serenissima, Adrian Chandler More ... |
 Best of Category - Baroque VocalZelenka, Bach & Lotti: Choral WorksBalthasar Neumann Ensemble & Choir, Thomas Hengelbrock More ... |
 Best of Category - ChamberBeethoven: Complete Violin SonatasIsabelle Faust (violin) & Alexander Melnikov (piano) More ... |
 Best of Category - ChoralVerdi: RequiemAnja Harteros, Sonia Ganassi, Rolando Villazon, René Pape, Antonio Pappano More ... |
 Best of Category - ConcertoElgar: Violin ConcertoThomas Zehetmair (violin), Hallé, Sir Mark Elder More ... |
 Best of Category - ContemporaryAdès: The TempestSimon Keenlyside, Kate Royal, Ian Bostridge, Cyndia Sieden, ROH, Thomas Adès More ... |
 Best of Category - DVD DocumentaryLeonard Bernstein: ReflectionsIsrael Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein More ... |
 Best of Category - DVD PerformancePurcell: The Fairy QueenLucy Crowe, Carolyn Sampson, Ed Lyon, Andrew Foster-Williams, OAE, William Christie, Jonathan Kent (director) More ... |
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 Best of Category - Historic ArchiveBeethoven: Complete Piano SonatasFriedrich Gulda; recorded 1953-7 More ... |
 Best of Category - InstrumentalVolodos in Vienna - works by Scriabin, Liszt, Ravel, SchumannArcadi Volodos (piano) More ... |
 Best of Category - OperaWagner: GötterdämmerungKatarina Dalayman, Lars Cleveman, Attila Jun, Andrew Shore, Hallé, Sir Mark Elder More ... |
 Dvorák - OrchestralDvorák: Symphonic PoemsCzech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras More ... |
 Best of Category - RecitalRossini: Colbran, the MuseJoyce DiDonato (mezzo), Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma, Edoardo Muller More ... |
 Best of Category - Solo VocalSchubert: WinterreiseMark Padmore (tenor) & Paul Lewis (piano) More ... |
Editor's Choice Bernstein: MassJubilant Sykes, Morgan State University Choir, Peabody Children's Chorus, Marin AlsopWhen Leonard Bernstein was asked by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to compose the inaugural piece for the opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C., he wrote 'The Mass is also an extremely dramatic event in itself - it even suggests a theater work'. Premièred on 8 September 1971, with additional words by Stephen Schwartz of Godspell fame, Mass is a remarkable visionary piece with a kaleidoscope of musical styles that touches on themes of political protest, existential crisis, and religious faith lost and found. More ... |