Classic FM Gramophone Awards

The winners of the 2009 Classic FM Gramophone Awards were announced on 2 October 2009 in London. For the recording awards, each label was allowed to nominate a proportion of its annual output upto 1 June 2009, and then a shortlist of six recordings per category was prepared. The results announced are as follows:

Artist of the year: Harry Christophers and The Sixteen (following a poll of Gramophone magazine readers and listeners to various radio stations internationally)

Chamber recording: Quatuor Ebène - Debussy, Fauré and Ravel String Quartets on Virgin 519045-2

Baroque instrumental recording: Fretwork's Complete Purcell Fantazias on harmonia mundi HMU 907502

Baroque vocal recording: Handel: Coronation Anthems etc from Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, on Coro COR16066

Choral recording: Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius from Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra with choirs and soloists, on the Hallé Orchestra's own label, Hallé CDHLD7520

Classical chart: Enchanted Voices by Howard Goodall

Concerto recording: Britten's Piano Concerto played by Steven Osborne and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov on Hyperion CDA67625

Contemporary recording: The NMC Songbook, from various artists on NMC NMCD150

DVD recording: 'The Copenhagen Ring' - Wagner's Ring from Michael Schønwandt and Royal Danish Opera on Decca 074 3264DH7

Early music recording: Song of Songs from Stile Antico on harmonia mundi HMU 807498

Editor's choice: Stephen Kovacevich's Beethoven Diabelli Variations

Historic archive recording: Berlioz: Les Troyens - Covent Garden Opera conducted by Rafael Kubelik on Testament SBT41443

Historic reissue recording: 'Composers in Person' from various artists on EMI's 22 disc set 217575-2

Innovation: Royal Opera House and The Sun for a reader offer to the opening night of Don Giovanni

Instrumental recording: Debussy: Complete Works for Piano, Volume 4, played by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet on Chandos CHAN10497

Label of the year: ECM

Lifetime achievement: Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who will be eighty years old on 6 December 2009

Music in the community: Matthew Peacock of Streetwise Opera

Opera recording: Puccini's Madama Butterfly from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Antonio Pappano on EMI 264187-2

Orchestral recording: Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony played by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko on Naxos 8.570568

Recital recording: Martinu: Julietta Fragments, sung by mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Charles Mackerras on Supraphon SU3994-2

Recording of the year: Quatuor Ebène - Debussy, Fauré and Ravel String Quartets on Virgin 519045-2

Solo vocal recording: Schumann: Dichterliebe and other Heine Settings, performed by baritone Gerald Finley and pianist Julian Drake on Hyperion CDA67676

Special achievement: Bernard Coutaz, founder of harmonia mundi

Young artist of the year: Yuja Wang, a 22-year-old pianist who records for Deutsche Grammophon

Posted: 3 October 2009

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