Gramophone Awards 2012
The Gramophone Awards 2012 have been announced!
In association with Steinway & Sons and EFG International
Once again, the classical record industry has delivered! A constant stream of recordings continues unabated that bears witness to the creativity, imagination, flair, tenacity, style and prodigious talent of musicians, A&R directors and labels’ creative and editorial teams the world over. And once again, the work of the major labels (diminishing in number by the year, it seems) and independents has caught our imagination and propelled 45 recordings into the Second Round, the discs – three per category – from the winners have emerged.
The 'process' this year has changed very slightly. Rather than solicit nominations from the record companies, this year we compiled the initial ‘long list’ from those recordings that we’ve reviewed over a 12-month period (discs released between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012) that received a favourable review. Specialist committees then whittle these long lists (some 700 recordings) down to just six in each of the 15 categories. These form Round Two, and at this point any critic can opt into as many categories as desired, and the six discs are despatched.
From this Second Round, the 15 winners emerge. The Final Round, which produces the Recording of the Year, takes place at Gramophone’s Teddington offices, for which we convene a committee of contributors and editors. This jury, all armed with the winning discs, then gather to talk through each of the recordings before a vote determines the winner of winners.
This year’s Recording of the Year has been revealed as Schütz’s Musicalische Exequien featuring Vox Luminis directed by Lionel Meunier. Click here for more details.
Download Award tracks on iTunes
To mark this year’s Gramophone Classical Music Awards, readers can download selected tracks by Award-winners for free on iTunes. You can enjoy this offer whether you listen to your music on your computer, iPad or iPhone. You’ll also find a selection of recordings by Claudio Abbado, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, as chosen by Gramophone. In addition, there are podcasts and much more that followers of these Awards will want to explore. The offer is available until November 30.
If you already have an iTunes account, type iTunes.com/gramawards into your browser, then click on the free playlist. If new to iTunes, visit iTunes.com/uk and click on the blue ‘Download Now’ button to install. Now type iTunes.com/gramawards into your browser and iTunes will open.
Links to retailers featuring the winning discs are listed below – simply click and visit your preferred retailer:
McAlister Matheson (Edinburgh)
The Record Corner (Godalming)
Presto Music (Lemington Spa)
Foyles (London WC2)
JG Windows (Newcastle on Tyne)
Prelude Records (Norwich)
Classical CD (Nottingham)
Winners Revealed
Click on the links below to read about the winners of the 2012 Gramophone Awards, including the category winners, Recording of the Year and Artist of the Year. Here you will find full Gramophone reviews of all the winning discs, videos of our critics discussing each recording, and acceptance speeches from selected artists.
You can also still find out about last year's Gramophone Awards - visit our Gramophone Awards 2011 section to read about the winners.
