Gramophone Awards free iTunes tracks

Well, several titles are on Spotify, including the winning disc - others must make their own way in the world.

My thoughts on the winner? Well if I wanted to listen to Schutz I guess I would listen to this... I don't see much significance in the interminable list of awards and categories - if you like an artist you will buy their recital/concerto/etc. disc, so what matters, I think is the orchestral category (Martinu, good choice) and contemporary (Rautavaara - soon get bored with it, not really much life in the pieces). In the other categories the one to consider is the Victoria - real genius. Outside that you heard it already or not depending on your interests. So the titles I recommend are all on Spotify. Gramophone - sorry to disturb a perishing giant, but still too many categories, still a magazine for nerdy (and vanishing) record collectors. Speak to the living!!

Well, the process might have been rigorous but the 'experts' are still the Joyce Hatto Appreciation Society.

We can judge for ourselves on Spotify.

If you can compare the Gramophone Awards with the Oscars, Graham, I'm afraid you live in a very nice world of...a well organised delusion.

The "winners" are simply some good recordings, chosen by a very specific group of reviewers and that's all. It's a mere indication and guidance to some good CDs out of plenty out there, most of which will never reach the stardom of an "Award" here or in BBC Music magazine or elsewhere.

Parla

Graham - I think the Victoria is not to be missed, and I am not a specialist in that period. More music there than a person can assimilate very quickly.

I do think there are some good picks in the list - well, they are probably all good - but I question the number of categories. In the past it was much worse, when over months in the magazine we had the long list published, then after secret elections the papal smoke went up and the short list emerged, which we then had drummed into us for a couple of months, before the winners in each category were revealed, each with a whole page shouting at us about why to buy it, plus further hype around the runners up. So it has been toned down and I am saying, slim it down further and shed a few categories - maybe get down to soloist, orchestral, singer, opera, choral, contemporary - regardless of period and regardless of medium. Maybe fewer.

I suppose everyone will have a different idea of how many awards categories there should be but I feel Gramophone have it about right. You have to have a decent number of categories to make the awards worth having. It is the variety of categories that make it appeal to more people. My favourite areas will be different to someone else's. I am not really interested in Historic but I'm sure that will be of huge interest to older readers/listeners.
Early music has always been the area I've listened to least but by reading about the Victoria and Shutz recordings and seeing the achievement in the awards I'm spurred on to buying them and that will lead to further exploration.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that that gets introduced next year. So long as we are not pre-historic, we're okay!

You are really not missing very much!

But as you say - why did this have to be done through iTunes - whilst I use it many do not.

But then what would you expect from a magazine that endorses the Brennan JB7 as a quality audio product.

If anyone without iTunes is desperate for a copy of the free tracks then email me at marcardis@gmail.com - that probably breaks some iTunes copyright though!

Kind regards,