Our annual Awards magazine is always among our most popular issues, and understandably so. After a year of in-depth exploration and analysis of a thousand or so recordings by our expert critics, we present the best. It’s worth pausing to ask what we mean by that word, ‘best’. I’m not remotely implying that it requires a qualification – quite the opposite. The recordings we’re here naming as Award-winners, let alone the Recording of Year, are sublime and profound works of artistic expression, whose contribution to our understanding of the music being performed is immense. No, my point is only that this isn’t a race – being the best isn’t like being the fastest. So what does winning a Gramophone Award mean? Impeccable virtuosity is a given, but what makes those albums winners is down to the response they evoke, be it artistic, emotional or intellectual, whether through moving us, or simply bringing us intense joy. Being able to define exactly why something seems so impressive, why it lives on in the mind and continues to resonate through the noise and silences of the hours and days that follow, is difficult, but we all understand what it feels to be affected by a recording in this way. Perhaps we don’t need to find a perfect word to define it, and ‘best’ will simply do just fine.

Some of this year’s winning albums were recorded during a time of great difficulty and uncertainty for these artists, as pandemic restrictions prevented travel, collaboration and work. That from such adversity has emerged such extraordinary art is deeply humbling and makes these Awards even more moving than usual. Many musicians I have spoken to in recent months have shared something of how these experiences have shaped them. For us listeners I dare say the same is true, too. And what’s clear is that music, far from being a luxury to be dispensed with in challenging times, has been a crucial part of that journey, sustaining and supporting them and us. Streaming and CD sales soared during the darkest days, and as lockdowns have lifted, music and art in general has been something around which people have gathered, been drawn back together, to once again share communal experiences whether as performers or audiences. It is the light that never went out, and must be a central part of however society reshapes itself in the years ahead.

This Awards marks my 10th in the Editor’s chair – and my 20th in any sort of Gramophone chair. Those decades have seen an incredible change in the way we listen to recordings. The young stars of the early years of the millennium are today’s leading figures, and a new generation has emerged with its own ideas and approach. But two things haven’t changed. The first is the extraordinary quality of musicianship that defines the albums that win our Awards. The second is that I’m just as excited as ever to discover who emerges victorious from the voting – and I hope you are too. My congratulations go to each and every one of them – as does my immense thanks to James Jolly who leads the Awards process and introduces our coverage in our special Awards issue – on sale now – and to all my colleagues who have put in so much time, energy and passion into creating and delivering this celebration.