The three finalists in each of the twelve categories for the 2022 Gramophone Awards were announced this morning, with Isabelle Faust's recording of Stravinsky's sardonic Soldier's Tale, Raphaël Pichon's St Matthew Passion with Pygmalion, the second volume of Leif Ove Andsnes's Mozart Momentum, and Alina Ibragimova's scintillating account of Paganini's Caprices among the albums in contention.
The winners will be revealed on 4th October, when details of special prizes including the Lifetime Achievement Award and Recording of the Year will also be unveiled. We've put together a special offer on all the category finalists, with up to 25% off the nominated albums.
Chamber
Brahms: String Sextets
Belcea Quartet, Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)
'While I can think of numerous recordings of these works that offer affection and graciousness in abundance, I can’t think of another that’s as ear-opening as it is warm-hearted.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale
Isabelle Faust (violin), Alexander Melnikov (piano), Dominique Horwitz (speaker)
'Faust and her colleagues do indeed evoke the mise en scène of performers pulling up in a dusty square late one afternoon and performing from the back of an old truck.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'round Midnight
Quatuor Ebène
'With sound of unsparing immediacy and Merlin’s typically provocative notes, this release testifies to the Ébène’s ambition and, moreover, its attainment.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Choral
JS Bach: Cantatas Nos. 45 & 198 & Motet 'O Jesu Christ, mein Lebens Licht'
Dorothee Mields (soprano), Alex Potter (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent. Philippe Herreweghe
'No one else peels back those tactile homogeneous phrases with quite such luminosity and deep-seated finesse as Collegium Vocale.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
JS Bach: Matthäus-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Stéphane Degout (Christus), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
'With its glowing inner vitality and penetrating observations, this is a Passion that makes a very definite statement about what this work can communicate in our times.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Buxtehude, Schütz & Dijkman: Septem Verba & Membra Jesu Nostri
Ensemble Correspondances, Sébastien Daucé
'Vocal forces of just 10 singers supported by the same number of instrumentalists bring a level of intimacy that is entirely appropriate to this programme.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Concerto
Beethoven, Berg & Bartók: Violin Concertos
Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Harding, Kirill Petrenko, Alan Gilbert
'This surely has to be the version of the Berg you go to first, with the Beethoven warranting a recommendation that’s virtually as strong.'
Available Format: 2 CDs + Blu-ray Audio
Kapustin: Piano Concerto No. 4, Concerto for Violin & Piano & Chamber Symphony
Frank Dupree (piano/conductor), Rosanne Philippens (violin), Wurttembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn
'It’s the piano concerto that makes the strongest impression here. It’ll knock your socks off.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mozart Momentum: 1786
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano/director), Christiane Karg (soprano), Matthew Truscott (violin), Frank-Michael Guthmann (cello), Mahler Chamber Orchestra
'Time and again Andsnes had me reaching for the score to confirm things I’d never noticed before...some of the finest Mozart-playing on the planet.'
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Contemporary
Abrahamsen: Schnee
Lapland Chamber Orchestra, John Storgårds
'The sounds Abrahamsen craves...hugely complex on the page but delectably simple to the ear, are exceptionally realised and recorded here.'
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Abrahamsen: The Snow Queen
Barbara Hannigan (Gerda), Rachael Wilson (Kay, Katarina Dalayman (Grandmother / Old Lady / Finn Woman), Peter Rose (Snow Queen / Reindeer / Clock); Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Cornelius Meister, Andreas Kriegenburg
'Kriegenburg’s production...is not a show for kids, even if Abrahamsen’s opera might be – getting close to Andersen’s genius in recounting big ideas with little tales.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Francisco Coll: Violin Concerto and other works
Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg, Gustavo Gimeno
'There is no mistaking the resourcefulness of his rhythmic patterning and his exhilarating capacity for bringing raw and refined materials into conjunction in orchestral writing.'
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Early Music
Giosquino: Josquin Desprez in Italia
Odhecaton, The Gesualdo Six, La Pifarescha, La Reverdie, Paolo Da Col
'Odhecaton steer a middle course and opt for a bigger sound than either[ The Hilliard Ensemble or De Labyrintho], something of which Ercole himself would have approved.'
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Josquin Desprez: Baisiez Moy
thélème, Jean-Christophe Groffe
'Not only are the performances all on an extremely high level but there are quite a lot of pieces here that you cannot otherwise hear.'
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Echoes of an Old Hall
Gothic Voices
'The account of Dunstable’s four-voice Veni Sancte Spiritus (one of the best-known, oft-recorded pieces of the 15th century) is unquestionably one of the finest yet made.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Instrumental
Duruflé: Complete Organ Works
Thomas Trotter (organ)
'His playing has a kind of natural empathy which so strongly inhabits the music that you almost forget that the performance is the work of a single individual player.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Paganini: 24 Caprices
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
'Ibragimova’s principal strength, aside from an all-facilitating technique, is her amazing imagination, an ability to turn each individual piece into a vivid narrative.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin
James Ehnes (violin)
'Ehnes’s ‘centrist’ approach keeps your attention focused on the music, leaving you to marvel at his technique only after you’ve stopped listening.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Piano
CPE Bach: Sonatas & Rondos
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
'Hamelin’s delight and relish are highly infectious...In short, I cannot think of a better introduction to CPE Bach on the modern piano than these two joyous discs.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Beethoven: Diabelli Variations
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
'If her performance comes across as a breathtakingly extravagant display of intellect and imagination, that’s because this is what Beethoven’s music is.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
On DSCH
Igor Levit (piano)
'So what makes this special? To start with, he never goes into a studio without a clear vision in mind, and this album of Shostakovich and Stevenson is no exception.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Orchestral
Beethoven Révolution Vol. II: Symphonies 6 to 9
Sara Gouzy (soprano), Salome Fischer (alto), Mingjie Lei (tenor), Manuel Walser (baritone), Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Nacional de Catalunya, Jordi Savall
'This is a very special release...Savall’s may well have just become my favourite period-instrument Beethoven cycle of them all.'
Available Formats: 3 SACDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Kirill Petrenko
'Petrenko has a way of hearing deep into textures and harmonies that is at times really quite startling. He gives us X-ray ears.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Metamorphosen
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
'These militant, tightly controlled, sometimes breathtaking performances demand to be heard and may divide opinion.'
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Opera
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
Julien Behr (Pelléas), Vannina Santoni (Mélisande), Alexandre Duhamel (Golaud), Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Geneviève), Jean Teitgen (Arkel), Hadrien Joubert (Yniold); Les Siècles, Chœur de l'Opéra de Lille François-Xavier Roth
'I enjoyed the orchestral contributions of Les Siècles and the lucidity that period instruments bring to Debussy’s score...there’s an almost clinical clarity to their playing.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Dvořák: Rusalka (DVD)
Asmik Grigorian (Rusalka), Eric Cutler (The Prince), Maxim Kuzmin-Karavaev (Vodník), Katarina Dalayman (Ježibaba), Karita Mattila (The Foreign Princess); Teatro Real, Ivor Bolton, Christof Loy
'Loy’s concept works well and the stylish production values make this one of the most successful Rusalkas on film...Central to the success is Asmik Grigorian’s outstanding, passionate Rusalka.
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Korngold: Die tote Stadt (DVD)
Jonas Kaufmann (Paul), Marlis Petersen (Marietta), Andrej Filonczyk (Frank/Fritz), Jennifer Johnston (Brigitta); Bayerische Staatsoper, Kirill Petrenko, Simon Stone
'There’s a depth and emotional intelligence to this staging that disarmed my initial resistance...on every level, a glorious achievement.'
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Voice & Ensemble
Amazone
Lea Desandre (mezzo), Jupiter, Thomas Dunford
'This is a stonkingly good album. It makes me wonder: what exactly are these enviously intelligent, inventive and generous musicians drinking?'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Baritenor
Michael Spyres (baritenor), Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Marko Letonja
'The range of roles is astonishing, but then so are these performances...Spyres really is a tenor – and a baritone, it seems – who has the operatic world at his feet.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Passion
Véronique Gens (soprano), Ensemble Les Surprises, Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas
'Gens is in thrilling voice. She has the knack – harder, surely, in miscellaneous pieces than in a complete opera – of instantly getting to the heart of a character…Warmly recommended.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Song
Rachmaninov: Dissonance
Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Lukas Geniušas (piano)
'Even on disc, without the visuals, you can hear how Grigorian lives and breathes each song...Pianist Lukas Geniušas is an equal partner dramatically.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Nostalgia
Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Yefim Bronfman (piano)
'The Czech mezzo is in prime form in songs that could have been written for her. She catches every mood and inflection with spontaneous immediacy.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Spatial Audio
Ravel: Orchestral Works
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
'What really shines here is the illumination of so many colouristic permutations, sounding for all the world as if Ravel had just in this moment heard them.'
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Strauss: Three Tone Poems
Cleveland Orchestra, Franz Welser-Möst
'Macbeth gets arguably its finest outing on disc here...The playing is fantastically detailed, thrilling in its accuracy and drive, while the recording itself, wonderfully engineered, is just glorious.'
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Images
Anna Lapwood (organ of Ely Cathedral)
'Lovers of exotic organ effects will find plenty to satisfy them in this atmospheric recording.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
