Gramophone Awards, Chopin (composer)
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Some extremely daring speeds guarantee excitement, pushing the technical limits in what are, of course, despite their generic title (Études , or Studies), so much more than technical exercises,... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 19th April 2024
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Gramophone Magazine, May 2024, Recording of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2024 Winners, Piano
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024, Shortlisted - Debut Solo Album
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Solo Instrument
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Sunday Times, 20 Best Classical Albums of 2024
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2024
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2025, Recording of the Year and Instrumental Award
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2025, Newcomer of the Year
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An ideal realisation of these exquisite dances, the likes of which I never dreamt of hearing…Liszt said it: ‘A wind plays in the leaves, life unfolds and develops beneath them, but the tree... —
Awards:
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2016, Winner - Piano
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Gramophone Awards, 2017, Shortlisted - Instrumental
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2016, Editor's Choice
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The Gramophone Good CD Guide awarded this its highest accolade, denoting "an unrivalled version, a cornerstone of the catalogue", adding that "this is surely the greatest, certainly the richest... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, 100 Greatest Recordings
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Gramophone Awards, 1995, Winner - Instrumental
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Elim Chan
Grosvenor takes a slightly old-fashioned approach that works both in his favour and disfavour here. With playing that can be quite big-boned, he occasionally sacrifices the elegance of his music... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2020, Recording of the Month
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Diapason d’Or, April 2020, Nouveauté
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2020, Nominee - Conductor of the Year
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2020, Nominee - Instrumentalist of the Year
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Gramophone Awards, 2020, Winner - Concerto
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This is more than a flawless recital played with technical bravura and a born soloist’s confidence. Abduraimov is a major pianist, worth talking about in the same breath as the international... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, Critics' Choice 2021
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2021, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recording of the Week, 22nd January 2021
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Record Review, 23rd January 2021, Record of the Week
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Piano
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Solo Instrument
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Special offer. Chopin: Piano Concertos
RecommendedIngrid Fliter (piano)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Jun Märkl
True, she sails perilously close to over-sentimentalising the opening Romanza...but Fliter plays with grace and heartfelt sincerity - abetted by some lovely duetting with the SCO's bassoonist... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2014, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2014, Shortlisted - Concerto
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2014
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Nothing in the entire literature of Etudes surpasses Chopin’s Op. 25, and the best interpreters not only clear all the technical hurdles but project the 12 pieces as a progressive sequence.... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, Critics' Choice 2021
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Diapason d’Or, October 2021, Nouveauté
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Solo Instrument
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2021, Piano
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Opus Klassik, 2022, Instrumentalist of the Year
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Gramophone Awards, 2022, Shortlisted - Piano
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Chopin - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
RecommendedMartha Argerich (piano)
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Martha Argerich's first commercially released recordings of the Chopin concertos were for DG; No 1 in 1968, No 2 in 1978. Here she revisits both concertos and offers an act of re-creative daring,... —
Awards:
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Building a Library, October 2000, First Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 1999, Winner - Concerto
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Building a Library, September 2016, First Choice
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Building a Library, March 2023, Recommended Recording
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There is a absolute 'rightness' to his playing. His technical fluency and the lightness with which he moves over the keyboard is a constant source of joy...This is an album to be savoured for... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 2012, Finalist - Instrumental
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BBC Music Magazine, September 2011, Instrumental Choice
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Four Pieces - Four Pianos
RecommendedSchubert, Chopin, Liszt, Stravinsky
Alexander Melnikov (pianos)
They are all works requiring formidable technical ability, and pianist Alexander Melnikov brings clarity of touch and virtuoso flair to them all, transferring as if effortlessly from instrument... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 26th January 2018
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2018, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Shortlisted - Instrumental
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2018
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Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2018, Winner - Instrumental
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