BBC Music Magazine will host its annual awards ceremony this year on April 7 at Kings Place in London.
This year’s star-studded nominations list balances giants of the international scene like Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Murray Perahia, Susan Graham and Sir Charles Mackerras in core repertoire, with some exciting new performers and musical discoveries by Tarik O’Regan, Peteris Vasks, Ernest Bloch, Gabriel Pierné and Donizetti.
The nominations for the Public Awards were selected – from over 250 CDs released last year – by a jury of classical music experts including Misha Donat, the former head of chamber music for BBC Radio 3, author Roger Nichols and Christopher Cook, BBC Radio 3 presenter and chair of the Cheltenham Music Festival.
The Choral Nominees are:
• Paul Hillier and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir – Tarik O’Regan’s Scattered Rhymes (Harmonia Mundi)
• Sir John Eliot Gardiner with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra plus soloists – Bach Cantatas, Vol. 27 (Soli Deo Gloria)
• Antoni Wit and Iwona Hossa with the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra – Szymanowski Choral Works (Naxos)
The BBC Music Magazine Awards, now in their fourth year, were launched in 2006 with the aim of recognising the best in classical music worldwide, by giving the public a chance to vote for their favourite performances of the year.