The BBC Music Magazine awards were held recently and a few of them are worthy of comment.
The BBC Music Magazine Awards are similar to the Gramophone awards, which are similar to the Grammys. Of the three I’d say the Gramophone awards are the most prestigious for classical music, followed by the BBC, and then the Grammys.
Each award appears to have a national bias, with the Gramophones and BBC leaning toward British tastes. The Grammys are a strange honor in the classical world. They mean something but they seem to be like a ball player winning a JV game and then sitting on the bench for the varsity squad.
The BBC, in their immense wisdom, chose to honor one of the Esoteric Picks of the Week this year — and my clout increases.
Which esoteric pick was the chorale winner? The Dream of Gerontius. While the piece is off the path here, in Great Britain it is not. The winning recording was performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. That seems a little self-congratulatory.
Another award of note goes to Joyce DiDonato in the vocal category. DiDonato will be singing in San Diego Opera's 2015-2016 season in Jake Heggie's new opera Great Scott. DiDonato was also an active supporter of saving San Diego Opera last season.
The final award I'm going to mention went to Claudio Abbado for his recording of Buckner's Ninth Symphony. The award was posthumous, as maestro Abbado died in 2014. I was struck by the symmetric quality of this award, as Buckner finished his life composing the Ninth.
The Abbado Buckner is available on Spotify as is the recording by Joyce DiDonato entitled Stella di Napoli.
The BBC Music Magazine awards were held recently and a few of them are worthy of comment.
The BBC Music Magazine Awards are similar to the Gramophone awards, which are similar to the Grammys. Of the three I’d say the Gramophone awards are the most prestigious for classical music, followed by the BBC, and then the Grammys.
Each award appears to have a national bias, with the Gramophones and BBC leaning toward British tastes. The Grammys are a strange honor in the classical world. They mean something but they seem to be like a ball player winning a JV game and then sitting on the bench for the varsity squad.
The BBC, in their immense wisdom, chose to honor one of the Esoteric Picks of the Week this year — and my clout increases.
Which esoteric pick was the chorale winner? The Dream of Gerontius. While the piece is off the path here, in Great Britain it is not. The winning recording was performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. That seems a little self-congratulatory.
Another award of note goes to Joyce DiDonato in the vocal category. DiDonato will be singing in San Diego Opera's 2015-2016 season in Jake Heggie's new opera Great Scott. DiDonato was also an active supporter of saving San Diego Opera last season.
The final award I'm going to mention went to Claudio Abbado for his recording of Buckner's Ninth Symphony. The award was posthumous, as maestro Abbado died in 2014. I was struck by the symmetric quality of this award, as Buckner finished his life composing the Ninth.
The Abbado Buckner is available on Spotify as is the recording by Joyce DiDonato entitled Stella di Napoli.
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