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Awards, Presto Book Awards 2020

We are very pleased to announce the winners of our inaugural Presto Book Awards. Although we originally launched our Presto Awards for Classical Recordings back in 2014, this is the first year that we have handed out awards for books. With so many high-quality tomes to choose from, it was extremely hard to narrow it down to just five selections. However, common to all five winners is an engagingly-written style combined with authoritatively-researched content that is both entertaining to read and highly informative about the person or topic in question.

You can see the winning publications below, or you can watch the full awards ceremony video. We hope you approve of our choices!

Best Composer Biography

Best Performer Biography

Best Music History Book

Alex Ross; Fourth Estate; Hardback

Alex Ross, author of The Rest Is Noise, reveals how Richard Wagner became the proving ground for modern art and politics. With a narrative ranging from architecture to the novels of Philip K. Dick, from the Zionist writings of Theodor Herzl to the civil-rights essays of W.E.B. Du Bois, and from O Pioneers! to Apocalypse Now, this book explores what it means to be a Wagnerian. Neither apologia nor condemnation, it is a work of intellectual passion, urging us towards a more honest idea of how art acts in the world.

Available Format: Book

Best Educational Book

Best Jazz Book