Belize-born British composer Errollyn Wallen was crowned Personality of the Year following her appointment as Master of the King’s Music in 2024, whilst the Premiere Award went to Adrian Sutton for his Violin Concerto – written for Fenella Humphreys, the work draws inspiration from Richard Bach’s cult novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending, and was composed whilst Sutton was undergoing chemotherapy following a cancer diagnosis in 2022.
Until 18th June, we're delighted to be offering up to 25% off this year's winners.
Recording of the Year and Instrumental
Chopin: Études, Opp. 10 & 25
Yunchan Lim (piano)
'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, yet he also finds great poetry...some of Yunchan Lim’s interpretations may be too subjective for everyone’s taste, yet this is a remarkable feat that demands to be heard.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Orchestral
Smetana: Má Vlast
Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov
'It hardly needs saying that there is nothing banal about Bychkov’s meticulously mapped performances and that his attention to detail never stifles the music’s spontaneity...In sum, an enriching Má Vlast up there with the other indisputably great performances.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Concerto
Elgar: Violin Concerto
Vilde Frang (violin), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati
'A new version which stands comparison with the best. Frang’s initial entry is immediately soulful and introspective, intently tuning in to Robin Ticciati’s compelling account of the long orchestral introduction...Anyone interested in Elgar, or in acutely insightful violin playing , should hear it.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Opera
Louise Bertin: Fausto
Karine Deshayes (Fausto), Karina Gauvin (Margarita), Ante Jerkunica (Mefistofele), Nico Darmanin (Valentino), Marie Gautrot (Catarina); Les Talens Lyriques, Flemish Radio Choir, Christophe Rousset
'Fausto may not be a masterpiece, but it is well worth encountering...There’s strong support from the Flemish Radio Choir and Les Talens Lyriques, with conductor Christophe Rousset revealing the extraordinary qualities of this long-forgotten work.'
Available formats: 2 CDs + Book, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Choral
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius
Nicky Spence (Gerontius), Anna Stéphany (The Angel), Andrew Foster-Williams (The Priest/Angel of the Agony), Polish National Youth Choir, Gabrieli, Paul McCreesh
'This is unquestionably a great recording of Gerontius, one that every Elgarian should have, and ranks high among the many important projects Gabrieli has so far undertaken in its four decades of existence.'
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Vocal
Rita Strohl, Volume 1: Musique vocale
Elsa Dreisig (soprano), Adèle Charvet (mezzo), Stéphane Degout (baritone), Olivia Darlic (narrator), Romain Louveau (piano)
'Justice cannot be done in a few words to the discoveries on this revelatory double album, with high production values, starry musicians, and crystal-clear sound. This is one to gift all your song-loving friends.'
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Chamber
Robert & Clara Schumann: Works for Oboe and Piano
Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Julius Drake (piano)
'Played with such warmth and eloquence, the arrangements chosen here often feel as if they were tailor-made for the instrument, while the sensitive programming paints a loving portrait of the Schumann household.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Premiere
Adrian Sutton: Violin Concerto and other works
Fenella Humphreys (violin), BBC Philharmonic, Michael Seal
'Sutton’s natural métier is the theatre, and even the Violin Concerto has an external programme which concerns a seagull and its appearance around various coastlines...Sutton was himself a violinist, and the writing is idiomatic, but also tricky in its demands, both athletic and lyrical, which are effortlessly met by Humphreys.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Newcomer - Yuncham Lim
Chopin: Études, Opp. 10 & 25
Yunchan Lim (piano)
'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, yet he also finds great poetry...some of Yunchan Lim’s interpretations may be too subjective for everyone’s taste, yet this is a remarkable feat that demands to be heard.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Personality of the Year - Errollyn Wallen
Errollyn spoke to Presto last November about about her musical childhood in Tottenham, why it took her such a long time to call herself a composer, how relocating to a lighthouse off the coast of Scotland transformed her creative life, and her plans to use her new royal appointment to advocate for better access to music-making for all...
