Gramophone Awards 2026 - The Shortlist

Awards 21st August 2026

We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Gramophone Magazine, which brings together two of the most trusted names in classical music to enhance your musical experience. As part of this partnership, Presto Music serves as the recommended retailer for streaming and purchasing Gramophone's featured recordings, offering you unparalleled access to the best in classical music. We are also thrilled to be collaborating on the 2026 Gramophone Awards, celebrating the very finest recordings of the year: the shortlist (featuring six nominees in eleven categories) was announced this morning.

This year's ceremony will take place at the De Vere Connaught Rooms in London on the evening of Wednesday 7th October, when details of special prizes including Artist, Orchestra and Recording of the Year will also be unveiled...

You can read full reviews of all the shortlisted recordings via a special digimag.

The six contenders in each of the eleven categories for this year's Awards (presented in partnership with Presto Music) were revealed this morning. 5 hours 49 minutes

Find out more

Chamber

'Throughout this programme, we are treated to Bach duo-playing of exemplary engagement and purring quality.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'It's rare to come across truly revelatory performances of such oft-recorded repertory, but that's what the Zehetmair Quartet have given us here.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'With recorded sound that’s at once detailed and atmospheric, this new Hyperion release is pure pleasure in every respect.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Few octet recordings so fully reconcile orchestral amplitude with chamber accountability and make it sound inevitable.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Korngold's discursive argument never loses its sense of direction and the sound is as limpid as the invention permits, sweet in exactly the right way.'

Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'The present anthology could be a game-changer for a series which, the Seventh apart, gets fewer performances than it deserves.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Choral

'This seminal project is a revelation in the sheer weight of first-rate 'Bach', previously under the radar, and now in premiere recordings delivered with exceptional attentiveness and care.'

Available Formats: 4 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'You feel it in the gut like few other accounts, alongside unalloyed human observation and unyielding quality.'

Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'I reckon this is probably I Fagiolini at their sonorous, splendid best. A fitting end to this fantastic project.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'This fresh and exhilarating Dublin performance dispels decades of overblown Messiah baggage. A vivid and captivating recording, highly recommended.'

Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Pärt’s music is transformed into a dramatic chiaroscuro of Caravaggio-like bold colours and contrasts, bringing music and text vividly to life.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Aficionados will rightly rejoice at the appearance of this long-overdue premiere recording of the raptly mystical and luminously textured Cantata di camera.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Concerto

'The Adès Concerto here becomes the version that establishes this brilliant and probing work as a repertoire classic...quite simply, a knockout new album.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Hammond is comprehensively equipped to tackle this music's formidable technical challenges, her exquisitely variegated tonal palette, deft touch and quiet authority truly things of wonder.'

Available Format: SACD

'No memorable performance of such a startling score should be deemed effortless, but this one has the riveting atmosphere of a manic yet fiercely constrained improvisation...the result is a stunning drama.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'A genuine collaborative spirit presides over these Shostakovich concerto performances, not to mention the dazzling execution and playful characterisation one expects from this particular piano soloist.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'In league with the high-adrenaline Berlin band, her playing has all the finesse, colour and flamboyant theatricality Telemann's cosmopolitan music demands.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Lewis brings the Violin Concerto to life with lyrical ardour in dialogue with a gently supportive orchestra as if she were singing out over the sea.'

Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Contemporary

'A powerful, even coruscating extraction of crucial sections from the original score to create a coherent four-movement stand- alone work that carries all before it'.

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'You find yourself marvelling at what Shibe can do with two hands and six strings in the space of one bar...the depths he plumbs, on his instrument, with these miniature stories.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Lim approaches the string quartet as a super-instrument, the players melding into a compact creature.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'What these four works have in common is an involvement with the musical past that is often provocative and always engaging.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Both works are irresistibly performed...Watkins is assuredly a modern master and this is an album to relish.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Early

'Very much to be welcomed, all the more so because it follows a slightly eccentric line that is unlikely to be cultivated by other such ensembles.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'At its best, the solo voices and the whipsmart direction of Cut Circle are nothing short of marvellous...It makes you feel more intelligent for having heard it.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Testolin manages [the] changes of textures smoothly. In his hands, this last book of completely polyphonic madrigals has a dreamlike quality that matches many of their pastoral overtones.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'A steady and safe reading in most cases, supported particularly by a seriously energetic team of boy trebles, who are in general favoured in the acoustic here.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Full of surprises and superbly done, this is an almost intoxicatingly pained addition to the catalogue.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'A dazzling spectrum of string-playing, all topped by sparkling singing...a high-energy, sonically delightful album that is best heard in two or three sittings.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Instrumental

'His are generous and loving performances that, like a Rothko painting, reveal more of themselves to you the longer you spend with them.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'His phrasing is flexible yet logical, rhetorical in the unfashionable but true sense of the word...In a time when 'completeness' too often means mere obsession, Rondeau's set redefines the term.'

Available Format: 11 CDs

'There are arguably few players today better placed to imbue Villa-Lobos’s musical language with an entirely modern sensibility that is both respectful and idiosyncratic.'

Available Format: SACD

'This beautifully realised debut album plus other performances viewed online suggests that in Acabo we are meeting a serene new talent.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'If we needed any further proof that Sueye Park's intellectual programming muscles as are as strongly supple as her physical ones, her fifth album for BIS, for solo violin, firmly settles it.'

Available Format: SACD

'The emphasis is on intimacy and interiority, and absolutely none the worse for that: to the contrary, Lislevand on his own is a pleasure to listen to.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Opera

'Meister does a terrific job of tapping into the score's nervy energy, its uncompromising conviction and disquieting atmosphere. The Vienna State Opera Orchestra play with white-hot commitment.'

Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Vashegyi and his Hungarian forces admirably capture its hurtling momentum and the almost unnerving ferocity of its war music as well as the beauty of the love scenes.'

Available Formats: CD + Book, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Rattle is every bit Gardiner's equal in theatrical energy, and arguably fields the strongest all-round cast in any recording of Mozart's ever-astonishing Enlightenment parable.'

Available Formats: 3 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'The finest recording of Puccini’s first opera since Lorin Maazel’s 1979 performance, long regarded as the benchmark version of this uneven if oddly compelling work.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'DiDonato mines the character development of Dido, exploring all her emotions with relish..Emelyanychev draws a diverse range of instrumental colours from Purcell's score.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Saariaho puts text first and the singers respond, but articulation from the San Francisco Symphony...while giving space to so much in between, is outstanding, too.'

Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Orchestral

'For anyone wondering why Bacewicz is now considered among the more notable composers of her era this Chandos release is the preferred option.'

Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Here is one that demands to be heard...First choice or not, this is a memorably bracing take on a masterpiece that ought to be reserved for special occasions.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Interpretatively, what Lindberg - now the most experienced Pettersson conductor of them all - does so well is to let the music flow, and at pace when needed.'

Available Format: SACD

'The hand-picked players of his Sinfonia of London are thrilling in [the] big moments, a relatively small ensemble conjuring the heftiest sonorities…such music-making warrants the strongest recommendation.'

Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Bearing every sign of careful preparation, these performances make the most compelling case for Ustvolskaya as her own woman.'

Available Format: SACD

'The Second Symphony represents another unbridled success, the CBSO sounding excitingly up for the task in a reading of tangible conviction and splendid impetus.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Piano

'Lim's searching voice and powers of communication always come across in a performance well worth hearing.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'However many or few piano duet albums you want on your virtual or actual shelves, I’d struggle to recommend any above this one.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'[They] consistently transcend matters of ensemble synchronicity and textural balances, going directly to the music's heart and soul...An instant classic.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'With all due respect to Mikhail Pletnev's excellent recording of the Album for the Young, Op 39, Trifonov now claims reference-version status.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'For all of Malofeev's outsize dynamics, bomb-dropping bass accents and pulverising chords, he never bangs...Needless to say, an auspicious debut.'

Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'In short, Found Objects / Sound Objects may be Hamelin's most uncompromising, most personal and most interesting release to date.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Song

'They cast a very individual spell over the music, their interpretative approach drawing all the songs together so that they come across as a coherent whole.'

Available Format: CD

'It says a great deal for the quality of the baritone’s artistry that he’s so persuasive across such a range...a serious, distinguished album, and beautifully recorded, too.'

Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'The music-making throughout displays riveting eloquence and burning conviction, with Kitty Whately and Nicholas Phan in particular operating at the very top of their game...One of the year's best, without a shadow of a doubt.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'This is an embarrassment of riches, almost overwhelmingly good...the instrumental playing is so vital and responsive it's as if Dunford has Dowland on speed-dial.'

Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'I’ve always associated Lezhneva primarily with Baroque and bel canto repertoire, where her cut-glass soprano sparkles. Her Rachmaninov is quite the revelation.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Charvet's mezzo is warm and velvety...Caroubi, meanwhile, is a real revelation, a wonderful accompanist, marvellous in his understanding of colour, dynamics and rubato.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Voice & Ensemble

'As well as virtuosity, Hallenberg brings something vital to everything in this assortment, be it an insightful dramatic detail, a point of stylistic nous or a sheer sense of presence.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'There's an idiomatic tang to her voice in the upper register and a pleasing ripeness lower down. This isn't champagne Offenbach, exactly: it's more like a juicy and flavoursome claret.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Watts's valorous characterisation is shared emphatically by Florilegium's full-tilt verve in an ecstatic tour de force in praise of Neptune.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Set down within an ideally intimate space, these are scrupulously prepared and urgently communicative performances, evincing a most pleasing sense of teamwork and freshness of new discovery.'

Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Kaufmann's fans will love it and operetta aficionados will find lots to enjoy, too, if they can overcome their reservations about opera stars as tourists in this music.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

'Ensemble Correspondances conjure up an intimate, focused sound world, in which every detail tells. But the star of the show is soloist Lucile Richardot.'

Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3

Latest related stories

Opus Klassik Awards 2026

23rd Jun 2026

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2026: The Winners!

23rd Apr 2026by Chris O'Reilly

Grammy Winners 2026

2nd Feb 2026

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2026: Shortlist

29th Jan 2026by Chris O'Reilly

Gramophone Awards 2026 - The Shortlist

About the author