HP & Polyarts Artists Nominated for Opus Klassik Awards 2020
22/7/2020
Paavo Järvi has been nominated twice this year for Conductor of the Year, for his recordings of Bartok’s Divertimento for String Orchestra, Dance Suite and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, as well as Mahler’s Symphony No.6 with NHK Symphony Orchestra. Both albums, which have been recorded for Sony Classic, have also been nominated in the categories Orchestra of the Year and Symphonic Recording of the Year.
Riccardo Minasi features on two Opus Klassik nominations as conductor of the year with the following albums; J. Haydn’s“The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross” and W. A. Mozart’s Symphonies 39 – 41 (Harmonia Mundi). Minasi and the Haydn album are being nominated for an award for the second time, having received the French record prize Diapason d’Or de l’Année in 2019.
Pablo Heras-Casado is nominated for Conductor of the Year for his album of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 5, recorded with the Freiburger Barockorchester and featuring Kristian Bezuidenhout as soloist on pianoforte. This is the first instalment of a series of recordings celebrating the work of Beethoven for the label harmonia mundi, including the complete Piano Concerti and the recently released recording of Symphony No.9 and Choral Fantasy.
The late Oliver Knussen has been nominated posthumously for his recording of works by his long-time friend and fellow composer Hans-Werner Henze. The recording, on the Wergo label, includes Henze’s last work, Ouverture zu einem Theater (2012) ; and was recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra of whom Knussen was Artist in Association from 2009 – 2014.
Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has no less than five nominations for the 2020 Opus Klassik Awards. For his latest album by Deutsche Grammophon, Debussy Rameau, he is nominated for both the “Instrumentalist of the year” and “Solo recording – instrumentalist” categories. The album has also earned him a nomination in the “Music Video” category, where he is additionally nominated for his Bach: Organ Sonata No.4 (trans. Stradal) video. Víkingur is also nominated in the “Classical without limits” category for his Bach Reworks album. Last year, Víkingur won the “Solo recording – piano” category of the 2019 Opus Klassik Awards with his Johann Sebastian Bach album.
Gautier Capuçon is acclaimed for his expressive musicianship, exuberant virtuosity, and for the deep sonority of his 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello “L’Ambassadeur”. He is nominated for the Instrumentalist of the Year category for his album of ‘Franck and Chopin’ sonatas with Yuja Wang. The album was recorded live on tour in North America and released on Warner (Erato) in December 2019.
Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja has also been nominated for Instrumentalist of the Year for her album ‘Time and Eternity’, recorded with Camerata Bern and released on Alpha. Patricia has also been nominated in the Soloistic Playing Instrument and Classic Without Limits categories for the same album. Known for her ambitious programming and immersive concert experiences, Kopatchinskaja brings this to her recording output with Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s Concerto funèbre, and interweaving Franck Martin’s Polyptyque with movements from Bach’s St John’s Passion.
Maurizio Pollini, one of the greatest keyboard legends in a career spanning nearly sixty years, has been nominated for the Opus Classic Award in two categories, Instrumentalist of the year and Solo Album of the Year, with his latest recording The Last Three Beethoven Sonatas with Deutsche Gramophon.
Mari Samuelsen’s debut album MARI on Deutsche Grammophon has been nominated in four categories including Instrumentalist, Concert Recording of the Year, Classic without limits and Chamber music/Mixed ensemble . MARI explores the contradictions of contemporary life – the fact that, despite the excitement of city life and the convenience of instant communication and express travel, many of us still feel a need to ground ourselves in the peace and quiet of the natural world. The album draws listeners into soundworlds of Max Richter, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Peter Gregson, Vladimir Martynov, Pēteris Vasks and Johann Sebastian Bach
Bertrand Chamayou is also on the Instrumentalist list for his ‘Beethoven: Choral Fantasy’ with Insula Orchestra on Warner/Erato.
Jess Gillam has been nominated for Artist of the Year as well as Young Artist of the Year for her debut album ‘Rise’, which was released in April 2019. Recorded for Decca Records, the album shot to No.1 in the Classical charts and was featured in The Times Top 100 albums of 2019.
Lucienne Renaudin Vary is nominated in the Classic Without Limits category for her record Mademoiselle In New York. Her second album with Warner Classics connects French and American composers including works from West Side Story, Candide, and An American In Paris.
Lawrence Zazzo’s release “Baroque Gender Stories” exploring the fluidity of gender-identity on the Baroque stage and recorded with Lautten Compagney and Wolfgang Katschner for deutsche harmonia mundi is nominated in the Soloistic Singing category.
Canadian soprano Erin Wall features on Deutsche Grammophon’s release of Mahler’s Symphony No.8 with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin and nominated in the Symphonic Playing category for music from the 20th & 21st centuries.
2020 saw two releases for Behzod Abduraimov, both of which have been nominated under the Concert Recording and Orchestra / Ensemble of the Year categories. His live performance of Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Concertgebouworkest under Valery Gergiev – which was also his debut with the orchestra, and a magnificent recording of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under James Gaffigan which has also been nominated under the Symphonic Recording (20th and 21st Century) category. Recorded on Rachmaninov’s piano from Villa Senar, this is a remarkable performance garnering critical acclaim.
Echo Collective has received nominations in the Chamber Music and Ensemble categories for ’12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann’ recording.
Attacca Quartet’s GRAMMY Award Winning album ‘Orange’ with Caroline Shaw is nominated in the Chamber Music /Mixed Ensemble category.
Francesco Tristano’s album video for ‘Tristano plays Gulda’ has been nominated for Best Videoclip.
The 2020 winners will be selected by the nine-member jury and announced in autumn 2020.
The OPUS KLASSIK 2020 will then be awarded on 18 October 2020 at the Konzerthaus Berlin.