Valery Gergiev’s stunning recording of Romeo and Juliet has been named Disc of the Year at the 2011 BBC Music Magazine Awards. You can find details of all this year's winners here.
Gergiev's performance of Prokofiev’s ballet with the London Symphony Orchestra also scooped the Orchestral Award.
‘It reflects my work with the London Symphony because we started to work in 2004 with recording all of Prokofiev’s symphonies live, and we’ve never separated since,’ explained Gergiev.
Over 44,000 votes were cast by readers in this year’s Awards, the results of which were announced at a ceremony in Kings Place, London. Hosted by Radio 4’s James Naughtie and BBC Music Magazine’s editor Oliver Condy, guest presenters included Gabriel Prokofiev, composer and grandson of Sergei Prokofiev, choirmaster and BBC presenter Gareth Malone, and Radio 3 presenter Sarah Walker.
Violinist Vadim Repin and pianist Nikolai Lugansky won the Chamber Award for their dazzling performances of Sonatas by Janáček, Grieg and Franck, their first recording together. Fellow Russian, pianist Alexander Melnikov, took the Instrumental Award for his recording of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues.
In the Choral category Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan triumphed with their disc of Bach Motets, while tenor Werner Güra and pianist Christph Berner won the Vocal Award for their fresh approach to Schubert’s Die Winterreise.
Conductor René Jacobs’s landmark recording of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which included the dialogue often cut on disc, was given the Opera Award.
As well as the Awards voted for by the public, four prizes were given by the jury of critics who earlier in the judging process whittled down the list of almost 300 5-star discs reviewed in 2010 to a shortlist of just 18.
Best DVD went to Glyndebourne for its production of Purcell's The Fairy Queen. Soprano Carolyn Sampson, who starred in the opera alongside fellow soprano Lucy Crowe and tenor Ed Lyon, gave a live performance during the ceremony, singing 'See, even Night herself is here' from Purcell's work, accompanied by Steven Devine. Pianist Ivana Gavrič, who was named this year's Best Newcomer, also took the stage to play two of Rachmaninov's Moments Musicaux.
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales's performance of David Matthews's Symphonies Nos 2 & 6 won the Premiere Recording award, while record label Hyperion was given the Technical Excellence award for its recording of David Briggs's Messe pour Notre-Dame.
You can find details of and interviews with all the winners in our May issue, on sale on Thursday 14 April 2011. Plus you can hear extracts from the winning discs online here, and watch the ceremony online here.