Gramophone magazine announced today the winners of the 10 categories of its annual Classical Music Awards. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir conducted by Kaspars Putniņš wins the Choral category for its recording of Arvo Pärt’s Magnificat and Nunc dimittis and Alfred Schnittke’s Psalms of Repentance. Described by Gramophone as ‘a truly outstanding rendition that picks up every emotional and spiritual nuance with no sacrifice of technical perfection’, this recording marks the Choir’s first Gramophone Award win. (BIS)
The award will be given to Kaspars Putniņš at the ceremony on September 13, at the glamourous De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s Covent Garden. The ceremony is broadcast live on medici.tv to audiences in more than 180 countries.
Kaspars Putniņš: “Alfred Schnittke’s magnificent piece and both wonderful gems by Arvo Pärt are very close to my heart. I am very thankful to all the wonderful singers of the EPCC who took part in the performance for they were fantastic, brave, sensitive and enthusiastic companions on the journey into the vast space and depth of the music. I am also very thankful to sound engineer Jens Braun, who has translated our singing into recording with utmost care, delicacy and skill, and to the wonderful EPCC production team who is so much taking care of us and helping realize our musical adventures.“
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards are presented in association with Estonia 100 among others.
Full details of the winning recordings can be found on Gramophone’s website:
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/awards/2018