IMG Artists congratulates our award winners of the 2017 Gramophone Classical Music Awards – Vasily Petrenko (Artist of The Year), Murray Perahia (Instrumental Award) and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (Lifetime Achievement Award).
Artist of the Year 2017: Vasily Petrenko
“Vasily Petrenko is making waves, and we’re happy to endorse this impressive lead, from over 800 votes cast, for an artist who has clearly made the step up to a new level of musician and has the ability to take audiences with him on his musical journey” (Gramophone, 2017).
After winning the Young Artist of the Year award in 2007, Vasily Petrenko has picked up the prestigious Artist of the Year award for 2017, winning the public’s vote from a shortlist of ten renowned international artists. Of Petrenko’s Tchaikovsky recordings, released on Onyx earlier this year, the Gramophone Awards jury says, “When someone can take on two of the most performed symphonies in the repertoire […] and make them sound entirely new – and astoundingly original – then it’s time to sit up.”
“I am delighted and honoured to receive this wonderful award”, says Petrenko, “I’m eternally grateful to everyone at both the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Oslo Philharmonic, to the sound engineers and producers, and above all the musicians. I’m glad to say that on an album recording you can hear nothing from the baton and cannot see the conductor. Everything you hear is made by the musicians in front of the conductor, so any success is down to these great people. I’d like to thank all those who help me to help the players give their best. To me, this Gramophone Award is above all a recognition of these two wonderful orchestras and their players.”
Instrumental Award: Murray Perahia – JS Bach: The French Suites
Acclaimed pianist Murray Perahia was awarded the Instrumental Award for his recording JS Bach: The French Suites, released on Deutsche Grammophon.
Of the recording, Gramophone says: “Perahia’s pacing is unerring throughout…the sense of narrative that he brings to these suites as a whole is utterly persuasive…”
Lifetime Achievement Award: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
“Dame Kiri has achieved what few classical singers manage, to attract a huge international audience with everything from musical theatre to grand opera, and she approached it all with the same spirit. She worked hard, she played the game (chat shows, Morecambe and Wise, constant interviews) and she gave generously of her time. Now, she has the time to devote to her extensive garden, and live the life she missed during her career. As Frederica von Stade once said to her, “We’re on a freight train, and from time to time we stop!” And, Dame Kiri continues, ‘that’s what it was like. It was like buzzing through almost 50 years of not stopping. It was an incredible life and when I look back on it, I keep thinking, “How did I have any time for anything?” It was just the music – getting ready and then doing it. I don’t think I could do it today.’” (James Jolly, Gramophone)
IMG Artists co-sponsored the medici.tv live broadcast of the 2017 Gramophone Classical Music Awards. To watch the full broadcast, please visit medici.tv.
