Nominations for the thirteenth annual Classic BRIT Awards 2012 were announced today (September 6) by the UK’s recorded music trade association, The BPI.
Hosted by Classic FM DJ Margherita Taylor, the nominations were unveiled at the Savoy Hotel in London with special performances from Amore, Amy Dickson and Noah Stewart.
The nominations event at the Savoy Hotel held a surprise for the Classic FM team including station director Darren Henley, presenter John Suchet and even the nominations host Margherita Taylor as they were presented with a unique Special Recognition Classic BRIT Award celebrating their 20th Anniversary and support for the Classic BRITs over the years.
With a new look and new black chrome statuette, the Classic BRITs 2012 has become the year for debut nominations. There are two debut nominations for 20-year-old classical pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, African-American tenor Noah Stewart, Welsh composer Paul Mealor and famed Italian soundtrack composer and conductor Ennio Morricone. Montenegrin classical guitarist Miloš Karadagli? also receives two nominations.
For the first time in the history of the show, the Classic BRIT Awards 2012 will include the award for Classic BRITs Single of the Year. A public voted award, the category celebrates the fact that during the past twelve months over one million classical singles have been downloaded in the UK.
The category not gives Paul Mealor his second nomination as the composer of Wherever You Are, plus, presents the unique distinction of making the Military Wives and Gareth Malone the only group to ever be nominated for both a BRIT Award and a Classic BRIT Award.
The nominations show the public’s enduring love for classic tracks such as Nessun Dorma, Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Rule Britannia and Jerusalem and also compositions made popular through film and TV including Hans Zimmer’s Time from Inception and Klaus Badelt’s ‘He’s A Pirate’ from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. The nomination for Nessun Dorma performed by Luciano Pavorotti coincides with the five-year anniversary of his death (September 6, 2007). The ten nominations are completed by I Giorni by Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi, Gabriel’s Oboe making the second nomination for Ennio Morricone, and the Adiemus.
Since Luciano Pavarotti first heard his voice two decades ago in 1992, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has released 22 albums and has sold over 75 million records worldwide. Celebrating this 20th Anniversary the Classic BRIT Awards honour the celebrated opera star with a special award for International Artist of the Year. He also has two other nominations as Male Artist of the Year and Classic FM Album of the Year for Concerto – One Night In Central Park.
With a nomination for Female Artist, British Violinist Nicola Benedetti completes an incredible year by becoming the UK’s most nominated female with her eighth Classic BRIT Award nomination. The category is completed with previous two-time winner of Female Artist, trumpeter Alison Balsom for the album Seraph and the debut nomination for American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato with Diva Divo – Opera Arias.
The Male Artist category is hotly-contested and sees a debut nomination for Chinese pianist Lang Lang with the album Liszt/My Piano Hero and honorary Liverpudlian, Vasily Petrenko the Russian conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Andrea Bocelli.
Featuring three of the 2012 double nominees, Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award recognises Benjamin Grosvenor (former winner of the keyboard section of BBC Young Musician of the Year 2004 when he was just eleven) as he receives his first Classic BRIT nomination for Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Chopin, Liszt & Ravel. He faces competition comes from New York born Noah Stewart whose album Noah shot straight to number one on the UK Classical Album Chart, and classical guitarist Miloš Karadagli? from Montenegro.
The nominations for the Composer Award feature John Williams for his work on two soundtracks; War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin. The category is completed with the first of two debut nominations for Ennio Morricone for his Paradiso album that featured Hayley Westenra, and also with the first of two debut nominations for Paul Mealor with his album A Tender Light.
This year’s Classic BRIT Critics’ Awards sees nominees Bruckner: Symphony No.9 performed by Berliner Philharmonikerconducted by Sir Simon Rattle (his 14th Classic BRIT nomination, winning seven awards), Chopin; Liszt; Ravel giving the second nomination for the 20-year-old pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and Martinu: The Six Symphonies performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ji?í B?lohlávek.
Compiled from the ten biggest -selling classical albums from the past year, the Classic FM Album of the Year is the most sought after award on the night. Voted for by the British public via www.classicbrits.co.uk, the nominations are: André Rieu for And The Waltz Goes On, Andrea Bocelli’s chance for an award hat-trick with Concerto – One Night In Central Park, the debut Classic BRIT nomination for Band of HM Royal Marines performing Summon The Heroes, the Band of the Coldstream Guards with the album Pride of The Nation, Craig Ogden’s Summertime, Hayley Westenra with the previously-nominated Paradiso, another debut nomination for Laura Wright for her album The Last Rose, second nominations for Miloš Karadagli? and Noah Stewart with the albumsthe Guita and Noah respectively, and finally, Russell Watson with his eighth Classic BRIT nomination for Anthems.
Taking place on October 2 at the Royal Albert Hall, The Classic BRIT Awards 2012 will be hosted by Myleene Klass and will feature spectacular performances from André Rieu, Nicola Benedetti and Andrea Bocelli. Hollywood legend John Williams’ Lifetime Achievement award will be celebrated by a visual and audio spectacular performed by the London Chamber Orchestra conducted by James Morgan. The orchestra will present a montage of John Williams’ body of film score epics such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Superman, ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Co-chairmen of The Classic BRIT Awards committee, Dickon Stainer, president of Decca Records and Barry McCann, Avie Records director said: “This year’s Classic BRIT Awards continues to recognise and reward not only commercial success but excellence by performers and composers from both home and abroad.
“Whether from the concert platform, the musical stage or the big screen, audiences continue to be thrilled by the sheer power of emotion that only music can bring. The Classic BRIT Awards 2012 is proud to bring that joy and excitement to its awards”.
Advertisement
