Polish artists among winners of International Classical Music Awards

The National Forum of Music, Krzysztof Warlikowski, and the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra were among the recipients of awards for audio discs and video at this year’s International Classical Music Awards (ICMA), announced on January 17.

ICMA winners are chosen by critics and journalists working in the field of classical music.

The Baroque Vocal Music category was won by the recording “17th Century Sacred Music in Wrocław.” The recording features pieces by various classical groups and vocalists, including the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Palatino from Bologna, singers from Gli Angeli Geneva and a number of individual vocalists like Marzena Michałowska and Piotr Olech. The musicians were conducted by Stephan MacLeod and the CD recording was released by the Swiss label Claves Records in May 2018.

“Arvo Part: The Symphonies”, released by Germany’s prestigious ECM label, recorded by the National Forum of Music Wrocław Philharmonic under the conductorship of Tonu Kaljuste, was presented with the ICMA Contemporary Music Award.

The video performance award was won by a recording of two operas, Poulenc: Le Voix Humaine (The Human Voice) and Bartok: Bluebeard’s Castle, performed by musicians of the Paris Opera Orchestra and staged by Polish stage director Krzysztof Warlikowski.

The ICMA Early Music Award was presented to the recording “Music In Medieval Denmark: 13th – 15th Century” by the Basel-based Polish singer, harpist and musicologist Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett and her Ensemble Peregrina.

The International Classical Music Awards have been an important awards night in the world of classical music since 2011. Winners, of the sixteen categories, are selected by a prestigious panel of classical music critics and journalists.

The awards will be presented to the laureates in Switzerland in May.