Lise Davidsen, Anja Mittermüller, Gerald Finley Among 2026 International Classical Music Awards Winners
By Afton Markay(Photo credits: Hole, Karpati&Zarewicz, Light)
The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) announced the winners of the awards for the 2026 edition.
This article only features winners in vocal categories.
Conductor and music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Jakub Hrůša, was named the artist of the year. Composer of the year was given to Péter Zombola. The composer has written many choral works, song cycles, oratorios, and two operas.
ICMA’s young artist of the year is mezzo-soprano Anja Mittermüller. She is the youngest person to win of the Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition. Mittermüller is set to make her Salzburg Festival debut.
In the audio category winners include Amarcord for “Maria – Josquin in Leipzig,” Lea Desandre, Thomas Dunford, Jupiter Ensemble for “Songs of Passion: John Dowland & Henry Purcell: Various works,” Ermonela Jaho and Carlo Rizzi for “Gaetano Donizetti: Songs,” “Joseph Haydn: Die Schöpfung” with Lucy Crowe, Benjamin Bruns, Christian Gerhaher and the Chor & Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks led by Simon Rattle, and “Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer” performed by Lise Davidsen, Anna Kissjudit Stanislas De Barbeyrac, Eirik Grøtvedt Gerald Finley, Brindley Sherratt, and the Norwegian National Opera Chorus and Norwegian National Opera Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner.
The video recording of “Sergei Prokofiev: War and Peace” with Olga Kulchynska, Andrei Zhilikovsky, Violeta Urmana, Olga Guryakova, Mischa Schelomianski, Arsen Soghomonyan, and the Chor und Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper led by Vladimir Jurowski took home the video award.
Jury President Remy Franck said in a press releas, “After careful consideration, much listening, and with all their expertise the ICMA jury members have chosen the winners from a nomination list comprising 307 releases and a wide range of artists and labels. The winner list includes many renowned as well as young musicians and no less than 17 international labels! Congratulations to all of them. Our awards offer numerous benefits to the winners, artists, as well as to labels, enhancing their reputation and boosting their motivation.”
The awards for 2026 are presented in part with Classeek and the International Music Academy Liechtenstein. Recipients will receive their trophies at the annual awards ceremony on March 18 in Bamberg. The evening will also feature a gala concert with several of the winners performing alongside the Bamberger Symphoniker, conducted by Jakub Hrůša.
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