(Credit: Tatiana Vlasova)

The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) today announced the Awards for 2020 and picked famed Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka as Artist of the Year.

Austrian-Russian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while the Italian cellist Erica Piccotti was picked as Young Artist of the Year.

The Discovery Award was awarded to 16-year-old German cellist Philipp Schupelius.

Pentatone Classics obtained the prize for being the Label of the Year, and the Composer Award went to Luxembourgish-Spanish composer Ivan Boumans. A Special Award was conferred to the American conductor John Axelrod, as well as to Jérôme Lejeune, who 40 years ago founded the Belgian label Ricercar.

In his statement, ICMA President Remy Franck said, “The ICMA jury members come from 16 countries and, with many years of experience, offer an international view on the various releases for a fair and balanced assessment. As a result, ICMA is able to present again an outstanding international list of winners.”