(Credit: The Gramophone)

The Gramophone has announced the winners of its Classical Music Awards 2020.

Recording of the Year prize went to Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica for the recording of Mieczysław Weinberg’s Symphonies No. 2 & No. 21.

Israeli-American violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while the pianist Igor Levit was named 2020’s Artist of the Year.

Soprano Natalya Romaniw was named Young Artist of the Year. Romaniw recently performed the title role in Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Scottish opera, the role of Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” at the ND Brno, and the role of Marenka in Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride” at the Garsington Opera, among others.

The Award for Orchestra of the Year went to the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Alpha Classics was chosen as the 2020’s Label of the Year. The founder of Swedish label BIS Robert Bahr was bestowed with the Special Achievement Award.

The Special Beethoven 250 Award went into the hands of Martin Helmchen, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Andrew Manze for their recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 5.

“We may have been robbed of the opportunity to celebrate these award-winning artists, projects and creators in the physical company of our friends in the music world for the first time in over 40 years. But, spurred on by the constraints of putting on a major event in the midst of a pandemic, we rose to the challenge and proved that the music plays on and the artistry of these hugely talented individuals can be celebrated in style even when apart,” said James Jolly, Gramophone’s Editor-in-Chief, in a press statement.

The final round was broadcast on the Gramophone website & social media channels, as well as medici.tv.