PENTATONE has announced the organization have been awarded as the International Classical Music Award’s 2020 “Label of the Year,” as well the ICMA “Vocal Music” prize for their recording of Schubert’s “Winterreise” with Ian Bostridge and Thomas Adès.

While the ceremony was intended for April at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Spain, the accolades were instead given out at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. The awards were accepted by Managing Director Simon M. Eder, joined by violinist Arabella Steinbacher, as well as singers Anna Lucia Richter and Piotr Beczala.

“After the ICMA gala had to be canceled, I was thankful to receive the award in my hometown and excited that so many of our artists living in Vienna came to accept the award together with PENTATONE. A label is nothing without its artists, the award is due to the great recordings with them,” writes Eder.

“Receiving the award this year is a bittersweet recognition as so many musicians, artists and professionals in our sector find themselves currently in an extremely precarious situation due to the pandemic impacts. Especially in this extraordinary period, which hit the entire music and cultural sector so hard, we must not rest on our laurels but should think together how we can get through these challenging times, making sure that music, arts and culture remain a vital part of our daily lives.”