The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) has announced the winners of its 2016 awards for live music at a ceremony this evening at The Brewery, London, hosted by Radio 3 presenters Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Suzy Klein and presented by Canadian baritone Gerald Finley
The awards were marked by their focus on engagement with wider audiences. The Multi-Story project (pictured), Tri-borough Music Hub, Kings Place and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain were all commended for their imaginative programming and their dedication to searching out new audiences.
‘Tonight the RPS wants to salute the amazing array of talent on offer in the UK, and people of all ages, and from all walks of life who participate in music-making’ said RPS Chairman John Gilhooly. ‘We want to say… this is for everyone. Music is about joy, and profundity and understanding, and it’s for you!’
Sakari Oramo, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, won the Conducting award for ‘the combination of passion and searching intelligence he brought to a vast range of music’ throughout 2015. Oramo, who recently won the BBC Music Magazine Orchestral award for his recording of Nielsen Symphonies 1 & 3, praised the BBC Symphony for their musicianship, and the BBC for allowing him to programme such a wide variety of music – 'Only the imagination is the limit’ he said. (A full interview with Oramo can be found in the June issue of BBC Music Magazine – out now)
Two pianists still at the beginning of their careers were commended by the RPS. Twenty-five-year-old Daniil Trifonov was awarded the Instrumentalist prize for his ‘technical brilliance, deep musicality and a fearless sense of adventure’, while the British Clare Hammond won the Young Artists award.
Also among the prize winners was BBC Music Magazine critic Michael Church, who won the Creative Communication award for his book The Other Classical Musics, described by the jury as a ‘passport to new horizons.’ And composer Julian Anderson took the chamber-scale composition award for his work Van Gogh Blue, described by the jury as ‘chamber music of exceptional quality… which leads the listener in unexpected directions.’
Award Winners
Audiences and Engagement Multi-Story
Instrumental Daniil Trifonov
Conductor Sakari Oramo
Singer Roderick Williams
Young Artist Clare Hammond
Ensemble National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
Opera and Music Theatre Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Chamber Music and Song Carducci String Quartet
Chamber-scale composition Julian Anderson
Large-scale composition Luca Francesconi
Learning and Participation Tri-borough Music Hub
Concert Series and Festivals Kings Place
Creative Communication Michael Church
The June issue of BBC Music Magazine – out now – features interviews with Sakari Oramo (Conductor Award) and Gerald Finley, presenter.
Related content:
• Free Download: Sakari Oramo conducts Nielsen Symphony No. 3 - Allegretto