The Brit Award for Classical Recording was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom.

Criteria

The accolade used to be presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.

History

The award was first presented in 1982 as "Classical Recording" which was won by Simon Rattle. The accolade has been defunct as of 1993.

New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa became the only female winner in 1984. Only two other women were nominated for the award; Jane Glover for her recording of Violin Concerto by Richard Strauss and another violin concerto by Christopher Headington in 1992, and Cecilia Bartoli for her recording of Heroines by Giacomo Puccini in 1993. Te Kanawa was also one of only four non-British winners, along with Australian guitarist John Williams in 1983, Indian conductor Zubin Mehta for Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert in 1991 and Hungarian-born conductor Georg Solti for his recording of Otello by Giuseppe Verdi in 1992, though Solti had been a British citizen since 1972. At least two musicians were nominated posthumously; Puccini in 1984, 60 years after his death, and Leonard Bernstein for his operetta Candide in 1992, two years after his death. The only musician nominated for two recordings in the same year was Colin Davis, who was nominated for his recordings of The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten in 1985.

Winners and nominees

Inaugural 1982 winner Simon Rattle
Two-time winner Nigel Kennedy
Kiri Te Kanawa was the only woman to win the award and one of only three female nominees overall
YearRecipientNominees
1982EnglandSimon RattleUnited StatesJames Levine EnglandVernon Handley
1983AustraliaJohn WilliamsEnglandChristopher Hogwood SpainJoaquín Rodrigo EnglandJulian Lloyd Webber EnglandNeville Marriner EnglandSimon Rattle
1984New ZealandKiri Te KanawaItalyGiacomo Puccini (posthumously) EnglandMichael Tippett EnglandSimon Rattle EnglandTrevor Pinnock
1985EnglandChristopher HogwoodThe Four Seasons (Vivaldi)ScotlandBryden ThomsonSymphony No. 4 (Arnold Bax) ItalyCarlo Maria GiuliniIl trovatore (Verdi) EnglandColin DavisThe Magic Flute (Mozart) EnglandColin DavisThe Turn of the Screw (Benjamin Britten)
1986EnglandNigel Kennedy-Violin Concerto (Elgar)Hungary/United KingdomGeorg Solti-Messiah (Handel) EnglandJohn Rutter-Requiem (Fauré) EnglandJulian Lloyd Webber-Cello Concerto No. 1 (Haydn) EnglandTrevor Pinnock-Canon & Gigue (Pachelbel)
1987EnglandJulian Lloyd Webber - Elgar Cello ConcertoGermany/United StatesAndré Previn ItalyLuciano Pavarotti LatviaMariss Jansons EnglandNigel Kennedy
1988EnglandVernon Handley-Symphony No. 5 (Ralph Vaughan Williams)EnglandAndrew Davis-The Mask of Time (Michael Tippett) ScotlandBryden Thomson-Piano Concertos 1 & 2 (Hummel) EnglandRoger Norrington-Symphony No. 2 & 8 (Beethoven) EnglandSimon Rattle-Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)
1989EnglandTrevor Pinnock-Messiah (Handel)Germany/United StatesAndré Previn-Violin & Viola Concertos (Walton) EnglandJeffrey Tate-Opera Arias (Mozart) United StatesPhilip Brunelle-Paul Bunyan (Britten) EnglandSimon Rattle-Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)
1990EnglandSimon Rattle-Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin)EnglandJeffrey Tate-Piano Concertos (Mozart) EnglandJohn Eliot Gardiner-St Matthew Passion (Bach) EnglandNigel Kennedy-The Four Seasons (Vivaldi) ItalyRiccardo Chailly-Façade/Renard (William Walton/Igor Stravinsky)
1991IndiaZubin Mehta-Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert (various)EnglandJohn Eliot Gardiner-Vespro della Beata Vergine (Claudio Monteverdi United StatesKent Nagano-The Love of Three Oranges (Sergei Prokofiev) EnglandMatthew Best-Serenade to Music/Five Mystical Songs/Fantasia on Christmas Carols (Vaughan Williams) ScotlandOliver Knussen-The Prince of the Pagodas (Britten)
1992Hungary/United KingdomGeorg Solti-Otello (Verdi)United KingdomJane Glover-Violin Concerto (Richard Strauss)/Violin Concerto (Christopher Headington) EnglandJohn Eliot Gardiner-Missa Solemnis (Beethoven) United StatesLeonard Bernstein-Candide (self, posthumously) FinlandOsmo Vänskä-Violin Concerto (Jean Sibelius)
1993EnglandNigel Kennedy-Violin Concerto (Beethoven)ItalyCecilia Bartoli-Heroines (Puccini) PolandHenryk Górecki-Symphony No. 3 (self) EnglandJohn Tavener-The Protecting Veil (self) AustriaNikolaus Harnoncourt-Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

Multiple nominations and awards

Artists that received multiple nominations
NominationsArtist
Artists that received multiple nominations Nominations Artist 6 Simon Rattle 4 Nigel Kennedy 3 John Eliot Gardiner Julian Lloyd Webber Trevor Pinnock 2 André Previn Bryden Thomson Christopher Hogwood Colin Davis Georg Solti Jeffrey Tate Vernon HandleyArtists that received multiple awards Awards Artist 2 Nigel Kennedy Simon Rattle
6Simon Rattle
4Nigel Kennedy
3John Eliot Gardiner
Julian Lloyd Webber
Trevor Pinnock
2André Previn
Bryden Thomson
Christopher Hogwood
Colin Davis
Georg Solti
Jeffrey Tate
Vernon Handley
AwardsArtist
2Nigel Kennedy
Simon Rattle

Nominations by country

CountryNominationsFirst nominationLast nominationArtist/s
United Kingdom4019821993Simon Rattle, Vernon Handley, Christopher Hogwood, Julian Lloyd Webber, Neville Marriner, Michael Tippett, Trevor Pinnock, Bryden Thomson, Colin Davis, Nigel Kennedy, Georg Solti, John Rutter, Andrew Davis, Roger Norrington, Jeffrey Tate, John Eliot Gardiner, Matthew Best, Oliver Knussen, Jane Glover, John Tavener
United States61992James Levine, André Previn, Philip Brunelle, Kent Nagano, Leonard Bernstein
Italy519841993Giacomo Puccini, Carlo Maria Giulini, Luciano Pavarotti, Riccardo Chailly, Cecilia Bartoli
Germany219871989André Previn
Hungary19861992Georg Solti
Australia11983John Williams
Austria1993Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Finland1992Osmo Vänskä
India1991Zubin Mehta
Latvia1987Mariss Jansons
New Zealand1984Kiri Te Kanawa
Poland1993Henryk Górecki
Spain1983Joaquín Rodrigo

External links