The 30th Classical Music Gala was held this past weekend as part of the 2024 Fryderyk Awards Festival on April 28 headquarters of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) in Katowice. An equivalent to the Grammy Awards in the US, each year Poland’s ZPAV Association nominates recordings in eleven classical music categories. This year’s winners have now been announced below.
One of the highlights of the evening’s honors went to pianist Rafał Blechacz and the Deutsche Grammophon label, who received two statuettes: in the categories of the Most Outstanding Recording of Polish Music and Album of the Year, Solo Recital. And as indicated by * below, several recording labels won their category for the second year in a row: in the Contemporary Music category for an album released by Chopin University Press, in the Chamber Music – Ensemble category for an album by CD Accord, and in the Most Outstanding Polish Music Recording category for a disc released by Deutsche Grammophon.
All of the 2024 Classical Music Fryderyk winners are listed below:
Choral Music Album of the Year: Agata Zubel / Maja Kleczewska – Oresteja (Anaklasis)
Early Music Album of the Year: Beyond. Jakub Józef Orliński & Il Pomo d’Oro (Warner Classics & Erato)
Album of the Year – Chamber Music, Vocal: Władysław Żeleński – Complete Songs (Stowarzyszenie Polskich Muzyków Kameralistów)
Album of the Year – Chamber Music, Duet: Stanisław Wisłocki – Solo & Chamber Works, 2CD (Chopin University Press / Stowarzyszenie Polskich Artystów Muzyków)
Album of the Year – Chamber Music, Ensemble: Eugeniusz Knapik – Chamber Works (CD Accord)*
Album of the Year – Concert Music: Polish Music for Cello and Orchestra (Filharmonia Narodowa / CD Accord)
Album of the Year – Opera & Oratorio: Łukasz Borowicz. Moniuszko “Verbum nobile”. Noskowski “Zemsta za mur graniczny” (Agencja Muzyczna Polskiego Radia)
Album of the Year – Orchestral Music: Paweł Łukaszewski – Symphoniae Sacrae 1 (DUX)
Album of the Year – Contemporary Music: Le clavecin moderne plus saxophone, 2CD (Chopin University Press)*
Album of the Year – Solo Recital & Most Outstanding Recording of Polish Music: Rafał Blechacz. Chopin (Deutsche Grammophon)
During the April 28 Gala, Marta Gidaszewska and Robert Łaguniak, who together form the internationally acclaimed Polish Violin Duo, performed Two Contrasts by Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk, who last year received the ZAiKS Award for composer of the young generation at the Classical Music Gala.
[Sources: polmic.pl, fryderyki.pl]