The 2016 nominations for the 22nd edition of the Fryderyk Awards were announced on March 9 by the organizers at ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Similar to the Grammys in the US, the Fryderyk is the highest award for success in the recording industry in Poland. For a full listing of all 2016 nominees in the categories of jazz, popular and classical music, visit: zpav.pl. The Gala announcing the winners will be held in April.
Below are some of the highlights of this year’s nominees in the Classical Music category:
Album of the Year – Choral, Oratorio or Opera
Ewa Podleś: World Opera Stars
Ewa Podleś and the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Łukasz Borowicz DUX 1134
Musica Caelestis (DVD)
Choir of the Warsaw-Prague Cathedral ‘MUSICA SACRA’ and Joanna Łukaszewska, Anna Krawczykiewicz, Konrad Tanewski, Małgorzata Kołcz, Łukasz Farcinkiewicz, Michał Markuszewski under the direction of Paweł Łukaszewski
Musica Sacra Edition MSE045
Album of the Year – Early Music
Gdańsk Baroque Cantatas. Cantatas for the Ascension and Pentecost from the collections of the PAN Library Gdańsk
Goldberg Baroque Ensemble and soloists: Ingrida Gapova, Klaudia Trzasko, Bettina Ranch, Georg Poplutz and Stefan Geyer under the direction of Andrzej Mikołaj Szadejko
Sarton Records 017-1
Kodeks Wrocławski
Ars Cantus under the direction of Tomasz Dobrzański
Wrocławscy Kameraliści WK004
Verbum Incarnatum
Paweł Gusnar (saxophone) and Mulierum Schola Gregoriana Clamaverunt Iusti under the direction of Michał Sławecki
Ars Sonora ARSO 59
Album of the Year – Chamber Music
Dream Lake (Witold Lutosławski, Andrzej Czajkowski)
Agata Zubel (soprano), Joonas Ahonen (piano)
CD Accord ACD 216
Przemyk-Bryła, Kulka, Strahl – Chopin Chamber Works
Agnieszka Przemyk-Bryła, Tomasz Strahl, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka
DUX 1163
RAVEL PIANO DUO: A Polish Kaleidoscope (Dobrzyński, Moszkowski, Zarębski, Palester)
RAVEL PIANO DUO: Agnieszka Kozło and Katarzyna Ewa Sokołowska
DUX 1174
Album of the Year – Symphonic or Concert Music
Górecki / Aukso
Orkiestra Kameralna Miasta Tychy AUKSO under the direction of Marek Moś
Instytucja Kultury Katowice – Miasto Ogrodów
PANUFNIK in memoriam
Paweł Kowalski (piano), Roman Perucki (organ), Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Ernest van Tiel and Łukasz Borowicz
Polska Filharmonia Bałtycka im. Fryderyka Chopina w Gdańsku
Warsaw Philharmonic: the 1st Concert in the Rebuilt Hall
National Philharmonic Orchestra (1955) and Wanda Wiłkomirska (violin) under the direction of Witold Rowicki
Warsaw Philharmonic
Album of the Year – Solo Recital
Kazimierz Serocki: Pianophonie
Szábolcs Esztényi, Jerzy Witkowski, Polish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra in Krakow; Stanisław Wisłocki – dyr.
DUX/Bolt BR 1032
Krzysztof Meyer: Piano Works vol. 2
Marek Szlezer (piano)
DUX 0505
Szymon Nehring. Chopin, Szymanowski, Mykietyn
Szymon Nehring (piano)
DUX 1198
Album of the Year – Contemporary Music
Krzesimir Dębski
Łukasz Błaszczyk (violin), Adam Bogacki (kontrabas) and the Polish Radio Orchestra under the direction of Krzesimir Dębski
Agencja Muzyczna Polskiego Radia PRCD1943
real life song. Joanna Freszel (Bembinow, Borzym jr, Szwed, Janiak, Kościów, Zamuszko, Zubel, Szmytka)
Joanna Freszel (soprano) and Agata Igras-Sawicka, Piotr Zawadzki, Łukasz Piotrowski, Marek Szlezer, Mariusz Rutkowski, Krzysztof Garstka, Zuzanna Elster, Maksymilian Grzesiak, Kamila Wąsik-Janiak, Katarzyna Grygiel, Jan Kalinowski, Dominik Płociński, Andrzej Kopeć, proModern Ensemble; conductors: Andrzej Borzym Jr., Rafał Janiak, Marta Kluczyńska, Jarosław Praszczałek
DUX 1239
Album of the Year – Best Polish Album Recorded Abroad
Grażyna Bacewicz: Complete String Quartets. Volume 1
Lutosławski Quartet: Jakub Jakowicz (violin I), Marcin Markowicz (violin II), Artur Rozmysłowicz (viola), Maciej Młodawski (cello)
NAXOS 8.572806
Krystian Zimerman, Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle – Lutosławski: Piano Concerto, Symphony No. 2
Krystian Zimerman and Berliner Philharmoniker under the direction of Simon Rattle
Deutsche Grammophon 0289 479 4518 5 CD DDD GH
Szymański, Mykietyn – Music for String Quartet
Royal String Quartet: Izabella Szałaj-Zimak (violin I), Elwira Przybyłowska (violin II), Marek Czech (viola), Michał Pepol (cello)
Hyperion Records CDA68085
Album of the Year – Best Recording of Polish Music
MECCORE STRING QUARTET – Szymanowski & Debussy
Meccore String Quartet (Wojciech Koprowski, Jarosław Nadrzycki, Michał Bryła, Karol Marianowski) 
Polskie Nagrania
Paweł Łukaszewski: Symphony of Providence (DVD)
Anna Mikołajczyk-Niewiedział, Agnieszka Rehlis, Jarosław Bręk, Polish Radio Choir in Kraków, Orchestra and Choir of the Podlasie Philharmonic under the direction of Marcin Nałęcz-Niesiołowski
DUX 8152
For a full listing of all 2016 Fryderyk nominees, visit: zpav.pl.