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Radamisto (HWV 12a ) Radamisto:
Joyce Di Donato, soprano Il Complesso Barocco (on period
instruments)
(Read the Review.) |
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Radamisto (HWV 12a ) Radamisto:
Joyce Di Donato, soprano Il Complesso Barocco (on period
instruments)
(Read the Review.) |
This year we are delighted to congratulate Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco and Virgin Classics upon the award of first prize for their world-premiere recording of Handel’s first version of Radamisto (his first opera for the London Royal Academy of Music). We congratulate them for producing a dramatic and compelling performance of the hitherto under-represented original first version of the opera. Despite some strong competition this year, the international panel of judges gave a clear overall verdict in favour of Radamisto. The panel admires it as the finest testament of Handel’s operatic genius produced on CD during 2006. We also warmly congratulate Alan Curtis for winning his third annual award since the prize began in 2002.
We
also wish to commend this year’s runners-up:
The "Organ Concertos Opus 4" performed by organist Matthew Halls and the
ensemble Sonnerie (Avie). The recording of Handel’s Saul (Harmonia
mundi France) was also highly commended by
the panel. (Read the review.)
What is The Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize?
It
is an annual award given to one distinctive new recording of Handel's music.
Hitherto known as The International Handel Recording Prize, it is chosen by
a specially invited panel of respected scholars and journalists who each
possess a special and informed interest in Handel’s music. One of the
prize’s founder panel members was the scholar, author and critic Stanley
Sadie, and in 2005 the prize was renamed in his memory: we continue to hope
that this prize is warmly accepted as an appropriate legacy of Stanley’s
unusual ease at mingling enjoyable journalism and superb scholarship
together. In some respects it was influenced by the now defunct American
Handel Society Recording Prize (1991-1998), but in 2002 an international
panel of judges inaugurated a broader forum to nurture recognition to a new
recording of Handel’s music of noteworthy quality. This year’s winner was
chosen by judges from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia,
England and the U.S.A. The winner is carefully selected from a comprehensive
list of all new recordings of Handel’s music released during the previous
calendar year. The winner must satisfy tough criteria: it needs to combine
fine interpretive quality with a penetrating or valuable insight into
Handel’s genius. Thus this Prize is an indication of a disc’s quality and
the significance of its contribution to Handelian knowledge.
This Year's Panel of Judges:
Sandra Bowdler (Opera critic - Perth, Australia)
Hugh Canning (The Sunday Times and International Record Review - London)
Colin Coleman (The Gerald Coke Handel Collection, The Foundling Museum – London)
Mikhail Fikhtengoltz (Handel scholar - Moscow)
Philippe Gelinaud (Handel scholar, Opéra Magazine - Paris)
Lindsay Kemp (BBC Radio 3 Producer, The Gramophone – London)
Brad Leissa (GFHandel.org, American Handel Society - Washington D.C.)
Michael Pacholke (musicologist, Hallische Händel-Ausgabe - Halle)
Benedikt Poengsen (Göttingen Händel-Festpiele - Göttingen)
Christopher Purvis (Chairman, The Handel House Museum – London)
Marty Ronish (American Handel Society and NPR Producer – Washington D.C.)
Kimiko Shimoda (UK correspondent for The Record Geijutsu Magazine and Classic Japan – London)
David Vickers (The Gramophone, GFHandel.org - Huddersfield)
Carlo Vitali (Amadeus, musicologist, author - Bologna)
The Candidate List
(in no particular order)
Theatre works on CD:
Belshazzar
Jurgen Budday; K&K.L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
Frankfurt Baroque Orchestra; Joachim Carlos Martini; NaxosMessiah
Concentus Musicus Wien; Nikolaus Harnoncourt; DHMMessiah
American Bach Soloists; Jeffrey Thomas; DelosMessiah
Jurgen Budday, K&KPartenope
Early Opera Company; Christian Curnyn; Chandos Chaconne.Radamisto (April 1720 version)
Il Complesso Barocco; Alan Curtis; Virgin.Rodelinda
Il Complesso Barocco; Alan Curtis; DG Archiv.Saul
Concerto Köln; René Jacobs; Harmonia Mundi (France).
Vocal music and recitals on CD:
Handel Arias
Emma Bell (soprano); Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Richard Egarr; Linn.A Portrait of 3 Mezzo-Soprano Heroines
Maria Riccarda Wesseling (mezzo-soprano); Lautten Compagney; Wolfgang Katschner; Claves.Delirio
Natalie Dessay (soprano); Emmanuelle Haďm; Virgin.Vedo il Ciel
Lydia Vierlinger (alto); Capella Leopoldina; Jörg Zwicker; Universal AmadeoScorned & Betrayed: Three Italian Cantatas
Melissa Fogarty (soprano); John Ostendorf (producer); Albany
Orchestral / Chamber on CD:
Concerti grossi Op.3
Combattimento Consort; Challenge.Organ Concertos Opus 4
Matthew Halls (organ); Sonnerie; Avie.Trio Sonatas Opus 5
The Brook Street Band; Avie.Trio Sonatas Opus 5
London Handel Players; Somm.Violin Sonatas
Trio Corelli; ClassicO
Special category on CD:
Israel in Babylon
Ensemble UnaVolta; Joachim Fontaine; K617
[Pasticcio oratorio arranged by Edward Toms]
DVD:
Hercules
Les Arts Florissants; William Christie; Bel Air ClassiquesSerse
Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset; TDKTeseo
Lautten Compagney; Wolfgang Katschner; ArthausWater Music
The English Concert; Andrew Manze; BBC Opus Arte
The International Handel Recording Prize was inspired by The American Handel Society's Recording Prize. The AHS Recording Prize was awarded on an annual basis between 1991-1998.
