The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. The British awards are often viewed as equivalent to (or surpassing) the American Grammy awards, and referred to as the Oscars for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA - "ultimately it is the classical award, especially worldwide".
The winners are selected annually by critics for the Gramophone magazine and various members of the industry, including retailers, broadcasters, arts administrators, and musicians. Awards are usually presented in September each year in London.
The Polish National Youth Choir is a unique artistic and educational project aimed at singing youth, successfully implemented for ten years as part of the activities of the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music in Wrocław. It was established by Poland's Minister of Culture and National Heritage in 2013, and in 2015 it became part of the Choral Academy promoting singing by creating a coherent program of choir development.
The activities of the Polish National Youth Choir focus on cooperation with pupils and students of vocal departments of music schools and academies, as well as with the best singers of various other Polish choirs. Selected youth work in a session system, participating in individual singing lessons, lectures, psychological, acting, dance workshops and music rehearsals, preparing a concert that is the result of each session. The artistic director and originator of the project is prof. dr hab. Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny.
Across numerous editions of the project, the young people involved in the Polish National Youth Choir have worked under the baton of conductors such as: Paul McCreesh, Jacek Kaspszyk, Andrzej Kosendiak, Benjamin Bayl, Jacek Sykulski, Werner Pfaff, Benjamin Shwartz, Christoph Poppen, Roger Treece, Marcin Tomczak, Bartosz Michałowski, Jacek Kraszewski, Bob Chilcott, Marcin Wawruk, Anne Kohler, Mirian Khukhunaishvili, Anna Sułkowska-Migoń and Marin Alsop.
The award-winning album "The Dream of Gerontius by Edward Elgar", by the Polish National Youth Choir and the Gabrieli Consort & Players, with soloists Anna Stéphany, Nicky Spence, Andrew Foster-Williams and Gabrieli Roar, was recorded in London - and premiered in April 2024.
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Source: NFM Wrocław