Arthur Rubinstein's Last Concert, released by the National Chopin Institute in Warsaw, has been nominated in the Concertos category.
The CD features a recording of the legendary Polish pianist's concert that took place in his hometown of Łódź, central Poland, on May 30, 1975.
In what was his last appearance in Poland, Rubinstein, who was 88 at the time, performed Chopin’s Concerto in F minor and Polonaise Op. 53, and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra under Henryk Czyż.
Arthur Rubinstein pictured during a performance in Warsaw in 1966. Photo: Archiwum/PAP/CAF
Another Polish CD on the ICMA nominations list is a production of Krzysztof Penderecki’s opera Paradise Lost that was staged by the Grand Theatre in Łódź.
Released by Poland's DUX label, the recording was nominated in the Video Opera category.
The company writes on its website: "We are thrilled to be among Europe's leading opera houses, such as La Scala, Royal Opera House, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Deutsche Oper."
Meanwhile, another DUX release has been nominated in the Symphonic Music category. It contains a recording of Symphony No. 1 by Polish composer Jerzy Fitelberg, who settled in the United States in 1939 and died there in 1951, aged 48. The work was recorded by the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz.
Polish music is also included on several recordings by international labels. A selection of sacred choral works by Krzysztof Penderecki recorded by the Latvian Radio Choir for Ondine has been nominated for the International Classical Music Awards in the Choral category, while two CDs featuring orchestral compositions by Grażyna Bacewicz, recorded by the Cologne Radio Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz for the German label cpo, have received nominations in the Symphonic Music category.
A total of 374 audio and video productions released by 117 labels from Europe, Asia and North America have been nominated.
(mk/gs)