Diapason d'Or 2016

Diapason magazine awarded the best classical albums of the year 2016.

> BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL

J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord, BWV 1014-1019 
by Leila Schayegh & Jörg Halubek.

VISÉE : Pièces pour théorbe. Corbetta : Pièces pour guitare,
by Rolf Lislevand.

> BAROQUE VOCAL

ZELENKA : Missa Divi Xaverii. Litanies,
by Collegium 1704, Vaclav Luks.

> CHAMBER MUSIC

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 2, 4 & 9 "Kreutzer" 
by Lorenzo Gatto & Julien Libeer.

Brahms: String Quartets & Piano Quintet 
by Belcea Quartet & Till Fellner.

> VOCAL  RECITAL

Verismo 
by Anna Netrebko, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia & Antonio Pappano.

> SYMPHONIC MUSIC

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A Minor "Tragic" 
by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Daniel Harding.


> PREMIÈRE AU DISQUE

Honegger & Ibert: L'Aiglon (Live in Montreal, 2015) 
by Kent Nagano, Anne-Catherine Gillet, Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal, Marc Barrard, Etienne Dupuis, Philippe Sly, Hélène Guilmette & Marie-Nicole Lemieux.

> CLAVECIN

SCARLATTI : Sonates pour clavecin, Vol. IV,
by Pierre Hantaï.

> CONCERTO

Mozart: Piano Concertos, K. 413, 414 & 415 by Kristian Bezuidenhout, Freiburger Barockorchester & Gottfried von der Goltz.

> PIANO

CHOPIN : 24 Mazurkas
by Pavel Kolesnikov.

> CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

CONNESSON : Flammenschrift. Pour sortir au jour
by Mathieu Dufour, Brussels Philharmonic, Stéphane Denève.

Hans Abrahamsen: Let Me Tell You by Barbara Hannigan, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Andris Nelsons.

Cecilia's big brother, Filmster, has now been upgraded to a movie recommendation website! Go check out FilmsterOnline.com to find the best films on iTunes, according their selections by a variety of cinema authorities (festivals, award ceremonies, expert polls, and more). Cecilia might eventually experience the same upgrade... Stay tuned!

Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2015

The Gramophone Awards for the best classical music recordings of 2015 have been announced! However the Recording of the Year will be only revealed at the award ceremony on September 17. The winners of the 12 categories were chosen among 72 shortlisted recordings.

• Baroque Instrumental: JS Bach: Cello Suites, by David Watkin

• Baroque Vocal: Monteverdi: Vespri solenni per la festa di San Marco, by Concerto Italiano / Rinaldo Alessandrini

• Chamber: Smetana: String Quartets No 1, ‘From my life’ & 2, by Pavel Haas Quartet 

• Choral: Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Sea Pictures, by Sarah Connolly, Stuart Skelton, David Soar bass BBC SO and Chorus / Sir Andrew Davis 

• Concerto: Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4, by Maria João Pires and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Harding 

• Contemporary: Nørgård: Symphonies Nos 1 & 8, by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Sakari Oramo

• Early Music: ‘The Spy’s Choirbook’, by Alamire; English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble / David Skinner

• Instrumental: Bach: English Suites Nos 1, 3 & 5, by Piotr Anderszewski

• Opera: R Strauss: Elektra, by Orchestre de Paris / Esa-Pekka Salonen (DVD)

• Orchestral: Bruckner: Symphony No 9, by Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Claudio Abbado

• Recital: ‘A French Baroque Diva’, by Carolyn Sampson sop Ex Cathedra / Jeffrey Skidmore

• Solo Vocal: Schubert: ‘Nachtviolen’, by Christian Gerhaher bar Gerold Huber

These beautiful recordings will soon join the rich selection of Cecilia Music.

Pitchfork's top 5 albums of 2014

Top 5 albums of 2014 according to Pitchfork:

1. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
2. LP1 by FKA twigs
3. Lost in the Dream by The War on Drugs
4. Syro by Apex Twin
5. Ruins by Grouper

Saint Cecilia

Saint Cecilia, patroness of musicians, by Simon Vouet (1625).

Johann Kanye Bach

Would Johann Sebastian Bach and Kanye West have gotten along well? Cecilia certainly thinks so...

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