Vasily Petrenko, Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, was announced as Best Male Artist at the Classic BRIT Awards 2012 during a glittering gala show at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Petrenko was the Classic BRIT Awards Best Male Artist in 2010. As in 2010, his 2012 award recognises his critically acclaimed recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra of the music of Shostakovich and Rachmaninov on the Naxos, AVIE and EMI Classics labels.
The Classic BRIT Awards are organised by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and are the classical equivalent of pop music’s Grammy or BRIT Awards. Hosted by Myleene Klass for a fifth consecutive year, the classical music event of the year will be broadcast on ITV 1 and ITV 1 HD on Sunday 8 October at 10.20pm.
Petrenko beat off stiff competition in the ‘Best Male Artist’ category from pianist Lang Lang and tenor Andrea Boccelli. He was unable to attend the awards ceremony in London, as he is currently in the USA with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. His acceptance of his Classic BRIT Award, recorded at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, was screened at the Classic BRIT Awards Ceremony.
On accepting his award, Petrenko said: “Thank you to the BPI for this prestigious award. I’m honoured to receive it for a second time, and to be nominated again in the same category as such great artists. Thank you to Naxos, AVIE and EMI Classics for giving us the opportunity to put our interpretations of the music of Shostakovich and Rachmaninov on disc; and thank you especially to the musicians of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. We are enjoying a great musical journey together and this award is for them as much as me.”
Michael Eakin, Liverpool Philharmonic’s Chief Executive said; “Our congratulations to Vasily on winning this prestigious international award for a second time in two years! The Shostakovich and Rachmaninov recordings with Naxos, AVIE and EMI Classics showcase his brilliant musical partnership with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and it’s wonderful to see that partnership being recognized internationally. It’s a great example of Liverpool Philharmonic playing for Liverpool on the world stage.”
Earlier this year, Petrenko was announced as the winner of the prestigious German ECHO Klassik Awards 2012 Newcomer of the Year in the conductors’ category for his recording of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 3 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (EMI Classics).
The ECHO Klassik Awards will be presented on 14 October at the Konzerthaus in Berlin with international stars of the world-wide classical music stage among the 60 winners in 21 categories. Petrenko will conduct the Konzerthausorchester in the gala concert. The German TV station ZDF will broadcast the award show at 10pm the same day.
Vasily Petrenko’s Classic BRIT Award 2012 recognises the following recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra;
AVIE; Rachmaninov Piano Concertos No. 1 & 4; Simon TrpÄeski piano
EMI Classics;Rachmaninov Symphony N0. 3
NAXOS ; Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 & 3; Shostakovich Symphony No. 6 & 12
Shostakovich Symphony No. 2 & 15
Previous winners of The Classical BRITS Best Male Artist include Vasily Petrenko, Sir Simon Rattle, Bryn Terfel, Nigel Kennedy, Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Colin Davis.