2025 Gramophone Awards announced
From Premier Classical:
The winners of the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2025 were revealed tonight [15 October 2025] at a glittering ceremony at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in central London.Long regarded as the classical recording world’s ultimate accolade, the Awards – presented with Presto Music – celebrate exceptional recordings of the past year and honour artists, ensembles and record labels that have defined excellence in their field.
The most coveted prize of the night, Recording of the Year, was given to Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion’s recording of JS Bach’s Mass in B Minor on the Harmonia Mundi label. Gramophone hailed the performance as one “that gleams at the cellular level, radiating outwards with devotional warmth; in short, it is alive”. The recording also won the Choral Award, marking Pichon and Pygmalion’s second win in that category after their 2022 triumph with another Bach masterpiece. Harmonia Mundi Director Christian Girardin accepted the Award on their behalf.
Sir Simon Rattle made history as the first artist ever to win Artist of the Year twice, having first claimed the title in 1993. The Award recognises his remarkable recent work in his roles with the London Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic and a string of acclaimed recordings spanning the baroque to contemporary repertoire. In a video acceptance speech, Sir Simon said,
“I was 10 years old when I started spending my pocket money on Gramophone magazine… so for me this is an extraordinary honour.
Video tributes for Sir Simon were sent in from artists including Dame Imogen Cooper, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare, Thomas Quasthoff and composer John Adams, who stated
... to have known him, to have worked with him, to have heard him do my music with the intensity and passion that he’s given it – it’s been one of the great pleasures of my life.
Sir Thomas Allen was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, honouring more than five decades of distinguished recordings and stage performances. The celebrated baritone made his Covent Garden debut in 1971, and went on to perform there over 300 times in more than 50 different roles. He was beloved in opera houses around the world and made his final stage appearance in 2024 in Glyndebourne’s The Merry Widow. His large discography captures not only some of his most cherished stage performances but also his skills as a recitalist. Sir Thomas accepted the Award in person to a standing ovation.
Rising star María Dueñas, 22, was named Young Artist of the Year (sponsored by Classic FM). The Spanish violinist’s rise – from winning First Prize at the Menuhin Competition in 2021 to becoming a BBC New Generation Artist and signing exclusively with Deutsche Grammophon – was doubly affirmed as she also took the Instrumental category for her album of Paganini’s 24 Caprices. Dueñas also treated the ceremony to a performance from that album and stated in her acceptance speech “it’s a great pleasure and honour… thank you for believing in the power of youth and curiosity in the arts, thank you so much for this recognition”.Other special awards announced on the night included:
- Orchestra of the Year (the only Award voted for by the public): Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
- Concept Album (sponsored by Nordoff & Robbins Music Therapy): George Xiaoyuan Fu for ‘Colouring Book’ (Platoon), praised as “a triumphant combination of music old and new”
- Label of the Year: Bru Zane, recognised for its inspiring rediscovery of French music from 1780 to 1920 and its support for partner labels
In the Category Awards, winners included:
- Early Music: Ensemble Dragma, Ensemble Peregrina and Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett for ‘The Krasiński Codex’ - the world premiere recording of music from a Polish medieval manuscript that was one of the only documents to be saved from destruction in an act of Nazi arson in 1944 (Raumklang)
- Voice and Ensemble: Young British baritone Huw Montague Rendall for his debut album ‘Contemplation’ (Erato)
- Song: Tenor Robin Tritschler with Malcolm Martineau, Sean Shibe and Philip Higham for ‘Songs for Peter Pears’ (Signum)
- Chamber (sponsored by Wigmore Hall): Krystian Zimerman, Maria Nowak, Katarzyna Budnik and Yuya Okamoto for their album of Brahms piano quartets (Deutsche Grammophon)
- Piano: Alexandre Kantorow for his recordings of Brahms’ Piano Sonata No 1 and Schubert’s ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy (BIS)
- Contemporary (sponsored by PPL/PRS for Music): Sir George Benjamin for the live recording of his work Picture a Day Like This, performed by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and conducted by the composer himself (Nimbus)
- Orchestral: Joana Mallwitz and the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra for ‘The Kurt Weill Album’ (Deutsche Grammophon)
- Opera: Lise Davidsen, Gerald Finley, Edward Gardner and Norwegian National Opera for Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (Decca)
- Concerto: Violinist Vilde Frang with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Robin Ticciati (Warner Classics)
The evening also featured additional performances from many Award winners including Huw Montague Rendall, George Fu, Robin Tritschler and Sean Shibe, and Alexandre Kantorow – capping off a night that showcased the brilliance and vitality of classical music today.
The full list of winners can be found below, and in Gramophone’s Awards issue which is available from Thursday 16 October.Martin Cullingford, Editor and Publisher of Gramophone magazine, said:
This year’s Award-winning albums celebrate a wonderful breadth of the incredible music-making that has defined classical recording over the past year, spanning eras, styles – and generations too. Some of today’s most famous artists feature among our winners, but so too do many of the most brilliant and imaginative musicians of the younger generation, something that leaves me hugely excited about the future of our art form. From benchmark new versions of some of the most revered repertoire in the catalogue to music of the 21st century, anyone who devotes time to exploring our list of winning albums and artists will be richly rewarded.