REST OF THE BEST
The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards recipients in full
SINGER Karita Mattila
In two unforgettable performances at the Royal Festival Hall and the BBC Proms, said the jury, Mattila ‘held huge audiences spellbound through the nakedly communicative power of her mature vocal and dramatic artistry’.
INSTRUMENTALIST James Ehnes
‘Blessed with a generosity of spirit and an innate musicality,’ Ehnes has delivered an ‘extraordinary breadth of communication through eloquent music making,’ throughout his 40th birthday year. OPERA AND MUSIC THEATRE
Opera North
In a double win for Opera North (see main article, left) the company’s magnificent performances of Wagner’s Ring across five cities and five years reached huge audiences.
ENSEMBLE Manchester Camerata
Through daring programming, this ensemble has blazed a trail for what a 21st-century orchestra can do, said the RPS, with pioneering work in education, health and wellbeing, and community engagement. AUDIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT
East Neuk Festival
The Scottish festival has won this award for the wide reach of its new music. David Lang’s piece marking 100 years since the Battle of the Somme had 37 performances in its first year alone. LEARNING AND PARTICIPATION
South-west Open Orchestra
‘The UK’S leading disabled-led regional youth orchestra is an ambitious vision brought to life,’ said the RPS jury. Inclusion is at the heart of the organisation, which develops new instruments for its musicians. CHAMBER MUSIC AND SONG
Fretwork
The British ensemble has consistently excelled over its 30-year history, said the jury, demonstrating inventive programming of music from the first printed notes of 1501 to new commissions. CHAMBER-SCALE COMPOSITION
Rebecca Saunders: Skin
An exhausting and at times disturbing ride, this work for soprano and ensemble shows Saunders at the height of her powers. She displays an ‘artistry and technique which leave us gasping in admiration’. CONCERT SERIES AND FESTIVAL
Lammermuir Festival
The historic architecture and landscape of its East Lothian home is integral to the beautifully curated festival, said the jury. It puts the very best of Scotland’s artists at the heart of its music-making. CREATIVE COMMUNICATION
Edward Dusinberre: Beethoven for a Later Age
Dusinberre’s account of Beethoven’s life is ‘as learned as it is honest and lucid’ said the RPS jury. ‘Few have told so well of the musician’s life, or offered such illuminating insights to players and listeners alike.’ LARGE-SCALE COMPOSITION
Philip Venables: 4.48 Psychosis
Combining speech, recorded elements and music which takes over where words fail, Venables’s opera – based on the play of the same name by Sarah Kane – is ‘arrestingly relevant, uncomfortable yet gripping’. YOUNG ARTIST
Joseph Middleton
Pianist Middleton is a ‘born collaborator, equally at home in partnerships with leading artists and supporting young performers, whose careers he nurtures’.