Terfel
and Bartoli beat challenge of 'crossover' musicians to take
top honours at Classical Brits
By Danielle Demetriou
27 May 2004
Bryn Terfel
and Cecilia Bartoli beat a slew of young newcomers to win
the best artist gongs at the fifth annual Classical Brit Awards
yesterday at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The
Welsh opera singer Terfel also beat several high-profile musicians,
including Luciano Pavarotti and Ludovico Einaudi, to win the
coveted best album award.
Among
those who were disappointed by the results was Hayley Westenra,
the 17-year-old from New Zealand who has been called the "new
Charlotte Church". She was nominated for best album and
best female artist. Myleene Klass, who began her musical career
as a contestant on Pop Stars, was also among those nominated
for best album with Moving On.
Other
winners at the award ceremony, which was presented by the
ITV news newsreader Katie Derham, included the violin virtuoso
Daniel Hope in the young British classical performer category
and Phillip Glass, who scooped the contemporary music award
for his soundtrack to The Hours.
Terfel
and and the Rome-born mezzo-soprano Bartoli emerged as the
winners at the ceremony, sponsored by National Savings and
Investments, despite a proliferation of young performers such
as Westenra and Klass receiving nominations for prestigious
awards.
Over
recent years, a flood of young "populist" musicians
has prompted accusations from classical music purists that
the industry is "dumbing down" and "sexing
up" due to its cross-fertilisation with pop.
But
only two months ago, the growth in "crossover" classical
music was attributed, in part, to reversing the declining
sales. Last year, sales of classical albums increased by 8
per cent to 14 million.
For
Rob Dickins, the chairman of the Classical Brit Awards, the
diversity of performers on the shortlist was a cause for celebration
rather than criticism. "The words 'dumbing down' are
used to refer to every industry these days," he told
The Independent. "The point of this show is to open as
many doors into classical music as we can.
"Music
is a rich tapestry of colours. Crossover has become an ugly
word but it basically refers to a musician who has the ability
to make someone who understands pop music to understand classical
music.
"It
means a bridge between the two and I look at this as a positive
development."
Vanessa-Mae
was one of the first classical recording artists to cross
over into mainstream music markets withThe Violin Player,
released in 1994. She performed at the inaugural Classical
Brit Awards in 2000.
The
accolade for Bartoli crowns a high point for the 37-year-old
bel canto specialist who recorded an album of arias by Antono
Salieri - cast as Mozart's enemy in the film Amadeus - in
London last December. Last year, she was also voted the most
popular classical performer at the Gramophone Awards, marking
her fourth Grammy in a career spanning 15 years.
Despite
the appeal of musicians such as Westenra and Klass, the announcement
of the best female and male artist awards came as little surprise,
said Mr Dickins. "Bryn [Terfel] is a very serious artist
who has simply extended his repertoire," he said. "If
you are a baritone or a bass, your repertoire is fairly fixed
and you do reach a limit in terms of the core classical. And
we are not surprised at Cecilia [Bartoli] winning ... She
is clearly Olympic gold."
Other
winners included Sir Simon Rattle, who won the ensemble/orchestral
album of the year award with Beethoven Symphonies and the
soprano Renée Fleming, who was awarded the prize for
outstanding contribution to music.
AWARD
WINNERS
Album
of the Year
Bryn
Terfel, Bryn, Deutsche Grammaphon/Universal
(Runners-up:
Aled Jones, Higher, UCJ/Universal; Amici Forever, The Opera
Band, Arista/BMG; Denise Leigh/Jane Gilchrist, Operatunity,
EMI Classics; Dominic Miller, Shapes, BBC Music; Hayley Westenra,
Pure, Decca/Universal; Lesley Garrett, So Deep Is The Night,
EMI Classics; Luciano Pavarotti, Ti Adoro, Decca/Universal;
Ludovico Einaudi, Echoes - The Collection, BMG; Myleene Klass,
Moving On, UCJ/Universal
Young
British Classical Performer
Daniel
Hope, Nimbus
(Runners-up:
Catrin Finch, Sony Classics; Colin Currie, EMI Classics)
Female
Artist of the Year
Cecilia
Bartoli, Decca/Universal
(Runners-up:
Hayley Westenra, Decca/Universal; Marin Alsop, Naxos/Select
Music)
Male
Artist of the Year
Bryn
Terfel, Deutsche Grammaphon/Universal
(Runners-up:
Sir Colin Davis LSO/ Harmonia Mundi ; Nigel Kennedy EMI Classics)
Contemporary
Music award
Phillip
Glass, The Hours, Nonesuch/Warner Classics
(Runners-up:
Gidon Kremer, Happy Birthday, Nonesuch/Warner Classics; John
Rutter, Distant Land, UCJ/Universal)
Ensemble/Orchestral
Album of the Year
Sir
Simon Rattle/VPO, Beethoven Symphonies, EMI Classics
(Runners-up:
John Rutter/RPO, Distant Land, UCJ/Universal;
New
College Oxford Choir/Higginbottom, Bach, St John Passion,
Naxos/Select Music)
Critics'
Award
Maxim
Vengerov/LSO/ Rostropovitch, Britten/Walton, EMI Classics
(Runners-up:
LSO/Jansons, Mahler/Symphony no 6; LSO, Harmonia Mundi; Rattle/VPO,
Beethoven Symphonies, EMI Classics
Outstanding
Contribution to Music
Renée
Fleming
View
Source
Item
link thanks to Dave Ludlow
©
2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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