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Gramophone has revealed the shortlist for its prestigious annual classical music awards. The 72 albums selected by the magazine’s panel of experts and critics showcase the finest artists recording.

French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky shines in the Recital category with his album Farinelli: Porpora Arias, replete with “slow arias that could have been tailor-made for Jaroussky’s sweetly graceful melodic singing”.

Meanwhile, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic are major contendors for the Orchestral category with their album of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and The Bells. “An interpretation as astutely conceived as it is vital in execution,” Gramophone declared. “The local Berlin Rundfunkchor excels in the fearsome scherzo and the orchestra fully illuminates the colours of Rachmaninov’s scoring.”

Recent Warner Classics signing Bryan Hymel is among this year’s nominees for his truly heroic tour de force in Berlioz’sLes Troyens at Covent Garden on DVD (Opus Arte). And French violinist Renaud Capuçon was nominated for the publicly-voted, coveted Artist of the Year accolade.

Stay tuned for the winners, announced in September. Browse the complete shortlist in Gramophone‘s special online Awards edition.

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