The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and referred to as the Oscars for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA, "ultimately it is the classical award, especially worldwide."
Benjamin Bagby is an American singer, composer, harpist, and performer of medieval music.
Andrew Lawrence-King is a harpist and conductor from Guernsey known for his work in early music.
The Harp Consort is an international early music ensemble directed by Andrew Lawrence-King, specialising in Baroque opera, early dance-music, and historical World Music.
Bejun Mehta is an American countertenor. He has been awarded the Echo Klassik, the Gramophone Award, Le Diamant d’Opera Magazine, the Choc de Classica, the Traetta Prize, and been nominated for the Grammy Award, the Laurence Olivier Award, and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Writing in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Michael Stallknecht called him "arguably the best counter tenor in the world today."
Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music. It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group.
Dorothea Röschmann is a German soprano. She is famous for her performances in operas by Mozart as well as Lieder.
Maurice Steger is a Swiss recorder player and conductor, mostly in Baroque music.
Alexander Markovich Melnikov is a Russian pianist.
The Diapason d'Or is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of Diapason magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the British Gramophone magazine.
Pablo Heras-Casado is a Spanish conductor.
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi is a German classical music record label. It was founded by Rudolf Ruby and based in Freiburg, Breisgau. The company was acquired by BMG Music in 1992 and is now part of Sony Music Entertainment. Ruby had Alfred Krings of WDR assemble their own house orchestra Collegium Aureum, founded 1964, to perform early music, selecting as leader Franzjosef Maier.
The Huelgas Ensemble is a Belgian early music group formed by the Flemish conductor Paul Van Nevel in 1971. The group's performance and extensive discography focuses on Renaissance polyphony. The name of the ensemble refers to a manuscript of polyphonic music, the Codex Las Huelgas.
Bernard Coutaz was a French musical publisher, founder of the Harmonia Mundi label.
Christian Gerhaher is a German baritone and bass singer in opera and concert, particularly known as a Lieder singer.
The Ensemble Clément Janequin is a French early music ensemble founded in 1978 and specializing in the chansons of the Renaissance and early Baroque.
Núria Rial is a Spanish soprano. In recent years, Rial has specialized in the music of the renaissance and baroque eras, such as the works of Handel and Monteverdi. Her repertoire also includes Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart opera roles, and German, French, Catalan and Castillian art songs.
Capella de la Torre is a German early music ensemble led by Katharina Bäuml, founded in 2005. In 2016 Katharina Bäuml and Capella de la Torre won the ECHO Klassik Ensemble des Jahres for their CD Water Music. In 2017 Capella de la Torre was awarded again with ECHO Klassik for the CD "Da Pacem" with Rias Kamerchor conducted by Florian Helgath. The ensemble is a wind ensemble but has enlarged to include singers, lute, organ, and percussion.
Sunhae Im is a South Korean soprano. She has been described as a bright and versatile lyric soprano with lightness and coloratura. She first gained her reputation in the field of early music and now performs a wide range of classical and non-classical music.
Stefan Temmingh is a South African recorder player who now lives in Munich.
