Congratulations to Mahan Esfahani and Steve Reich, recently announced winners of 2023 Opus Klassik Awards.
Mahan Esfahani won in the Concerto Recording of the Year category, for his first concerto album for Hyperion, a recording of the Martinů, Krása and Kalabis harpsichord concertos with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Liebreich. The award is bestowed jointly on the soloist, the conductor and the orchestra for an outstanding interpretative recording of a concerto. It was reviewed as “an unalloyed joy…If I encounter an album as good as this one this year I will be overjoyed” by Gramophone, and “Esfahani’s fingers never stop sparkling…Esfahani’s crusades for his instrument know no bounds” by The Times.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Susanna Malkki’s recording of Steve Reich’s Runner and Music for Ensemble and Orchestra won in the Symphonic Recording of the Year category, which honours outstanding recordings and interpretations of a symphonic work. It received excellent reviews as “a vigorous, transparent performance” (NPR), “a welcome opportunity to hear Reich afresh…crisp and intelligent” (The Scotsman) and “a calmly luminous orchestral piece” (The New York Times). It was released by Nonesuch, and the disc is the premiere recordings of both pieces.
The award ceremony will take place on 8th October at the Konzerthaus in Berlin, and will be televised on ZDF.
