Translate
ICMA Awards 2025
March 26, 2025A gala concert celebrating the 2025 International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) took place recently in the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, during which the winners in the various categories were formally acknowledged. Among this year’s recipients are three internationally recognised artists well known for their discographies with the Naxos Music Group. Shown below are summaries of the judges’ comments regarding Marin Alsop’s programme of orchestral music by John Adams (Award for Contemporary Music, ex aequo) and the coveted Special Achievement Awards for conductor Adam Fischer and pianist Oliver Triendl, not least for their recordings on the Naxos label (Adam Fischer) and the Capriccio and Oehms Classics labels (Oliver Triendl).
For the full list of winners, please visit the ICMA website.
Adam Fischer, conductor
“Since his complete recording of all Haydn’s symphonies with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, Adam Fischer has been considered a renowned Haydn expert. Yet, in his new Naxos recording of the late symphonies with the Danish Chamber Orchestra he surpasses all expectations. With an exceptional degree of rhetoric and a refined sense of humour, Adam Fischer both pushes Haydn’s sense of mischief to its limit and produces some aftershocks. This is exactly how one would ideally imagine a Haydn performance to be, indescribably well done, and reaching right to the heart of the music!”
© Susanne Diesner / Tonhalle
Oliver Triendl, piano
“Oliver Triendl is one of the most questioning pianists of our time. He constantly searches the archives for neglected compositions of great value and has thus enriched the catalogues of various labels with unmissable recordings. His discography of more than 150 recordings prove his commitment as an advocate for rarely performed Classical and Romantic repertoire as well as his support of contemporary composers.”
© Susanne Diesner / Tonhalle
“John Adams masterfully connected his interest in composing for large symphonic forces with the American culture of the mid-20th century. The jazzy inspiration for City Noir comes from Kevin Starr’s books, and for Fearful Symmetries from the poem The Tyger by William Blake. Lola Montez Does the Spider Dance was created for and dedicated to Marin Alsop to celebrate her 25 years of activity at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz. The music is most effective in Marin Alsop’s outstanding interpretations, and the Vienna RSO once again plays this music with brilliance and excitement.”
© Susanne Diesner / Tonhalle
‘[Triendl] has an impossibly fecund discography and plays the concerto with all his accustomed nuance and stylistic acumen.’
– MusicWeb International
‘An immaculate disc, beautifully done.’
– Gramophone
‘These renditions showcase Beethoven’s revolutionary side in a way few other sets even come close to managing.’
– Fanfare
‘[Fischer’s] many admirers will be in seventh heaven, and even those more agnostic will revel in the drive and vivacity he unfailingly imparts to whatever he performs.’
– Gramophone
‘Marin Alsop shows once again that she is unbeatable in this type of repertoire, and she draws some stunning playing from the Austrian players.’
– MusicWeb International
‘Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony play the entire programme with vitality and a brilliant level of execution; Naxos’ recorded sound is excellent.’
– Fanfare