Classic BRIT Awards 2012 with MasterCard nominations revealed!

The nominations for the 13th annual Classic BRIT Awards 2012 with MasterCard were announced yesterday evening (Thursday, September 6) at London’s Savoy Hotel. The event was hosted by Classic FM DJ Margherita Taylor, and featured live performances from Amore, Amy Dickson and Noah Stewart.

It was revealed that Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will be honoured as International Artist Of The Year and legendary composer John Williams will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, Benjamin Grosvenor, Noah Stewart, Paul Mealor, Ennio Morricone and Milos Karadaglic received two nominations, each.

This year’s Awards see the introduction of a new category, Classic BRITs Single Of The Year in association with iTunes. The past 12 months have seen over one million classical tracks purchased in the UK and the introduction of the Official Charts Company’s Official Classical Singles Chart to recognise this growing trend. You can watch a video of Russell Watson, Gareth Malone, Hayley Westenra and Paul Mealor talking about the launch of the chart below.

Classic BRIT Awards 2012 with MasterCard are set to take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on October 2. They will be hosted by Myleene Klass and will feature performances from Andre Rieu, Nicola Benedetti and Andrea Bocelli. The London Chamber Orchestra, conducted by James Morgan, will also perform a selection of pieces from John Williams' film scores such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Superman, ET and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.

The full list of nominations is as follows:

FEMALE ARTIST
Alison Balsom – Seraph (EMI Classics)
Joyce Didonato - Diva Divo: Opera Arias (Virgin Classics)
Nicola Benedetti – Italia (Decca)

MALE ARTIST
Andrea Bocelli - Concerto: One Night In Central Park (Decca)
Lang Lang - Liszt / My Piano Hero (Sony Classical)
Vasily Petrenko - Shostakovich / Symphony No. 1 & 3, Shostakovich / Symphony No. 6 & 12, Shostakovich / Symphony No. 2 & 15 (Naxos), Rachmaninov / Piano Concertos 1 & 4 (Avie), Rachmaninov / Symphony No. 3 (EMI Classics)

MASTERCARD’S BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR AWARD
Benjamin Grosvenor - Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Chopin, Liszt & Ravel (Decca)
Milos Karadaglic – Latino (Deutsche Grammophon)
Noah Stewart – Noah (Decca)

COMPOSER
Ennio Morricone - Paradiso (Decca)
John Williams - War Horse, The Adventures of Tintin (Sony Classical)
Paul Mealor - A Tender Light (Decca)

CLASSIC BRITSSINGLE OF THE YEAR IN ASSOCIATION WITH iTUNES
Adiemus - Adiemus (Virgin)
Royal Choral Society, BBC Concert Orchestra / Wordsworth - Jerusalem (Decca)
Della Jones, Royal Choral Society, BBC Concert Orchestra / Wordsworth - Rule Britannia (Decca)
Ennio Morricone - Gabriels Oboe (EMI)
Hans Zimmer - Time (Warner Music)
Klaus Badelt - He’s A Pirate (Walt Disney /EMI)
London Philharmonic Orchestra / Parry Barber’s - Adagio For Strings (X5)
Luciano Pavarotti - Nessun Dorma (Decca)
Ludovico Einaudi - I Giorni (Decca)
Military Wives / Gareth Malone Wherever You Are Decca)

CRITICS’ AWARD
Berlin Philharmonic / Rattle - Bruckner Symphony No. 9 (EMI Classics)
Benjamin Grosvenor - Chopin / Liszt / Ravel (Decca)
BBC Symphony Orchestra / Belohlavek - Martinu The 6 Symphonies (Onyx)

CLASSIC FM ALBUM OF THE YEAR IN ASSOCIATION WITH MASTERCARD
Andre Rieu - And The Waltz Goes On (Decca)
Andrea Bocelli – Concerto: One Night In Central Park (Decca)
Band of HM Royal Marines - Summon The Heroes (Decca)
Band of The Coldstream Guards - Pride of The Nation (Decca)
Craig Ogden - Summertime (Classic FM)
Hayley Westenra - Paradiso (Decca)
Laura Wright - The Last Rose (Decca)
Milos Karadaglic - The Guitar (Deutsche Grammophon)
Noah Stewart - Noah Decca
Russell Watson - Anthems (Sony Classical)

INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR IN ASSOCIATION WITH RAYMOND WEIL
Andrea Bocelli

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
John Williams

You can vote online at www.classicbrits.co.uk.