And, as every year, the list drawn up by our expert jury is as eclectic as it is enticing.\u00a0 To take one category at random, the three nominees for\u00a0 our Chamber award reach right across the classical music spectrum. At one extreme, we have Brahms\u2019<\/strong><\/a> two traditional but highly uplifting String Sextets, in wonderful performances from the Belcea Quartet, Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras: \u2018full-toned, warm-hearted and sensitive to the luscious and the sinuous alike,\u2019 as our reviewer Jessica Duchen observes<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Within the same category, but presenting a very\u00a0 different musical soundscape, is the debut album by South African cellist Abel Selaocoe<\/strong><\/a>. Where is Home (Hae ke Kae)<\/em> rivetingly explores the African traditions and Western Baroque music that have shaped Selaocoe. The cellist and his fellow performers achieve a wonderful synthesis of these very different musical traditions. \u2018In Selaocoe\u2019s hands the cello is a shape-shifter,\u2019 enthuses our reviewer Hellen Wallace<\/strong><\/a>, adding that \u2018everything flows from his own extraordinary voice, a soothing baritone that can plunge into unfathomable bass via Xhosa-style throat singing\u2019.<\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty\u00a0 of variety, too, in the shortlist for our Orchestral Award. Here, the three nominated discs travel from the chilly expanses of northern Finland, as evoked in Sibelius\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> darkly thrilling tone poem Tapiola<\/em>, to visions of Africa evoked by the mixed-race British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor<\/strong><\/a>. The former featured on a gorgeous new Sibelius cycle<\/strong><\/a> from conductor Klaus M\u00e4kel\u00e4 and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; the latter was part of a new disc of Coleridge-Taylor works by the brilliant Chineke!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Perhaps the pick of the works on this disc is Coleridge-Taylor\u2019s sublime Violin Concerto. Violinist Elena Urioste and the orchestra under Kevin John Edusei \u2018give a wonderful performance full of fiery spirit and delicacy\u2019, says our reviewer Jessica Duchen<\/strong><\/a>, who also notes that, with this disc, Chineke! have given us \u2018one of the biggest and best collections of Coleridge-Taylor\u2019s music yet released\u2019.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Choral category is another brilliant showcase for the sheer variety of wonderful music that comes across our desks here at BBC Music Magazine<\/em>. The three nominees this year range from a hypnotic rendition of John Luther Adams\u2019s large-scale ensemble piece Sila: the Breath of the World<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, to a \u2018dramatically intense and luminously beautiful\u2019 recording of Handel\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> oratorio Theodora<\/em>.<\/p>\n That one came from singers Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, the Il Pomo d\u2019Oro orchestra and choir and conductor Maxim Emelyanychev, and our reviewer Berta Joncus<\/strong><\/a> was hugely impressed. \u2018The choir chillingly realises the violence at the core of this oratorio: representing at one moment orgiastic heathens and at the next devout Christians, Il Pomo d\u2019Oro sounds like two unrelated vocal ensembles: one harsh, percussive and guttural; the other smooth, euphonic and sublime. Such heartfelt readings by all the artists involved make this Theodora<\/em> truly definitive.\u2019<\/p>\n This year\u2019s jury featured BBC Music Magazine <\/em>editor Charlotte Smith<\/strong><\/a> and reviews editor\u00a0Michael Beek<\/strong><\/a>, who were joined by critics Julian Haylock<\/strong><\/a>, Natasha Loges<\/strong><\/a>, Andrew McGregor<\/strong><\/a> and Sarah Urwin Jones<\/strong><\/a>. Together, our jury whittled down a huge longlist of this year\u2019s very best recordings to a final list of 27 nominees. That\u2019s three outstanding discs in each of the nine categories. We\u2019re also really pleased to be representing no fewer than 19 record labels, from Alpha Classics<\/strong><\/a> to Bedroom Community<\/strong><\/a>, on our 2023 Awards shortlist.<\/p>\n The winners are up to you, so just visit classical-music.com\/awards<\/strong><\/a> and cast your votes. Voting closes at midnight on Tuesday 28 February, with the winners revealed at our Awards ceremony at King\u2019s Place on Wednesday 19 April.<\/p>\n Vote now in this year\u2019s BBC Music Magazine Awards at\u00a0classical-music.com\/awards<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Where is Home<\/a> Brahms:\u00a0<\/strong>String Sextets<\/strong><\/a> Night Passages<\/a> Sibelius: Symphonies; Tapiola<\/em>; 3 Late Fragments<\/strong><\/a> Coleridge-Taylor:\u00a0Othello Suite; African Suite; Ballade etc<\/strong><\/a> Bacewicz: <\/strong>Works for Chamber Orchestra, Vol. 3<\/strong><\/a> Sibelius \u2022 Nielsen:\u00a0<\/strong>Violin Concertos<\/strong><\/a> A Night in London: Concertos and solo works by Handel, Geminiani, Oswald et al<\/strong><\/a> Eclipse:\u00a0<\/strong>Works by Dvor\u030ca\u0301k, Ginastera, Saraste<\/strong><\/a> Cage: <\/strong>Choral Works<\/strong><\/a> Handel:\u00a0<\/strong>Theodora<\/strong><\/a> John Luther Adams: Sila: the Breath of the World<\/strong><\/a>The full list of 2023 BBC Music Magazine Awards nominees:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Chamber Award<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><\/a><\/p>\nOrchestral Award<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><\/a><\/p>\nConcerto Award<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><\/a><\/p>\nChoral Award<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><\/a><\/p>\nOpera Award<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
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