Honorary Awards

The annual committee of the PdSK awards Honorary Awards in the form of certificates to outstanding personalities who, as interpreters, artists, or producers, have made a noteworthy contribution to the recording of music on audio and video mediums.

Classical Music

Veronique Gens  © Jean-Baptiste Millot
© Jean-Baptiste Millot

Veronique Gens

How lucky we are that Véronique Gens did not become a translator after all! Even so, she has played the role of musical interpreter, using her warm and lyrical voice primarily to spread the vocal treasures of her country and her language throughout the world. The spectrum of this outstanding French soprano from Orléans ranges from the treasures of Baroque music and the operas of Mozart and Gluck to the romantic operas and irreverent operettas of the 19th and early 20th centuries, all the way to Poulenc. She has been equally at home on the concert platform. In 1986, she made her debut as a member of William Christie’s Les Arts Florissants, still flourishing today. Just a year later, she sang in the chorus for the latter’s groundbreaking recording of Lully’s »Atys«. Since then, she has made her mark – often under Christie, Marc Minkowski, René Jacobs or Philippe Herreweghe, and more recently under Christophe Rousset or Hervé Niquet – on more than 80 records. She has sung three aria CDs alone under the title »Tragédiennes français«. But she also has whimsical humor; just listen to her operettas on Palazzetto Bru Zane! For the annual committee: Manuel Brug

Classical Music

Daniel Behle  © Lucia Hunziker
© Lucia Hunziker

Daniel Behle

Daniel Behle believes in the medium of the record, with an enthusiasm that ranges from optimistic to fanatical. He has released 18 solo albums, and the 19th is in the can. Quantitatively, and above all qualitatively, this is already more than the life’s work of many colleagues – so it’s high time for an honorary award. Behle is the most active and resourceful of his guild; he is a treasure hunter who is not content with the usual easy hits. Of course, his discography includes Schumann’s »Dichterliebe« and Schubert’s »Müllerin«, but also Schubert’s »Winterreise« in an arrangement for piano trio, a foray through »Mein Hamburg«, and partly self-composed Christmas songs. Most recently, with the addition of German horns, he has created an approach to the phenomenon of »Homeland«, building a bridge from Lohengrin to the »Lied der Flüchtlinge« (»Song of the Refugees«) and the »Jäger aus Kurpfalz« (»Hunter from Kurpfalz«). As always, Behle plumbs the depths intelligently, adding a wink. And the best of all: there’s no end in sight. For the annual committee: Markus Thiel

Classical Music

Ludger Brümmer  © Felix Grünschloss
© Felix Grünschloss

Ludger Brümmer

Few composers of computer music appeal to both emotion and intellect. Ludger Brümmer might be the only one. His works, created with advanced sound technology, are just as effective in a surround sound environment as they are at home between good loudspeakers. Wergo provides access to his work with two double CDs. »Spheres Of Resonance« (2022) presents Brümmer’s dramatic sound world, newly-created from interaction with historical material by Gesualdo, for example. »Sonic Patterns« (2023) astounds with its symphonic proportions and its seductive combination of innovation with emotional intensity. Inevitably, images arise before the inner eye. Ludger Brümmer’s works create sound spaces of hypnotic power. As a digital pioneer, he has explored ways to integrate computer technology with sound art. At the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, he made important innovations in sound generation, such as the granular synthesis of early music, and physical modeling. The words seem dry, but sounds are fascinating, perfect – and beautiful. For the annual committee: Isabel Steppeler

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