Italian cellist Ettore Pagano (*2003) won First Prize at the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition. The First Prize includes a cash award of €25.000 and numerous concert engagements in Belgium and abroad. Thanks to the Pau Casals Foundation, Ettore Pagano will also receive the Goffriller Casals cello on loan for a period of four years. Read More →

Two ICMA winners, violinist Julian Kainrath and pianist Josu de Solaun joined for a recording of the three Violin Sonatas by Edward Grieg. The recording took place in the Auditorio Manuel de Falla in Granada which is also the home base of the label IBS Classical, with Francisco Moya as Sound Engineer for IBS Classical. Read More →

English soprano Felicity Lott died on May 15 at the age of 79. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music from 1969 to 1973. Two years later, she made her debut at the English National Opera as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Her career took the soprano to all the major opera houses of the world. She was also one of the leading singers of her generation in the realm of art song and concert performances. Read More →

Jacqueline du Pré was only twenty when she recorded Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra. Until then, the concerto had often been treated as something of a curiosity, but du Pré’s interpretation firmly secured its place in the canon of cello literature while also setting a daunting benchmark for the young musicians who would later attempt it. The Italian cellist Ettore Pagano, winner of the 2025 ICMA–Classeek Award, recently played it with the Poznań Philharmonic and emerged from that challenge with ease. Iga Batog reports. Read More →

The International Classical Music Awards promote both well-established artists and young musicians at the starting point of their career. Those are also represented in the annual ICMA Gala, which is available at the Deutsche Welle YouTube channel. Here is a short presentation video realized by Deutsche Welle: Read More →

Last Sunday in Copenhagen, the winner of the 2025 ICMA Discovery Award, Can Sarac, performed with the Danish Chamber Orchestra under the baton of ICMA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Adam Fischer. ICMA Board Member Frauke Adrians reports. Read More →

At the ICMA awards ceremony in Bamberg, Salvatore Pichireddu from Naxos received the Symphonic Music trophy. Paavo Järvi won this award for his recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich. The conductor could not be present due to other commitments. The maestro now is the proud recipient of this trophy which was sent to him. Read More →

As part of the ICMA Young Artist Awards Network, the young Turkish pianist Can Saraç, winner of the 2025 Discovery Award, made a guest appearance with the Westdeutsche Sinfonia in Leverkusen. Remy Franck reports. Read More →

The International Classical Music organized their annual Award Ceremony and Gala at the Concert Hall of Bamberger Symphoniker in Bamberg. The Award Ceremony was hosted by ICMA President Remy Franck and Secretary General Nicola Cattò. The trophies were presented by the ICMA Jury members. Read More →