Interviews

The winner of this year’s Discovery Award, the young Turkish pianist Can Saraç (b. 2007), began his studies at the age of five at the piano department of the State Conservatory of Istanbul University and has been continuing his career for the past three years at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. As a scholarship student at the Liechtenstein International Music Academy, he regularly participated in the Academy’s intensive training and concerts. As one of those rare natural talents on the piano, Can Saraç regularly performs solo and chamber music concerts in Turkey and abroad. The brilliant young pianist recently spoke to Hale Tetik of the classical music magazine Andante, member of the ICMA Jury.

You became the winner of the ICMA Discovery Award for the year 2025, one of the most prestigious awards in the classical music world. How did this award make you feel?
First of all, I felt incredibly happy and privileged to be chosen among many talented young artists by so many esteemed professionals in the classical music world. I am very proud to be a part of the ICMA family whose members include the best classical musicians. It is also a great responsibility but I believe this exciting responsibility will be a driving force for future achievements. Read More →

Benjamin Kruithof is one of Luxembourg’s most promising young musicians. Born in 1999, he discovered his passion for the cello early on, guided by his family of string players. His journey has taken him from studies in Luxembourg, Maastricht, Cologne, and Berlin to the renowned Kronberg Academy. Winner of prestigious competitions like the Georges Enescu Competition, Kruithof is also a 2024 ECHO Rising Star. In conversation with Lex Kauffmann  from the luxembourgish ICMA jury member Radio 100,7, he reflects on his career and the classical music world today.

Benjamin Kruithof, you were born into a musical family and started playing the cello at the Conservatoire du Nord (Luxembourg) at around the age of five. How did you become interested in the cello?
It’s actually not such a spectacular story. A very good friend of the family, Raju Vidali, played tennis with my father once a week. I thought he was super cool. He plays the cello and is a professor at the Conservatoire. Read More →

The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA), often referred to as the ‘Oscars of classical music’ and among the most prestigious worldwide, announced their 2025 winners on January 14th.The award in the Symphonic Music category was claimed by conductor Cristian Măcelaru and the Orchestre National de France for the album featuring the two Romanian Rhapsodies and the first three symphonies by George Enescu, an album released by Deutsche Grammophon. Interview by ICMA Jury member Cristina Comandașu from Radio Romania Muzical.

What does this award mean to you and how do you feel about receiving it?
I am, above all, very happy for the opportunity to produce this album with Enescu’s music. This is music I have loved all my life and I have always wanted to bring it into a brighter spotlight by recording the three symphonies and the two rhapsodies. Read More →

Polish conductor Łukasz Borowicz is among the musicians honored at this year’s International Classical music Awards with the album Urlicht featuring Samuel Hasselhorn and the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra. Jakub Puchalski from the ICMA Jury member Polskie Radio Chopin made the following interview with him.

Seeing your many CDs, one can trace an idea behind them. A discovery or rediscovery of interesting, beautiful repertoire, often once well-known but later forgotten. The same one can say about your concert programs. You must be extremely hungry for new music.
My interest in unknown music started very early. Since the childhood, once I started to collect CDs. It was at elementary school in my early years. And after getting to know the standard repertoire, I started my own research to discover new composers, new pieces, new performers. Read More →

The jury of the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) presented a Lifetime Achievement Award three years ago, an Award for Mozart’s Complete Symphonies with the Danish National Chamber in 2015 and a Special Achievement Award this year to Adam Fischer, who will also conduct the ICMA Gala Concert 2025 at Tonhalle Düsseldorf on 19 March.  Máté Ur from ICMA Jury member Papageno  (Hungary) also talked with him about Haydn, the essence of true-to-the-time performance, remakes and the eternal restlessness.

In several interviews, you have said that you are not overly concerned about the prizes, but rather look to the future. What motivates you?
I’m certainly happy to be recognized for my work, but it’s very foreign to me to give my mind a rest or to settle down. I often find myself listening to my older recordings and just getting angry with myself that I should have done certain things differently, but once I let go of them, I can’t change them. In the 80s and 90s I recorded all the Haydn symphonies, and when I listen to them I get the same feeling. Read More →

The South Korean composer Unsuk Chin, whose music was featured in a recent edition of the Berliner Philharmoniker, winner in the ICMA category Contemporary Music, talks about the reasons for her art and her sources of inspiration. The interview was made by Maggie S. Lorelli for Musica, the Italian member of the ICMA jury.

Firmly rooted in Western musical culture, she has always maintained a link with the musical tradition of her country of origin, also drawing inspiration from other musical latitudes and from extra-musical artistic and cultural universes. Read More →

The ICMA – International Classical Music Awards – has named Austrian composer Christoph Ehrenfellner Composer of the Year 2025. Ursula Magnes, who represents Radio Klassik Stephansdom on the ICMA jury, asked the « rebel against intolerance » (according to the international jury) a few questions.

What was your first composition?
My opus 1 was « Amores », Ovid’s love poems for string quartet and voice. I sang the premiere in 2005 myself, improvising spontaneously and painting my own stage sets. My mother sat at a light lever at the time and we put on a fully staged performance, so to speak. People were thrilled. A first attempt and an immediate kick into the world of creation! Read More →

The recording Il Concerto Caccini by Nicolas Achten and his ensemble Scherzi Musicali for the Belgian label Ricercar follows the musical footsteps of the Caccini family. Giulio Caccini, of course, but also his daughters Francesca and Settimia. This album won the Early Music prize at the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2025. Here ois an interview with Nicolas Achten, done by the Belgian ICMA Jury member Crescendo.

Giulio Caccini is not the best-known figure of his time. What led you to devote this double disc to him?
Like many singers, I discovered Giulio Caccini through his Amarilli, mia bella, found in one of the volumes of the Arie Antiche. I must have been 12, and it was love at first sight. Read More →

Pianist Oliver Triendl wins an ICMA Special Achievement Award in 2025, the jury considering that: “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 catalogs of various labels with unmissable recordings. Over 150 recordings prove his commitment as an advocate for rarely performed classical and romantic repertoire as well as his support of contemporary composers.” Here is an interview made by Monica Isăcescu Lup from ICMA Jury Member Radio România Muzical.

The ICMA jury’s reasoning is based on the argument that you are one of the most inquiring pianists of our time. You have not chosen the comfortable path of well-known scores, but are a constant explorer in the archives, searching for valuable but rarely performed works. My first question is: what was the starting point of your explorations? What was the first discovery that led you down this path of discovering unknown works?
First of all, I feel very honored to receive this award. And it’s absolutely true that I have tried to follow this forgotten or unknown path. But it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Bach or Beethoven. But for me it’s a very important part of my life to dedicate my time, my work and my enthusiasm to these kinds of pieces and composers. Read More →