Vasily Petrenko awarded Gramophone Artist of the Year 2017

Oslo Philharmonic's chief conductor Vasily Petrenko received the prestigous «Artist of the Year» award at the annual Gramophone Awards ceremony on Wednesday night.

Written by Fred-Olav Vatne

Gramophone Awards are awarded to classical musicians from all over the world. This year's award ceremony took place in London on Wednesday evening. The «Artist of the Year» award is voted for by the general public, who chose from ten nominated artists.

Read about the winners: Gramophone Awards 2017 Full Report

Read about the nominees: Gramophone Artist of the Year 2017

Vasily Petrenko was the only conductor among the ten nominees, and Gramophone gave this explanation for the nomination:

"When someone can take on two of the most performed symphonies in the repertoire (Tchaikovsky’s Nos 4 and 6, alongside the less-often encountered No 3) and make them sound entirely new – and astoundingly original – then it’s time to sit up. Vasily Petrenko, installed in Oslo as well as with his beloved Liverpool orchestra, is certainly on the ascent, and his way with Russian repertoire remains enormously compelling."