Prizewinners Announced at the 2023 Opus Klassik Awards

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Bruno Delepelaire were among the winners at Germany's most prestigious classical music awards

The Opus Klassik Awards, which are Germany's foremost classical music prizes, recently named their prizewinners in anticipation of the awards ceremony in October — to be held at the St Elisabeth-Kirche and the Konzarthaus Berlin.

Previously named the Echo Klassik Awards, the Opus Klassik Awards have been running since 1994 and recognize excellence at the highest level in classical music.

A number of string players received awards, including Anne-Sophie Mutter — who was named Instrumentalist of the Year for her recording of John Williams's Violin Concerto No. 2. In addition, French cellist Bruno Delepelaire was named Young Talent of the Year for his recording of cello concerti by Carl Friedrich Abel.

The full list of winners is as follows:

• Female Singer of the Year - Asmik Grigorian
• Male Singer of the Year - Jakub Józef Orliński
• Instrumentalists of the Year - Víkingur Ólafsson, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martynas Levickis
• Conductor of the Year - Jakub Hrůša
• Composer of the Year - Konstantia Gourzi
• Young Talent of the Year - Jonathan Tetelman, Julia Bullock, Max Volbers, Mao Fujita, Bruno Delepelaire, Tarmo Peltokoski
• Ensembles/Orchestras of the Year - Wiener Philharmoniker, Sächsische Bläserphilharmonie
• Solo Vocal - Regula Mühlemann, Andrè Schuen
• Solo Instrumental - Bertrand Chamayou, Sean Shibe & Rachel Podger
• Concerto - Yuja Wang, Mahan Esfahani, Xavier de Maistre, Mayumi Hirasaki
• Chamber Music - Tetzlaff Trio, Hohenstaufen Ensemble/Robert Kahn, Maria Ioudenitch/Kenny Broberg
• Classical Without Borders - Abel Selaocoe, Eldbjørg Hemsing
• Orchestral - hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt/Constantin Trinks, Los Angeles Philharmonic/Susanna Mälkki
• Choral - Capella de la Torre
• Opera - Freiburger Barockorchester, René Jacobs et al
• World Premiere Recording - Heinz Holliger's Lunea
• Video-Clip - David Orlowsky 'Eileen'
• Editorial Achievement - Holger Groschopp, Adele Bitter
• Innovative Listening Experience - Christian Zacharias, Werner Dabringhaus
• Film Music - Ryuichi Sakamoto
• New Classical - Gabriel Adorján
• Innovation Award for Sustainability - Tanja Tetzlaff

The jury comprised Dr Kerstin Schüssler-Bach, Michael Becker, Michael Brüggemann, Elmar Krekeler, Tobias Feilen, Günter Hänssler, Stephanie Haase, Kleopatra Sofroniou, and Raliza Nikolov.

The awards will be presented in the Konzerthaus Berlin on October 8, 2023. The event will include performances from Anne-Sophie Mutter and Jakub Józef Orliński, accompanied by the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and conducted by Joana Mallwitz. You can purchase tickets directly from the Konzerthaus here.