Benjamin Grosvenor’s latest recording of the Chopin concerti for Decca Classics has been awarded a Diapason d’or de l’année 2020 in the concerto category. The awards celebrate the 17 finest recordings of the year, as voted by Diapason magazine.
Speaking to Diapason, Benjamin commented: "The biggest challenge of these works is to give them all their colours, and to find a balance between expression and lightness. It’s about working your way through a deluge of notes, so that it never sounds like a study. My long discussions with the conductor Elim Chan were enriched by the spontaneity of our approach. I felt completely free to do whatever I wanted in the moment. Recording in the studio allows you to create a feeling of intimacy, to explore softer colours that are not always possible in a concert hall, where one has to worry about projection. For this album, I was able to benefit from the expertise of my technician Peter Salisbury, who understood the specificities of this repertoire. It was with this programme in mind that he prepared the piano. Thanks to the singing timbres, to the never excessive power of the instrument, I was able to best deploy all my musical ideas." For more information on this year’s awards and nominations, click HERE.