New York, N.Y. (October 13, 2023) — Preeminent Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen has been named 2024 Artist of the Year as part of the 63rd annual Musical America Awards, Stephanie Challener, Musical America Worldwide publisher, announced today.
The Awards, which recognize classical music artists and leaders who made outstanding contributions to the performing arts, will also honor Composer of the Year Kevin Puts, Conductor of the Year Sir Antonio Pappano, Instrumentalist of the Year Anthony McGill, and Ensemble of the Year The Crossing.
“Each of these remarkable talents have, in his or her unique way brought entirely new perspectives and vistas to the performing arts. It is our honor to recognize these great artists and their contributions,” said Challener.
Artist of the Year Lise Davidsen
Lise Davidsen (Photo by James Hole)
Lise Davidsen has taken the world by storm in recent years with acclaimed performances from New York to London. Blessed with a sumptuous instrument that can fill the largest opera house, she’s been described as the voice of a lifetime, although she still finds it a struggle to avoid being pigeonholed as simply a Wagnerian singer. Adopting an analytical and methodical approach to her craft, she likes to think through all the possibilities and be prepared for the unexpected. But when she lays herself bare in front of two thousand people, the results are electrifying.
Composer of the Year Kevin Puts
Kevin Puts (Photo by David White)
Kevin Puts imbues his symphonies with the narrative logic of opera, while his operas are cinematic in scope. The St. Louis-born composer’s latest opera, The Hours, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2022. Industry approval has earned him a Grammy and a Pulitzer, while audiences respond enthusiastically to music that has a way of touching the heart as well as the mind. Although minimalism had a profound influence on his early style, these days the composer he most admires is Mozart. A self-confessed softie, his music, he says, is designed to speak to our better natures.
Conductor of the Year Sir Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano (Photo by Musacchio Ianniello)
Sir Antonio Pappano is one of the artform’s most passionate advocates. Currently music director at London’s Royal Opera House, next year, his symphonic credentials will be on display as the incoming chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Born into a family of Italian immigrants, he grew up playing piano for his father’s singing students. With hard work baked into his DNA, he’s a fiercely driven, hands-on, practical musician and a mentor for some of the very greatest singers. And although he gets the very best results, his motto is that you’re only as good as your last concert.
Instrumentalist of the Year Anthony McGill
Anthony McGill (Photo by Todd Rosenberg)
Anthony McGill is used to making waves, whether playing President Obama’s inauguration or breaking glass ceilings as the New York Philharmonic’s first Black principal. A go-to soloist for composers wanting to write for clarinet, he’s recently premiered new works by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Anthony Davis. In the summer of 2020, his hashtag #TakeTwoKnees video response to the murder of George Floyd drew tributes from colleagues across the arts world. Post pandemic, the demand for solo performances, social justice work, and commitments as an educator and role model for young hopefuls mean he’s busier than ever.
Ensemble of the Year The Crossing
The Crossing (Photo by John C Hawthorne)
The Crossing is one of the most innovative choirs on the planet; not only is the Philadelphia-based ensemble committed to issues of social justice, but the music they sing is brand spanking new. Conductor Donald Nally has crafted the group’s distinctive sound to create something ideal at revealing the interplay of vocal lines. Trying things out and an appetite for risk have seen them grow into a collective that has each other’s backs. Under Nally, their performances have increasingly embraced theatrical elements, while their recordings have notched up a staggering three Grammy wins in under 20 years.
The announcement of the 2024 honorees coincides with the release of the digital edition of the 2024 Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts which, in addition to its comprehensive industry listings, pays homage in its editorial pages to each of the artists honored at the Awards.
For more than half a century, Musical America has recognized each year’s stellar performers with its coveted awards. Past recipients, representing the pinnacle of artistic achievement during the last five decades, include Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Vladimir Horowitz, Beverly Sills, George Balanchine, Arthur Rubinstein, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Marilyn Horne, André Previn, Wynton Marsalis, Yo-Yo Ma, Audra McDonald, Peter Sellars, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Last year, Musical America honored violinist Hilary Hahn as artist of the year, Jessie Montgomery as composer of the year, Semyon Bychkov as conductor of the year, and Yuval Sharon as director of the year.
MUSICAL AMERICA
Founded as a weekly newspaper in 1898, Musical America through the years has appeared in a variety of formats. Today, it is both the International Directory of the Performing Arts and MusicalAmerica.com. The annual Directory, known as the “bible” of the industry, features over 14,000 detailed listings of worldwide arts organizations, with over 8,000 artists indexed both alphabetically and categorically. The first Directory was published in 1960, which is also when the tradition of choosing a Musician of the Year began. Awards for Instrumentalist, Conductor, Composer, and Vocalist of the Year date from 1992; Ensemble of the Year from 1995; Collaborative Pianist of the Year from 1998; Educator of the Year from 2001.
Returning to Musical America’s newspaper roots, MusicalAmerica.com was launched in December 1998 and delivers performing arts news, analysis, and insight by national and international correspondents around the world. Susan Elliott is editor of MusicalAmerica.com‘s news, special reports, and One to One interviews.
