Award Winners and Nominees

2019

Myrtle & Rose Myrtle & Rose
Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Tenor Kyle Stegall and fortepianist Eric Zivian perform Robert Schumann's two Liederkreis song cycles, as well as five lieder by Clara Schumann. Eric's fortepiano was made by Franz Rausch in 1842, the year after the Liederkreis were both written!

Label: Avie Records
Catalog Number:
AV2407
Release date:
"With fresh, engaging accounts of Robert [Schumann's] two cycles...as well as impeccable engineering, there's a great deal to be enjoyed in this release."
"The performances are aided by a sympathetic recording made in the Trianon Theatre, San Jose, California, which has just the right degree of intimacy to suggest the 19th century domestic music-making of which these masterpieces represent a highpoint."

2018

Amour sans ailes Amour sans ailes (songs of Reynaldo Hahn)
Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Zachary Gordin, baritone and Bryan Nies, piano perform chansons of Reynaldo Hahn.

Composers:
Label: MSR Classics
Catalog Number:
MS1649
Release date:
"This MSR Classics release, recorded by Swineshead Productions engineer David v.R. Bowles with the ambient clarity that the music requires, restores Hahn's songs their rightful place..."

2016

Mother of Light Mother of Light
Co-Produced, Engineered, Mastered

Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano performing Armenian hymns to the virgin Mary. Backed by the Coro Vox Aeterna (Dr. Anna Hamre, conductor), cellist Ani Aznavoorian, vocalists (Siroun Kojakian and Marie-Jean Zaatar, and percussionist Dr. Ishkhan Bayrakdarian, these compelling arrangements by Serouj Kradjian will transport the listener into a sacred space.

Label: Delos Music Productions
Catalog Number:
DE3521
Release date:
"Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral, 2018"
"The usual superb quality of Delos recordings only enhances the beauty of the experience."
Schumann Piano Quintet - Märchenbilder - Fünf Stücke im Volkston Piano Quintet, Märchenbilder, Fünf Stücke im Volkston
Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Benvenue Fortepiano Trio (with Jodi Levitz, viola and Carla Moore, violin) perform Robert Schumann's Märchenbilder, Fünf Stücke im Volkston and the Piano Quintet, op. 44.

Composers:
Label: Avie Records
Catalog Number:
AV2365
Release date:
"The playing is captured well and sympathetically by the sound engineer..."
Du Fay: Les Messes A Teneur Les Messes à Teneur
Mixed, Mastered

Performed by the vocal ensemble Cut Circle.

Artists:
Composers:
Label: Musique en Wallonie
Catalog Number:
MEW1577-7
Release date:
"Olivier Messiaen prize for the best choral recording"
– Académie du Disque Lyrique, France
"Editor's Choice"
– Gramophone Magazine
"Diapason d'Or"
– Diapason magazine

2013

8 Vivaldi bassoon concerti - Nadinia Mackie Jackson 8 bassoon concerti
Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered

Nadina Mackie Jackson, bassoon; Nicholas McGegan OBE, music director and harpsichord/organ; Aislinn Nosky and Julia Wedman, violins; David Rose, viola; Raphaël Dubé, cello; Dominic Girard, bass, Lucas Harris, theorbo and guitar.

Composers:
Label: MSR Classics
Catalog Number:
MS1451
Release date:
"All of this has been recorded optimally by producer/engineer David Bowles at the Glenn Gould Studio of the CBC in Toronto."
"Winner of "Best Classical Album" and "Instrumentalist of the Year"."

2012

American Flute Quintets American Flute Quintets
Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Carol Wincenc, flute; Kevin Lawrence and Carolyn Stuart, violin; Sheila Browne, viola; Brooks Whitehouse, cello perform premiere recordings of Joan Tower's "Rising" and Arthur Foote's "Scherzo". The other works on this recording are Arthur Foote's "A Night Piece" and Amy Beach's "Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet".

Label: Bridge Records
Catalog Number:
BRIDGE 9373
Release date:

2011

Vivaldi Four Seasons Four Seasons
Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" and three violin concerti (B-flat major, RV277, "Il Favorito" and "La Favorita"). Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan OBE, music director. Ms. Blumenstock performs on a violin made by Andrea Guarneri in 1660. This was recorded at the Scoring Stage at Skywalker Sound.

Composers:
Label: Philharmonia Baroque Productions
Catalog Number:
PBP-03
Release date:
"Everything about it—from the unique harmonic structures of the period instruments to the immediacy of its sound—is superb."
"..superlative stereo sound...[with] good tonal balance and transparency...multi-miked, but well-mixed."
"Optimal performance and recording make this new version of one of the most recorded classical compositions a must for connoisseurs and neophytes."
"Elizabeth Blumenstock is the soloist, and she is as fearless as she is accomplished. Sonics are perfect. Wow – another Four Seasons. I mean it: Wow."
"Recording engineer David v.R. Bowles has once again faithfully captured every measure of art, breath taken and string pretested to produce an engaging 'you are in the thick of it' result."
"I had about half a dozen recordings of The Four Seasons on hand for comparison...they all sounded glassier, softer, rougher, or less clear as the case may be than the Philharmonia Baroque recording, which outshone them all."
Haydn Symphonies 88, 101, 104 Haydn Symphonies 88, 101, and 104
Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan OBE, music director Haydn - Symphonies no. 104 "London", 88 and 101 "Clock" from live performances.

Label: Philharmonia Baroque Productions
Catalog Number:
PBP-02
Release date:
"I have been so impressed with it, it's been absolutely first class... This is a great record... These live performances...are knockouts. I really recommend that you get this disc. Full of color and energy, with tons of character... and even some warmth to the string tone."
"The fact that the performances were caught on the wing, in clear, truthful sound, seals the deal. Highly recommended."
"No hesitations over the live recording engineered by David v. R. Bowles, a former member of the orchestra, who brings a tutored ear to the task."
"The recordings...were beautifully produced and engineered by David v. R. Bowles."

2000

Scarlatti Cantatas volume III Scarlatti Cantatas volume III
Produced, Edited

Brian Asawa (alto) and Nicholas McGegan OBE directing the Arcadian Academy (Elizabeth Blumenstock and Lisa Weiss, violins; Phoebe Carrai, cello; David Tayler, lute, theorbo and guitar and Nicholas McGegan OBE, harpsichord). Repertoire: Nel silenzio comune; Ferma Omai; Clori vezzosa, e bella; Piango sospiro e peno; Non ò qual più m'ingombra.

Label: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / BMG Classics, Conifer Classics
Catalog Number:
75605-51325-2
Release date:
"Choice of the Month: the quality...is no longer diminished by the recording technique, but reinforced. 10/10 Artistic quality, 10/10 Sound quality, 10/10 Overall impression"
"****/****"
– BBC Music Magazine

1997

Scarlatti Cantatas volume I Scarlatti Cantatas volume I
Produced, Edited

Christine Brandes (soprano) and Nicholas McGegan OBE directing the Arcadian Academy (Elizabeth Blumenstock and Lisa Weiss, violins; Mary Springfels, viola da gamba; David Tayler, lute, theorbo and guitar and Nicholas McGegan OBE, harpsichord). Repertoire: Già lusingato appieno dai Zeffiri; Ebra d'amor fuggia "Arianna": Poi che riseppe Orfeo; Bella madre dei fiori.

Label: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / BMG Classics
Catalog Number:
75605-51293-2
Release date:
"Unusually beautiful examples of Scarlatti's refined yet expressive art... a treasurable addition to the catalogue."
– Fanfare
"Top Five Choices – *****/***** (highest rating) Revelatory... Lifts the lid on one of music's best kept secrets... Music and performance to stimulate the most jaded of taste buds."
– Classic CD

2020

Chanticleer - Live from London Love, Always: Chanticleer in Voces8's "Live from London" series
Engineered, Edited

Chanticleer's first digital performance for streaming video during Covid, made for the Voces8 "Live from London" series and filmed in a converted brick warehouse in California.

Artists:
Label: VOCES8 Foundation, Tritone Media
Release date:
"Silver Telly award in the non-broadcast music category (their highest honor)."
"Every iota of the cathedral-like resonance was exploited by the singers...which reverberated with embracing visceral power. The textural graininess of the lower tessitura showcas[ed] both the colour of the low voices and the complex movements of the inner lines... a wonderful cushion of vocal sound... Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)’...highlight[ed] both the rich layers of the collective sound and the beauty of the individual voices that stepped forward through the glowing texture."

2007

Bacchanale Bacchanale
Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Performed by Guy Few, trumpet and Nadina Mackie Jackson, bassoon; The Toronto Chamber Orchestra conducted by Kevin Mallon. Repertoire: Hindemith - Concerto for trumpet, bassoon and strings; Mathieu Lussier - Double Concerto for trumpet, bassoon and strings, Bacchanale, Bassango and Spring Lullaby; Shostakovich - Waltz from Jazz Suite no. 1 Dance from Jazz Suite no. 2; Vincent Persichetti - The Hollow Men.

Label: MSR Classics
Catalog Number:
MS1201
Release date:
"Classical Orchestral Album of the year"
– Just Plain Folks Awards 2009

2001

The Pleasures and Follies of Love The Pleasures and Follies of Love
Produced, Co-Engineered, Edited, Mastered

Sung by Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano and accompanied by David Tayler, lute and theorbo, Hanneke van Proosdij, harpsichord and organ and Katherine Kyme, baroque violin – songs by James Hart, Robert Johnson, John Dowland, Henry Purcell, Nicholas Lanier, John Blow and Anon.

Label: Koch International Classics
Catalog Number:
KIC-CD-7527
Release date:
"Record of the Month: When such outstanding production meets equally outstanding musicians, the result should be no surprise."
– Alte Musik Aktuell, August-September 2002