The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, and conductor Grete Pedersen have been awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’Année for the album Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works.
Presented by the French magazine Diapason, the award is among the most prestigious distinctions in classical music.
This is the choir’s third time receiving the prize, following Bach: The Motets (2018) and Luciano Berio: Coro (2020).
The 2024 award is in the choral category. Released on Sony Classical in April, the album highlights an often overlooked side of Franz Liszt: his spiritual and contemplative musical world. At its centre is Via Crucis, a moving passion for choir and piano.
Recorded in Ris Church in August 2024, the project demanded extraordinary focus.
– Via Crucis is an inward meditation on suffering and faith, the music speaks softly, moves slowly, and seeks no virtuosity. In its restraint lies a powerful, deeply human expression, says Grete Pedersen.
The album also includes Consolations and selections from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses.
Leif Ove Andsnes notes: – It was inspiring to be surrounded by a choir of this calibre. The precision and attention to detail that Grete and the singers bring to this music are essential.
The recording marks Pedersen’s final album as the choir’s Artistic Director. Soloists are Olle Holmgren, Øystein Steinsheim, Mari Askvik, Markus Djuve, Ditte Marie Bræin, and Magnhild Korsvik.