- Jean Rondeau takes Gramophone’s highest honour, Recording of the Year, for his landmark complete Louis Couperin project, which also wins the Instrumental Award
- Erato also wins the Piano Award with Chamayou and Andsnes’s Schubert 4 Hands
[L-R: Ute Fesquet, Markus Petersen, Jamie Moran, Sean Gross, Aude de Jamblinne, Alain Lanceron, Sue Johns, Susanne McBurney accept Label of the Year Award for Erato (c) Jamie Hodgskin]
Erato has been named Label of the Year at the 2026 Gramophone Classical Music Awards (7 October), capping an exceptional night for the label with two category wins and Recording of the Year, the Award’s ultimate recording accolade. The Award recognises Erato’s creative vision, distinguished roster of artists and a year of critically acclaimed releases.
French harpsichordist Jean Rondeau took Recording of the Year for his landmark recording of the complete works of Louis Couperin, having also won the Instrumental Award. An unprecedented undertaking released to mark the 400th anniversary of Couperin’s birth, the 10CD + 1DVD project brings together 300 works and 12 hours of music, recorded on some of Europe’s oldest and rarest harpsichords and organs. Gramophone described it as “a statement of rare vision and confidence from both artist and record label”.
There was further success for Erato in the Piano category, where Bertrand Chamayou and Leif Ove Andsnes won for Schubert 4 Hands, their album of Schubert piano duets. Gramophone described the winning performers as “Kindred Schubertian spirits, who go directly to the music’s heart and soul.”
Three further recordings were shortlisted this year in categories for Opera (Joyce DiDonato’s recording of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas), Chamber (Quatuor Ebene and Belcea Quartet’s recording of Mendelssohn and Enescu Octets) and Song (Lea Desandre and Thomas Dunford’s Songs of Passion project).
Erato’s selection as Label of the Year, together with Recording of the Year, gave the label two of the evening’s most significant honours, recognising both the individual achievements of its artists and the label’s wider commitment to ambitious recording projects and distinctive artistic collaborations.
Erato artists were also represented on stage at the ceremony, with performances from pianist Bertrand Chamayou and countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.
Alain Lanceron, Chairman Emeritus of Warner Classics & Erato, collected the Award and said: “To be named Label of the Year is an enormous honour and a wonderful recognition of our artists and the teams who work alongside them. For that recognition to be crowned by Jean Rondeau’s extraordinary exploration of Louis Couperin being chosen as Recording of the Year, from among all the category winners, makes this an especially significant year for Erato. We are equally proud to see Chamayou and Andsnes’s Schubert 4 Hands recognised with the Piano Award. These are very different projects, but both reflect the individual vision of remarkable artists and the close creative partnerships at the heart of Erato. We are immensely grateful to all our artists and to our teams around the world who help bring their work to audiences.”
Erato is celebrated worldwide for its adventurous artistic vision, elegance, and commitment to musical discovery. Founded in 1953, and a sister label of Warner Classics since 2013, Erato’s catalogue features landmark recordings from artists including Marie-Claire Alain, Maurice André, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Jean-François Paillard, Scott Ross, Pierre Boulez, Ton Koopman, William Christie, Claudio Scimone, and Daniel Barenboim. Building on this distinguished heritage, Erato’s current roster includes outstanding musicians such as Alexandre Tharaud, Diana Damrau, Edgar Moreau, Gautier Capuçon, Jakub Józef Orliński, Sabine Devieilhe, Thibaut Garcia, Huw Montague Rendall, and many others.
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards were presented in London on Wednesday 7 October. The annual Awards, launched in 1977, recognise outstanding achievements in classical recording and are widely regarded as among the most influential classical recorded-music prizes.
