Warner Classics congratulates Erato on four Gramophone Awards, including “Label of the Year” & “Recording of the Year”
(October 2026) — Warner Classics is thrilled to announce that Erato, its sister label, was named “Label of the Year” at this week’s 2026 Gramophone Classical Music Awards. Recognizing Erato’s creative vision, distinguished artist roster, and past year of critically acclaimed releases, the award capped an exceptional night for the label, which also won two categories and “Recording of the Year,” the awards’ highest honor.
French harpsichordist and Erato artist Jean Rondeau won both “Recording of the Year” and the “Instrumental Award” for his landmark recording of the complete works of Louis Couperin. An unprecedented undertaking released to mark the 400th anniversary of the composer’s birth, the set comprises ten CDs and a DVD, bringing together some 300 works for a total 12 hours of music. Recorded on some of Europe’s oldest and rarest harpsichords and organs, the project represents “a statement of rare vision and confidence from both artist and record label” (Gramophone). Erato also achieved success in the “Piano” category, awarded to pianists Bertrand Chamayou and Leif Ove Andsnes for Schubert 4 Hands, an album of Schubert piano duets that shows the artists to be “kindred Schubertian spirits, who go directly to the music’s heart and soul” (Gramophone). Three additional Erato titles were shortlisted for category wins: Joyce DiDonato’s recording of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, for “Opera”; Quatuor Ebène and Belcea Quartet’s album of Mendelssohn and Enescu octets, for “Chamber,” and Lea Desandre and Thomas Dunford’s Songs of Passion project, for “Song.”
Chairman Emeritus of Warner Classics & Erato Alain Lanceron, who accepted the “Label of the Year” award, said:
“To be named ‘Label of the Year’ is an enormous honor 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 recognized 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 artists were represented on stage at the ceremony, with performances by Chamayou and countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. U.S. audiences can also see both Rondeau and Andsnes in live performance this fall, when the harpsichordist tours a solo recital program of music by Louis Couperin and other French Baroque composers to New York’s Carnegie Hall (Nov 6), Berkeley’s Cal Performances (Nov 8), San Diego (Nov 11), Ellicott City, MD (Nov 21), and Boston’s Gardner Museum (Nov 22), and the Norwegian pianist performs Britten’s Concerto with the Detroit Symphony (Oct 31 & Nov 1), followed by Brahms’s Second with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Nov 6–8).
Erato is celebrated worldwide for its adventurous artistic vision, elegance, and commitment to musical discovery. Founded in 1953 and made a sister label of Warner Classics in 2013, Erato boasts a catalogue featuring landmark recordings by 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 such outstanding musicians as Alexandre Tharaud, Diana Damrau, Edgar Moreau, Gautier Capuçon, Jakub Józef Orliński, Sabine Devieilhe, Thibaut Garcia, and Huw Montague Rendall, among many others.
Following the Gramophone Classical Music Awards on October 7, the celebration of extraordinary classical recordings continues into the upcoming awards season. Ahead of the 69th Annual Grammy Awards, Warner Classics highlights seven acclaimed releases from this past year.
Pene Pati: Serenata a Napoli (Sep 26, 2025; Warner Classics)
Category:
- Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
“One of opera’s most-watched new stars” (Associated Press), Samoan tenor Pene Pati is joined by eight instrumentalists from the Il Pomo d’Oro orchestra for a collection drawn from the golden age of Neapolitan song. Hailing the album as “a revelation,” Gramophone magazine concluded: “Serenata a Napoli has been an unexpected and joyous experience to review. I give it the warmest of welcomes.”
Gautier Capuçon: Gaïa (Nov 7, 2025; Warner Classics)
Categories:
- Best Classical Compendium
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance (for the track “Barnes: Life in Sunshine”)
- Best Classical Instrumental Solo (for the track “Dessner: Towards the Forest”)
“Gaïa is an album dedicated to the Earth, inspired by its beauty, fragility, and strength,” says French cellist Gautier Capuçon. On his new recording, the four-time ECHO Klassik award-winner performs 17 world premiere recordings by 16 contemporary composers. Showcasing diverse new works by innovative contemporary composers, ranging from such luminaries as Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, and Joe Hisaishi to emerging talents like Abel Selaocoe and Ayanna Witter-Johnson, the result is “an inspired new album of world premiere recordings” (All Classical Radio).
Jean Rondeau: Louis Couperin: The Complete Works (Nov 14, 2025; Erato)
Categories:
- Best Classical Compendium
- Best Recording Package
See above.
Bertrand Chamayou, Leif Ove Andsnes: Schubert: 4 Hands (Nov 21, 2025; Erato)
- Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
See above.
Lyyra: Rising (March 27, 2026; Warner Classics)
Categories:
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
- Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella (for the track “America”)
The only U.S.-based all-women a cappella ensemble of its kind, Lyyra made its album debut with Rising. Featuring the first performances of new arrangements made especially for the group, the recording combines music by singer-songwriters, including Vienna Teng, Donny Hathaway, Simon & Garfunkel, and Billie Eilish, with that of composers ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Amy Beach and Leslie Savoy Burrs, as well as such traditional favorites as “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” In a five-star review, Choir and Organ welcomed the new release as “an entrancing debut,” explaining: “It’s their masterful sense of ensemble which grips the ear and doesn’t let go.”
Thomas Bangalter: Mirage (June 5, 2026; Warner Classics)
Categories:
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition
- Best Classical Instrumental Solo
A vast and atmospheric piece of electronic minimalism conceived as a ritual for 16 dancers in eight movements, Mirage was created by musician, composer, and Daft Punk cofounder Thomas Bangalter in collaboration with choreographer Damien Jalet and contemporary artist Kohei Nawa. Describing the results as “a cohesive work that blurs the boundaries between the concert hall and the dance floor,” mxdwn.com pronounced Mirage “a complete artistic statement.”
Nathalie Stutzmann – Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 (July 24, 2026; Warner Classics)
Category:
- Best Orchestral Performance
Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann leads the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, a cornerstone of the repertoire that few women before her have ever recorded. MusicWeb International wrote: “Stutzmann’s care for balance and transparency comes through unimpeded. I like everything about this performance; the Stutzmann-Atlanta partnership is proving most fruitful.”