Awards for Kalevi Aho albums

Kalevi Aho’s latest album has won the prestigious International Classical Music Award in the contemporary music category. The recording features the Moonlight Concerto for viola and percussion, as well as the Alto Flute Concerto, performed by the orchestras of Mikkeli and Lahti. The soloists are Hiyoli Togawa, Alexej Gerassimez, and Sharon Bezaly. The awards will be presented on 18 March in Bamberg, Germany, and the composer has been invited to attend the gala.
Aho’s music has also received recognition with other recent releases. Last year, an album featuring his string quartets was honoured with the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis 2025 as one of the year’s finest recordings. On the album, the Stenhammar Quartet performs Aho’s first three quartets. The award covers a wide range of musical genres and is among Central Europe’s most respected distinctions in the field. Both award‑winning recordings were released by BIS Records.
In addition, a recording by clarinetist Julian Bliss — featuring clarinet concertos by Kalevi Aho and Magnus Lindberg — is one of three finalists for the BBC Music Magazine Award in the Concerto category. The winner will be chosen through a public online vote here: https://www.classical-music.com/awards/bbc-music-magazine-awards-2026-vote-now