Classic BRIT Awards 2012 - nominations live blog

6 September 2012, 12:00 | Updated: 15 December 2016, 11:50

Get behind the scenes updates from one of the biggest nights in classical music, the Classic BRIT Awards 2012 launch. Join us for up-to-the-minute announcements as they happen - before the winners are announced in October.

Welcome to the Classic FM live blog! We'll be giving you live updates from the Classic BRIT Awards 2012 launch event at the Savoy Hotel in London. Keep refreshing the page to get our latest updates.

Be sure to join us here from 6.30pm for the latest news as we celebrate the achievements of this year's best classical artitsts.

7.19pm And it's all over! Barry McCann wishes the audience goodnight. "We look forward to welcoming you all at the Royal Albert Hall. Thank you, goodnight."

7.18pm What a beautiful voice, the whole audience are very impressed - there's a lot of well-deserved applause.

7.15pm "Would you please welcome the wonderfully talented (and, also, incredibly good looking!) Noah Stewart!" He's on stage now, singing 'Deep River'.

7.12pm Margherita thanks all the classical artists. "On behalf of all the team at Classic FM, if I could thank everyone in the room for giving the station such great music to play over the past 20 years. A massive thank you to you for making it possible."

7.11pm Classic FM have been honoured with our very own Classical BRIT Award! Darren Henley is on stage to collect the award, celebrating 20 years of the world's greatest music.

7.08pm

International Artist of the Year

Andrea Bocelli

Lifetime Achievement

John Williams

7.06pm

Classic FM Album of the Year

• André Rieu
  And The Waltz Goes On
  Decca
• Andrea Bocelli
  Concerto — One Night In Central Park
  Decca
• Band Of HM Royal Marines
  Summon The Heroes
  Decca
• Band Of The Coldstream Guards
  Pride Of The Nation
  Decca
• Craig Ogden
  Summertime
  Classic FM
• Hayley Westenra
  Paradiso
  Decca
• Laura Wright
  The Last Rose
  Decca
• Miloš Karadaglić
  The Guitar
  Deutsche Grammophon
• Noah Stewart
  Noah
  Decca
• Russell Watson
  Anthems
  Sony Classical

7.05pm

Critics' Award

• Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle
  Bruckner Symphony No.9
  EMI Classics
• Benjamin Grosvenor
  Chopin/Liszt/Ravel
  Decca
• BBC Symphony Orchestra/Belohlavek
  Martinu: The 6 Symphonies
  Onyx

7.04pm

Classic BRITs Single of the Year

• Adiemus
  Adiemus
  Virgin
• Royal Choral Society, BBC Concert Orchestra/Wordsworth
  Jerusalem
  Decca
• Della Jones, Royal Choral Society, BBC Concert Orchestra/Wordsworth
  Rule Britannia
  Universal Classics
• Ennio Morricone
  Gabriel's Oboe (The Mission — OST)
  EMI Music
• Hans Zimmer
  Time (Inception — OST)
  Warner Music
• Klaus Badelt
  He's a Pirate (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl — OST)
  Walt Disney Records/EMI Records
• London Philharmonic Orchestra/Parry
  Adagio for Strings (Barber)
  X5
• Luciano Pavarotti
  Nessun Dorma
  Decca
• Ludovico Einaudi
  I Giorni
  Decca
• Military Wives/Gareth Malone
  Wherever You Are
  Decca

7.03pm

Composer

• Ennio Morricone
  Paradiso
  Decca
• John Williams
  War Horse/The Adventures Of TinTin
  Sony Classical
• Paul Mealor
  A Tender Light
  Decca

7.02pm

Mastercard's Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award

• Benjamin Grosvenor
  Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Chopin, Liszt & Ravel
  Decca
• Miloš Karadaglić
  Latino
  Deutsche Grammophon
• Noah Stewart
  Noah
  Decca

7.00pm

Male Artist:

• Andrea Bocelli
  Concerto — One Night In Central Park
  Decca
• Lang Lang
  Liszt — My Piano Hero
  Sony Classical
• Vasily Petrenko
  Shostakovich/Symphony No. 1 & 3
  Shostakovich/Symphony No. 6 & 12
  Shostakovich/Symphony No. 2 & 15
  Naxos
  Rachmaninov/Piano Concertos 1 & 4
  Avie
  Rachmaninov/Symphony No. 3
  EMI Classics

6.58pm The nominations are in!

Female Artist:

• Alison Balsom
  Seraph
  EMI Classics
• Joyce DiDonato
  Diva Divo — Opera Arias
  Virgin Classics
• Nicola Benedetti
  Italia
  Decca

6.56pm You can hear a pin drop here - what a beautiful performance.

6.50pm Amy Dickson's taken to the stage to perform Chopin's Nocturne No. 2 on the saxophone. Beautiful.

6.48pm Apparently this year "there will also be a surprise and unique collaboration performance..." - but it's all top secret for the time being!

6.45pm "One of the most recognisable and best-loved voices on British radio" - Margherita's on the stage to announce the nominations. "It's going to be a really, really special show this year."

6.40pm We're reminiscing about last year's Classic BRITs ceremony with a video. Music, photos, performances - it's all coming back to us! Alfie Boe's on the screen, singing 'One Day More', as we speak.

6.35pm Amore are singing on stage now. Fantastic!

6.30pm The lights are down low, the classical artists are all assembled - and we're ready to start! Drum roll please...

6.29pm  A beautiful performance of 'Happy Birthday' from Amore - in honour of our 20th birthday! What a treat, thank you.

6.26pm  And now it's Milos' turn to be interviewed. Have a look.

6.21pm Lucy's got Gareth Malone on the red carpet. "I always thought I would really miss the wives... but actually I've seen them at so many recent appearances!"

6.18pm Military Wives on the success of their single: "We can't get over it. We don't think we ever will."

6.15pm Milos is here! Looking unsurprisingly dapper in a silver jacket...

6.10pm Gareth Malone and Paul Mealor, both on the red carpet at once! Things are hotting up here at the Savoy.

6.05pm Laura's chin-wagging with our own Lucy Coward:"I got to meet the Queen a few times this year, so my feet haven't quite hit the ground yet!"

5.58pm And Laura Wright's on the red carpet in a long black dress. Lovely!

5.51pm Saxophonist Amy Dickson's here on the red carpet. And she's followed by Gareth Malone, who's just arrived in the building!

5.49pm "People are buying more classical albums than ever before, so it's a great time to be involved," said Margherita.

5.47pm Margherita Taylor's looking stunning on the red carpet - she's chatting to newsreader Lucy Coward.

5.42pm Amore are here! Classic FM's Lucy Coward is chatting to them on the red carpet.

5.33pm Anticipation is mounting, but we're being serenaded by some great classical tunes. At the moment it's Andrea Bocelli singing Schubert's 'Ave Maria'. Have a listen.

5.29pm One minute to go until some of the world's best classical artists arrive.

5.21pm Classic FM's Margherita Taylor has just arrived! She'll be on stage later this evening...

5pm We've just arrived at the Classic BRITS - and the Savoy Hotel is looking very pretty indeed!