The Gramophone Awards - The deadly serious and the absolutely ridiculous ones

Here are the winners of the 2004 Gramophone Awards.

And here are the nominations and the winner of the Readers' Choice Gramophone-Style Award DISC OF THE YEAR!. On why "Elgar: Cello Concerto; Sea Pictures; Cockaigne Overture. Jacqueline Du Pre (cello), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo soprano), Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli (EMI)" is the ultimate winner:

Yes, we couldn’t help ourselves. This recording has everything a Gramophone reader could want: Britain’s second most tragic female artist (after Kathleen Ferrier, of course); Britain’s second most noble sounding female vocalist (after Kathleen Ferrier, of course); Britain’s most beloved alcoholic conductor; two, count ‘em, two British orchestras, and Britain’s own favorite record label. As long as EMI continues to reissue this recording every six months or so, it will deserve to be Disc of the Year. Nothing else even remotely compares.

But more seriously, as The Gramophone rightly puts it in a feature article, few recordings have exerted such a passionate pull on public and pundits alike as Jacqueline du Pre's celebrated 40-year-old Elgar Cello Concerto recording.