Breaking: Germany replaces disgraced ECHO with new classical award

The ECHOs were scrapped for offensive Holocaust jibes.

Here’s the classical substitute, about to be announced:

The OPUS KLASSIK, a new award for classical music, will be awarded for the first time in Konzerthaus Berlin on Sunday, 14 October, 2018. After the Echo was ended this spring, exceptional achievements in the classical music genre will once again be recognized this year. The Opus is organized by the new association Verein zur Förderung der Klassischen
Musik e.V.will be broadcasted on ZDF on 14 October, 2018 at 10 PM The OPUS KLASSIK, a new award for classical music, will be awarded for the first time in Konzerthaus Berlin on Sunday, 14 October, 2018. After the Echo was ended this spring, exceptional achievements in the classical music genre will once again be recognized this year. The Opus is organized by the new association Verein zur Förderung der Klassischen Musik e.V. The awards ceremony will be broadcasted on 14 October at 10 PM by the media partner ZDF.

“Classical music in Germany should be acknowledged with its very own award,” said Burkhard Glashoff, chairman of the Verein zur Förderung der Klassischen Musik e.V. “We, the founding members, have made it our goal to recognize and award exceptional achievements in classical music. We have developed a concept for a new music award that is more broadly
positioned than in the past and reflects the branch in all its diversity.”
The founding members of the Verein zur Förderung der Klassischen Musik e.V. embody the basis of the award in the wide-ranging music business: CLASS – Association of Classical Independents in Germany e.V., Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft GmbH Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette GmbH, Dagmar Sikorski (Sikorski Musikverlage), Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH, Benedikt Stampa (designated director of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden) and Warner Music Group Germany Holding GmbH. The board consists of Burkhard Glashoff, Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette GmbH, who serves as the chairman of the board, and Dr. Clemens Trautmann, Deutsche Grammophon.

The association was founded after the organizer of the Echo, the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI), announced the termination of all Echo awards in the categories Pop, Classical and Jazz. In this transition year, the rules and jury for the new award will still be based on those of the Echo Klassik; however, the association will strive to continually refine the new prize for classical music on the basis of feedback from the music industry.