The Australian ARIA panel have today announced the 2014 nominations for Fine Arts awards to be presented at a ceremony held at the Art Gallery of NSW on October 7.

Nominations in the Best Classical Album category have been diverse and disparate, from early to contemporary, with iconic Australian soprano Emma Matthews‘ Mozart Arias going head to head with the proverbial Goliath of orchestras, the magnificent Australian World Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Mahler’s Symphony No 1. The popular Matthews was Limelight cover artist back in March this year and her album was a subsequent Editor’s Choice. The AWO live recording reflects the highly praised concerts that took place in Sydney and Melbourne last year. It should be quite a contest.

Other contenders include Lior and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Nigel Westlake with Compassion; and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with Andrew Macleod, Benjamin Northey and Markus Stenz on Adès Polaris and Paul Stanhope’s Piccolo Concerto. It’s been a good year for Stanhope following his Jandamarra project with Sydney Symphony Orchestra and recently applauded Björk concert with Sydney Chamber Choir.

In line with previous years, the Fine Arts and...