The UK publication Gramophone, renowned for its comprehensiveness and independence, has controversially omitted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from shortlist of nominees for its annual Orchestra of the Year Award, prompting an accusation of less-than-objective reviewing from British music journalist Norman Lebrecht.

The annual award, voted on by Gramophone‘s readers, celebrates the ensembles putting forward “collaborative music-making at the highest level and reflecting the very best recording activity”.

Writing on his popular Slipped Disc website, Lebrecht argues that ‘most objective ears’ can testify that the Berlin Philharmonic ‘plays consistently at a level seldom attained’ by the 10 orchestras that Gramophone nominates as the world’s best for 2022.

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Kirill Petrenko take a bow at the conclusion of Europakonzert 2022 in Liepāja, Latvia. Photo © Stephan Rabold.

The reason for the omission, Lebrecht suggests, is that the Berlin Philharmonic ‘no longer bothers with the record industry’, releasing its own products, bypassing the record labels and, horror of horrors, not sending its recordings to Gramophone for review.

In fact, Gramophone does...