Fryderyk

The Fryderyk is the award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK's BRIT Award. Officially created in 1994 and presented for the first time in 1995, the award was initially conferred by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry ("Związek Producentów Audio-Video", ZPAV). Since 1999, nominees and winners have been selected by a body called Phonographic Academy ("Akademia Fonograficzna") which by now consists of more than 700 artists, journalists and music industry professionals. Voting is anonymous and takes place in two rounds: In the first round, all Academy members can nominate five artists in each category, in the second round, members can vote for one candidate in each category from the most successful nominees established in the first round.The Fryderyk statuette is reminiscient of the Academy Awards' "Oscar", but with wings, arms stretched backwards, and with headphones.

Categories

The categories in which Fryderyk awards are presented have been steadily extended and modified since its inception in 1994. There are three main sections - popular music, classical music, and jazz. At present the following categories are used:

Popular music

*Best Music Production
*Best Pop Album
*Best Dance Album
*Best Foreign Album
*Best Ethno/Folk Album
*Best Sung Poetry Album
*Best Re-edition / Archival Recording
*Best Heavy Metal Album
*Best Alternative Album
*Best Rock Album
*Best Hip-Hop Album
*Best Group
*Best Male Vocalist
*Best Female Vocalist
*Best Debut
*Best Song
*Best Video
*Best Music Production
*Best Composer
*Best Author
*Best Album Design

Classical music

*Best Early Music Album
*Best Chamber Music Album
*Best Solo Music Album
*Best Vocal Music Album
*Best Orchestral Music Album
*Best Contemporary Music Album
*Special Category: Most Outstanding Polish Music Recording

Jazz

*Best Jazz Album
*Best Jazz Performer

In addition, there is a Special Achievements Award.

Most successful artists

As of 2004, the most successful artists in the ten-year-history of the Fryderyks are:

Popular music

#Grzegorz Ciechowski (of Republika): 10 awards, 20 nominations,
#Kasia Nosowska (of Hey: 8 awards, 31 nominations,
#Kayah: 7 awards, 34 nominations,
#Robert Gawlinski (of Wilki): 6 awards, 19 nominations,
#Leszek Kaminski: 6 awards, 12 nominations,
#Myslovitz: 5 awards, 21 nominations,
#Varius Manx: 5 awards, 19 nominations (including 4 for Anita Lipnicka),
#Kazik Staszewski: 5 awards, 16 nominations,
#Grzegorz Turnau: 5 awards, 13 nominations,
#Raz, dwa, trzy: 5 awards, 10 nominations,
#Justyna Steczkowska: 5 awards, 8 nominations.Note: Awards for individual artists may include awards for their groups and vice versa.

Classical Music

#Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Narodowej (Polish National Philharmonic Symphonic Orchestra): 5 awards, 22 nominations,
#Sinfonia Varsovia: 5 awards, 22 nominations,
#Janusz Olejniczak: 5 awards, 12 nominations,
#Jerzy Maksymiuk: 4 awards, 12 nominations,
#Jadwiga Rappé: 4 awards, 9 nominations.

Jazz

#Tomasz Stanko: 6 awards, 6 nominations,
#Piotr Wojtasik: 2 awards, 6 nominations,
#Andrzej Jagodzinski: 2 awards, 4 nominations,
#Henryk Miśkiewicz: 1 awards, 8 nominations.

Best foreign album

This category is particularly interesting as it reflects the Polish public's reception of international artists. The awardees so far were:

*1994: Pink Floyd - "The Division Bell",
*1995: Queen - "Made In Heaven",
*1996: George Michael - "Older",
*1997: Rolling Stones - "Bridges To Babylon",
*1998: Madonna (entertainer) - "Ray Of Light",
*1999: Santana - "Supernatural",
*2000: U2 - "All That You Can't Leave Behind",
*2001: Leonard Cohen - "Ten New Songs",
*2002: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "By The Way",
*2003: Dido - "Life for Rent".

External links

* [http://www.zpav.pl/?lang=en ZPAV official page (in English)]
* [http://www.zpav.pl/nagroda_fryderyk.asp?page=o_fryderykach&lang=en Fryderyk page (in English)]