My past month has proved rather reflective of the full breadth of what classical recording offers. It began with a reunion of the choristers from Decca’s rightly revered recording of Britten’s War Requiem. The work was recorded in Kingsway Hall in 1963, a year after its Coventry Cathedral premiere. The choristers had come from Highgate School, and 15 of them gathered to reminisce and to listen to some of the remastered recording – which, the event being held at Dolby’s Soho studios, was heard in a clarity of sound of which both Britten and the producer John Culshaw could only have dreamt. Among the choristers – then and at the reunion – was composer John Rutter. But while others had also gone on to enjoy musical careers, others I met had moved on to completely different areas, from architecture to software, a reminder that a musical education is not just about training the next generation of artists, but developing in children skills of creativity and collaboration which inform whatever they go on to do – as well as simply inspiring in them a lifelong love of music.

And then, of course, we held our Gramophone Awards, our annual celebration of recording excellence. The result of a year of releases and months of listening and discussion, it was a real privilege to host performances by pianist Yunchan Lim, violinist Isabelle Faust, soprano Carolyn Sampson and pianist Joseph Middleton, and tenor Iván Ayón-Rivas and pianist Anna Tilbrook – my thanks to them all. There were also heartfelt and heart-warming speeches by many other recipients, not least our Recording of the Year winner Hilary Hahn, and a recurring theme in many of them takes us back to a point I made above, the importance of music education. Many recipients talked of the vital importance of making sure the same opportunities as existed for them exist for young people today and tomorrow, a call we can’t echo strongly enough.

Then the following week, I was in the Science Museum to hear The King’s Singers demonstrate not only their impeccable close harmony skills, but also d&b’s Immersive Technology Experience Centre, which enabled us, at the touch of a button, to ‘hear’ the ensemble in venues as diverse as San Vitale Cathedral, Ravenna and the Bing Concert Hall, Stanford. Enjoyable in its own right, the potential application of such technology – to shape acoustics for audiences, perhaps even to allow artists to prepare for a new venue they’re visiting? – is thoroughly thought-provoking.

Other events touched on recording: the Wigmore Hall debut of Sony Classical’s recent signing Jeneba Kanneh-Mason just ahead of her stepping into the studio; an event by The Gesualdo Six, a vocal ensemble committed to recording; and to conclude, Mahler’s Second Symphony by Micheal Tilson Thomas, who we named Lifetime Achievement Award winner, powerfully bringing decades of reflection to bear on this most profound of works. There really is so much to celebrate in classical recording – it remains as active and innovative as ever, embracing youth, honouring experience and championing history. It’s a great honour for Gramophone to play a part in that.