The shortlists for the Gramophone Classical Music Awards – which this year are presented in association with Steinway & Sons – have been unveiled! From the thousands of recordings issued over the past year, 45 have emerged from our judging process as the contenders for the coveted Gramophone Recording of the Year.

Today we name the top three discs in each category, as well as the three others that made it to the final six. From the focused brilliance of Brahms's solo piano music (Murray Perahia playing the Handel Variations) to the thrilling historical discovery of Striggio's 40-part Mass (from Robert Hollingworth and I Fagiolini), from a lute recital (Nigel North) to a documentary following the development of a new violin concerto (by Sofia Gubaidulina), and from the intimacy of Beethoven Sonatas at the Wigmore Hall (by Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien) to the epic power of Verdi's Otello (conducted by Sir Colin Davis), this year's contenders are wonderful evidence of the astonishing scope, scale and imagination of the classical recording world today.

Click here to view the shortlists. You can read reviews of the top three discs in each category and find a link to where you can buy the recordings. And don't forget to log on to the Gramophone website on October 6 to find out who has won!