The Classical BRIT Awards 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall was a star-studded celebration of classical music in all of its many wonderful forms. t5m was there to talk to the winners, nominees and performers about the highlights of their musical year, their musical inspirations and heroes – and we got some intriguing answers. You don’t hear Eminem and Pavarotti mentioned in the same sentence often which goes to show the range and diversity of attendees.

• 4/8/09
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Natasha on the pressures of concert dresses, especially her sparkling Belville Sasson number

• 4/8/09
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Red Carpet Fashion All the fashion on the stars on the night, from Marchesa to Xterity

• 4/8/09
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Male of the Year, Sir Colin Davis, attributes his award to the London Symphony Orchestra

• 4/8/09
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Winner of the Critics Award, Steven Isserlis, talks to t5m about his worst experiences of performing. Anyone who has seen Spinal Tap will sympathise with his story of getting lost in the winding corridors of a concert venue.

• 4/8/09
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You can tell a lot about a person from their iPod playlist. An ‘iPod audit’ has become the modern equivalent of studying a person’s bookshelf, or even glimpsing at the contents of their bathroom cabinet when you need to make a quick survey of their disposition. To test the musical health of modern classical performers we asked the winners, nominees, performers and some guests what they were currently listening to. The answers gave an indication of a classical music scene with a broad range of tastes, the expected and the not so expected (obscure jazz or electronic house music, anyone?), with an overall focus on enjoying great music. As David Garrett (violin virtuoso and Green Day fan) says, (quoting Irvin Berlin, who was no slouch himself) ‘there is good music and bad music in any genre’. The lesson from the musicians on the night is, whatever kind of music you like, make sure you listen to the best.

• 4/8/09
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