Braddock native and operatic soprano Wendy Waller has won a prestigious award for her recording, "Genie Oblige! Franz Liszt: Origin, Oeuvre and Legacy in Song."

Released in September on her self-produced label, it has been awarded the 2009 Diplome d'Honneur by the Franz Liszt Society of Budapest in its annual Grand Prix du Disque Competition.

Waller, who is the daughter of soprano Juanita Waller, is the first African American to win the award.

On Oct. 21, she will sing a solo concert as part of the awards ceremony at the Music Academy in Budapest. Waller now lives in Weimar, and she sings at opera halls in Germany and Europe.

Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.