The 57th annual Grammy Awards ceremony took place tonight, and a number of this year’s classical winners are familiar to Classical MPR listeners. We’ve provided this list of the award winners in the classical-music categories, along with links to features we’ve done about some of these winners.
BEST CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL COMPOSITION
Adams, John Luther: Become Ocean
John Luther Adams, composer (Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony)
Label: Cantaloupe Music
Listen to Fred Child’s interview with John Luther Adams from Performance Today.
BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE
The Sacred Spirit Of Russia
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Conspirare)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Watch and listen to Tesfa Wondemagegnehu’s Composer Conversation with Craig Hella Johnson:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FvQRg6WFMTk
BEST CHAMBER MUSIC/SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
In 27 Pieces – The Hilary Hahn Encores
Hilary Hahn & Cory Smythe
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Revisit the New Classical Tracks episode about Hahn’s album.
BEST CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
Play
Jason Vieaux
Label: Azica Records
Listen to the New Classical Tracks episode about Vieaux’s album.
BEST INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION
The Book Thief
John Williams, composer (John Williams)
Track from: The Book Thief Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Label: Sony Classical, Fox Music; Publisher: Fox Film Music Corp.
Listen to Lynne Warfel’s Flicks in Five episode on the music of The Book Thief.
BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, CLASSICAL
Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem; Symphony No. 4; The Lark Ascending
Michael Bishop, engineer; Michael Bishop, mastering engineer (Robert Spano, Norman Mackenzie, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
Label: ASO Media
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL
Judith Sherman
- Beethoven: Cello & Piano Complete (Fischer Duo)
- Brahms By Heart (Chiara String Quartet)
- Composing America (Lark Quartet)
- Divergence (Plattform K + K Vienna)
- The Good Song (Thomas Meglioranza)
- Mozart & Brahms: Clarinet Quintets (Anthony McGill & Pacifica Quartet)
- Snapshot (American Brass Quintet)
- Two X Four (Jaime Laredo, Jennifer Koh, Vinay Parameswaran & Curtis 20/21 Ensemble)
- Wagner Without Words (Llyr Williams)
BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
Adams, John: City Noir
David Robertson, conductor (St. Louis Symphony)
Label: Nonesuch
BEST OPERA RECORDING
Charpentier: La Descente D’Orphée Aux Enfers
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Aaron Sheehan; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble)
Label: CPO
BEST CLASSICAL SOLO VOCAL ALBUM WINNER
Douce France
Anne Sofie Von Otter; Bengt Forsberg, accompanist (Carl Bagge, Margareta Bengston, Mats Bergström, Per Ekdahl, Bengan Janson, Olle Linder & Antoine Tamestit)
Label: Naïve
BEST CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM
Partch: Plectra & Percussion Dances
Partch; John Schneider, producer
Label: Bridge Records, Inc.
BEST ARRANGEMENT, INSTRUMENTAL OR A CAPPELLA
Daft Punk
Ben Bram, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado & Kevin Olusola, arrangers (Pentatonix)
Track from: PTX, Vol. 2
Label: RCA Records
Brian Newhouse and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu talk about their first encounters with Pentatonix, and share a studio video of “Run to You.”
The late Stephen Paulus was featured in the “in memoriam” montage, as well.
