The Classical Grammy Nominees

Speaking of lists – the 2009 Grammy Nominees are out. Usually, if I can find them, I only look at the Classical Division because basically I’m an elitist pig. No longer working for a radio station, it’s of less importance to me, professionally, but even then I was only “into” the concept because, however they’re treated by the general press, the Classical Grammys are the closest thing the Classical Music World has to the Oscars, the Tonys or any other Entertainment Award Show you can watch on TV. Still, there are some here I am excited to see!

So here goes.

The BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM nominees are

* Maria - Cecilia Bartoli; Christopher Raeburn, producer; Wolf-Dieter Karwatky & Philip Siney, engineers/mixers (Adam Fischer; Orchestra La Scintilla) [Decca Records]

* Tarik O'Regan: Threshold Of Night - Craig Hella Johnson, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer; John Newton, engineer/mixer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Company Of Strings; Company Of Voices & Conspirare) [Harmonia Mundi]

* Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos - Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Hilary Hahn; Sid McLauchlan & Arend Prohmann, producers; Stephan Flock, engineer/mixer (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra) [Deutsche Grammophon]

* Spotless Rose: Hymns To The Virgin Mary - Charles Bruffy, conductor; Phoenix Chorale; Blanton Alspaugh, producer; John Newton, engineer/mixer; Jonathan Cooper, mastering engineer [Chandos]

* Kurt Weill: Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny - James Conlon, conductor; Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone & Audra McDonald; Fred Vogler, producer (Donnie Ray Albert, John Easterlin, Steven Humes, Mel Ulrich & Robert Wörle; Los Angeles Opera Chorus; Los Angeles Opera Orchestra) [EuroArts]

For me, the only possibility is Hilary Hahn's amazing recording of the Schoenberg Violin Concerto.

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For BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE, the nominees are

* Vincent D'Indy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 - Rumon Gamba, conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) [Chandos] Wow, I didn't even know this one was out -- can't say there are too many D'Indy recordings available! This one includes the "Summer Day in the Mountains (Op.61)" not to be confused with the delightful and more popular "Symphony on a French Mountain Air (Op.25)," plus The Enchanted Forest and Souvenirs. Looking forward to seeing if his Symphony No. 2 in B-flat will be on the next installment.

* Alexander Glazunov: Symphony No. 6, La Mer, Introduction And Dance From Salome - José Serebrier, conductor (Royal Scottish National Orchestra) [Warner Classics & Jazz]

* Prokofiev: Scythian Suite - Alan Gilbert, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) Track from: Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago [CSO Resound]

* Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 - Bernard Haitink, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) [CSO Resound] (also available for MP3 download)

* Chris Walden: Symphony No. 1, The Four Elements - Chris Walden, conductor (Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra) [Origin Classical]

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The BEST OPERA RECORDING nominees are

* Tan Dun: The First Emperor - Tan Dun, conductor; Michelle DeYoung, Plácido Domingo, Elizabeth Futral, Paul Groves, Wu Hsing-Kuo & Hao Jiang Tian; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus) [EMI Classics] The world premiere production from the Met than had been seen 'round the world on their HD Transmissions

* Jean-Baptiste Lully: Psyché - Paul ÓDette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Colin Balzer, Karina Gauvin, Carolyn Sampson & Aaron Sheehan; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra; Boston Early Music Festival Chorus) [CPO]

* Monteverdi: L'Orfeo - Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor; Sara Mingardo, Monica Piccinini, Anna Simboli & Furio Zanasi; Jean-Pierre Loisil, producer (Concerto Italiano) [Naive Classique]

* Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin - Valery Gergiev, conductor; Renée Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Ramón Vargas; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus) [Decca] had also been seen on the Met's HD Transmissions

* Kurt Weill: Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny - James Conlon, conductor; Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone & Audra McDonald; Fred Vogler, producer (Donnie Ray Albert, John Easterlin, Steven Humes, Mel Ulrich & Robert Wörle; Los Angeles Opera Orchestra; Los Angeles Opera Chorus) [EuroArts]

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The BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE Nominees are

* Tarik O'Regan: Threshold Of Night - Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Company Of Strings; Company Of Voices & Conspirare) [Harmonia Mundi]

* Rheinberger: Sacred Choral Works - Charles Bruffy, conductor (Kansas City Chorale & Phoenix Bach Choir) [Chandos]

* Stravinsky: Symphony Of Psalms - Sir Simon Rattle, conductor; Simon Halsey, chorus master (Berliner Philharmoniker; Rundfunkchor Berlin) Track from: Stravinsky: Symphonies [EMI Classics]

* Karol Szymanowski: Stabat Mater - Antoni Wit, conductor; Henryk Wojnarowski, chorus master (Jaroslaw Brek, Iwona Hossa & Ewa Marciniec; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; Warsaw Philharmonic Choir) [Naxos]

* Michael Tippett: A Child Of Our Time - Colin Davis, conductor; Joseph Cullen, chorus master (Steve Davislim, Mihoko Fujimura, Matthew Rose & Indra Thomas; London Symphony Orchestra; London Symphony Chorus) [LSO Live]

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The BEST INSTRUMENTAL SOLOIST(s) PERFORMANCE (WITH ORCHESTRA) nominees are

* Ernest Bloch/Benjamin Lees:Violin Concertos - John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Elmar Oliveira (National Symphony Orchestra Of Ukraine) [Artek]

* Lou Harrison: Pipa Concerto - Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Wu Man (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) Track from: Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago [CSO Resound]

* Mozart: Piano Concertos 17 & 20 - Leif Ove Andsnes (Norwegian Chamber Orchestra) [EMI Classics] A nice grouping, possibly the lightest and certainly the darkest of Mozart's piano concertos.

* Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 2 & 5 - Charles Dutoit, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet (L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande) [Decca Records]

* Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos - Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Hilary Hahn (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra) [Deutsche Grammophon]

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The BEST INSTRUMENTAL SOLOIST PERFORMANCE (WITHOUT ORCHESTRA) nominees are

* In A State Of Jazz - Marc-André Hamelin, pianist [Hyperion]

* Piano Music Of Salonen, Stucky, & Lutoslawski - Gloria Cheng, pianist [Telarc]

* Red Cliff Capriccio - Wei Li, guzheng [First Impression Music] Here are two firsts -- a guzheng soloist on a Grammy list and a single CD selling for $40...

* Revolutionary - Cameron Carpenter, organist [Telarc]

* Strange Toys - Joan Jeanrenaud, cellist [Talking House Records]

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The BEST CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCE nominees are

* Brahms: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51/2, Piano Quintet in F Minor - Stephen Hough; Takács Quartet [Hyperion]

* Elliott Carter: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 5 - Pacifica Quartet [Naxos] Just in time for Carter's 100th Birthday on December 11th

* Folk Songs - Trio Mediaeval [ECM New Series]

* Julius Röntgen - Right Through The Bone - ARC Ensemble [RCA Red Seal] Nice title, but the piece is called Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op.100 -- cool, the composer is related to the guy who discovered X-Rays... by the way, whatever happened to all those great new recordings that used to come out of RCA? And where, by the way, on this list is anything new and nominated by Sony?

* Jennifer Higdon: String Poetic - Jennifer Koh, violinist & Reiko Uchida, pianist [Cedille Records] -- so happy to see another work by Jennifer Higdon on the list this year!

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The BEST SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE nominees are

* Divertimenti - Øyvind Gimse, conductor; Trondheim Solistene [2L (Lindberg Lyd)]

* Tan Dun: Pipa Concerto; Hayashi: Viola Concerto; Takemitsu: Nostalgia - Roman Balashov, conductor; Yuri Bashmet; Moscow Soloists (Wu Man) [Onyx Classics] Amazingly, this year there are TWO pipa concertos available! Lou Harrison's is on the CSO Silk Road disc (see above).

* Im Wunderschoenen Monat Mai - Reinbert De Leeuw, conductor; Barbara Sukowa; Schoenberg Ensemble [Winter & Winter] This is a work by the Dutch composer de Leeuw based on the Schubert and Schumann settings of Heinrich Heine's romantic poem.

* Meredith Monk: Impermanence - Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble [ECM New Series]

* Spotless Rose: Hymns To The Virgin Mary - Charles Bruffy, conductor; Phoenix Chorale [Chandos]

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The BEST CLASSICAL VOCAL PERFORMANCE nominees are

* John Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan - Hila Plitmann, soprano (JoAnn Falletta; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra) [Naxos]

* Charles Fussell: Wilde - Sanford Sylvan, baritone (Gil Rose; Boston Modern Orchestra Project) [BMOP/sound]

* Gomidas Songs - Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano (Eduard Topchjan; Serouj Kradjian; Chamber Players Of The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra) [Nonesuch Records]

* Maria - Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo soprano (Adam Fischer; Orchestra La Scintilla) [Decca Records]

* Terezín: Theresienstadt - Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo soprano (Christian Gerhaher & Daniel Hope; Bengt Forsberg & Gerold Huber) [Deutsche Grammophon]

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The BEST CLASSICAL CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION nominees are

* Marc-André Dalbavie: Concerto for Flute - (Peter Eötvös, conductor) Track from: Dalbavie/Jarrell/Pintscher: Flute Concertos [EMI Classics]

* Michael Gandolfi: The Garden Of Cosmic Speculation - (Robert Spano, conductor) [Telarc]

* John Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan - (JoAnn Falletta, conductor) [Naxos]

* George Tsontakis: Violin Concerto No. 2 (Douglas Boyd, conductor) [Koch Int'l Classics]

* Chris Walden: Symphony No. 1, The Four Elements - (Chris Walden, conductor) [Origin Classical]

I've heard the Dalbavie (I was not as happy with the Flute Concerto as I was with the far better Violin Concerto); the Tsontakis Concerto, winner of the Graumeyer Prize in 2005, which I liked very much on first hearing; and part of the Gandolfi which I found very uneven, but I think I should wait till I hear the Corigliano before I'd make a comment here. But with all the recent recordings of so many recent works of Elliott Carter, certainly something of the works he'd composed since he turned 90 should qualify?

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And least but not last, the BEST CLASSICAL CROSSOVER ALBUM nominees are

* Baroque - Gabriela Montero [EMI Classics]

* Indigo Road - Ronn McFarlane [Dorian Sono Luminus]

* Olde School - East Village Opera Company [Decca Records]

* The Othello Syndrome - Uri Caine Ensemble [Winter & Winter]

* Simple Gifts - The King's Singers [Signum Records]

yeah well, these labels need to make their money somehow...

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Other categories include the Best Engingeered Recording, where the nominees are

* Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique - Fred Vogler, engineer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) [Deutsche Grammophon]

* Divertimenti - Morten Lindberg & Hans Peter L'Orange, engineers (Øyvind Gimse & Trondheim Solistene) [2L (Lindberg Lyd)]

* Puccini: La Bohème - Michael Bishop, engineer (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus) [Telarc]

* Respighi: Church Windows, Brazilian Impressions, Rossiniana - John Newton, engineer (JoAnn Falletta & Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra) [Naxos]

* Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago - David Frost, Tom Lazarus & Christopher Willis, engineers (Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Alan Gilbert, Silk Road Ensemble, Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma & Chicago Symphony Orchestra) [CSO Resound]

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The Nominees for Producer Of The Year, Classical, the usual suspects are

* David Frost
o Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
o Right Through The Bone — Julius Röntgen Chamber Music (ARC Ensemble)
o Schubert: Sonata In D Maj.; Liszt: Don Juan Fantasy (Min Kwon)
o Traditions And Transformations: Sounds Of Silk Road Chicago (Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Alan Gilbert, Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble, Wu Man & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

* David Groves
o Baroque (Gabriela Montero)
o Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (Jonathan Biss)
o Polish Spirit (Nigel Kennedy & Jacek Kaspszyk)
o Respighi: Roman Trilogy, Il Tramonto (Antonio Pappano)
o Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Martha Argerich)

* Judith Sherman
o Carter, Elliott: String Quartets Nos. 1 And 5 (Pacifica Quartet)
o Piano Music of Salonen, Stucky And Lutoslawski (Gloria Cheng)
o Reich: Daniel Variations (Grant Gershon, Alan Pierson, Los Angeles Master Chorale & London Sinfonietta)
o Riley, Terry: The Cusp Of Magic (Kronos Quartet & Wu Man)
o String Poetic (Jennifer Koh & Reiko Uchida)

* Robert Woods
o Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition, Night On Bald Mountain, Prelude To Khovanshchina (Paavo Järvi & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
o Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5, Lieutenant Kijé Suite (Paavo Järvi & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
o Puccini: La Bohème (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
o Ravel: Boléro (Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra)
o Revolutionary (Cameron Carpenter)

* Robina G. Young
o Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 18, Nos 1-6 (Tokyo String Quartet)
o Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 'Eroica' (Andrew Manze & Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra)
o Birds On Fire (Fretwork)
o Heavenly Harmonies (Stile Antico)
o Scattered Rhymes (Paul Hillier, Orlando Consort & The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir)

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Good luck to all -- congratulations on being nominated, wherever you end up when the winners are announced -- and tune in February 8th, 2009, when the rest of the Grammy Winners will be announced and maybe some token mention of the Classical Winners will be made...

Dr. Dick