Wednesday, December 07, 2016

The Classical Music Grammy Nominations for 2017

Drum roll, please...

Yesterday, I was wondering when the Grammy Award Nominees would be announced, something I might have missed while spending a lot of time off-line during the past two months' recuperation from back surgery and trying to get back into writing my new novel, In Search of Tom Purdue.

So I checked on-line and there they were, just announced yesterday morning, on Dec. 6th, 2016. The winners will be announced on Feb. 12th. Unfortunately, my computer was having a bad day of its own and I was unable to post them until today.

While most people are interested in how many Beyoncé or Adele received and who'll win Album of the Year, there are those few of us who are interested in following "The Classical Music" Grammy Awards. So here they are. (I'll add more links and cover-art as time and laptop permit...)

75.Best Orchestral Performance

Bates: Works For Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony); Label: SFS Media

Ibert: Orchestral Works
Neeme Järvi, conductor (Orchestre De La Suisse Romande); Label: Chandos

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, Op. 100
Mariss Jansons, conductor (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra); Label: RCO

Rouse: Odna Zhizn; Symphonies 3 & 4; Prospero's Rooms
Alan Gilbert, conductor (New York Philharmonic); Label: Dacapo Records

Shostakovich: Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphonies Nos. 5, 8 & 9
Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra); Label: Deutsche Grammophon

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76.Best Opera Recording

Corigliano: The Ghosts Of Versailles
James Conlon, conductor; Joshua Guerrero, Christopher Maltman, Lucas Meachem, Patricia Racette, Lucy Schaufer & Guanqun Yu; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (LA Opera Orchestra; LA Opera Chorus); Label: Pentatone Music

Handel: Giulio Cesare
Giovanni Antonini, conductor; Cecilia Bartoli, Philippe Jaroussky, Andreas Scholl & Anne-Sofie von Otter; Samuel Theis, producer (Il Giardino Armonico); Label: Decca

Higdon: Cold Mountain
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Emily Fons, Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard & Jay Hunter Morris; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra; Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program For Singers); Label: Pentatone Music

Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Thomas Hampson, Christiane Karg, Luca Pisaroni & Sonya Yoncheva; Daniel Zalay, producer (Chamber Orchestra Of Europe; Vocalensemble Rastatt); Label: Deutsche Grammophon

Szymanowski: Król Roger
Antonio Pappano, conductor; Georgia Jarman, Mariusz Kwiecień & Saimir Pirgu; Jonathan Allen, producer (Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House; Royal Opera Chorus); Label: Opus Arte

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77.Best Choral Performance

Himmelrand
Elisabeth Holte, conductor (Marianne Reidarsdatter Eriksen, Ragnfrid Lie & Matilda Sterby; Inger-Lise Ulsrud; Uranienborg Vokalensemble); Label: 2L (Lindberg Lyd)

Janáček: Glagolitic Mass
Edward Gardner, conductor; Håkon Matti Skrede, chorus master (Susan Bickley, Gábor Bretz, Sara Jakubiak & Stuart Skelton; Thomas Trotter; Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; Bergen Cathedral Choir, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Choir Of Collegium Musicum & Edvard Grieg Kor); Label: Chandos

Lloyd: Bonhoeffer
Donald Nally, conductor (Malavika Godbole, John Grecia, Rebecca Harris & Thomas Mesa; The Crossing); Label: Albany Records

Penderecki Conducts Penderecki, Volume 1
Krzysztof Penderecki, conductor; Henryk Wojnarowski, choir director (Nikolay Didenko, Agnieszka Rehlis & Johanna Rusanen; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; Warsaw Philharmonic Choir); Label: Warner Classics

Steinberg: Passion Week
Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir); Label: Naxos

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78.Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

Fitelberg: Chamber Works
ARC Ensemble; Label: Chandos

Reflections
Øyvind Gimse, Geir Inge Lotsberg & Trondheimsolistene; Label: 2L (Lindberg Lyd)

Serious Business
Spektral Quartet; Label: Sono Luminus

Steve Reich
Third Coast Percussion; Label: Cedille Records

Trios From Our Homelands
Lincoln Trio; Label: Cedille Records

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79.Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Adams, J.: Scheherazade.2
Leila Josefowicz; David Robertson, conductor (Chester Englander; St. Louis Symphony); Label: Nonesuch

Daugherty: Tales Of Hemingway
Zuill Bailey; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor (Nashville Symphony)
Track from: Daugherty: Tales Of Hemingway; American Gothic; Once Upon A Castle; Label: Naxos

Dvořák: Violin Concerto & Romance; Suk: Fantasy
Christian Tetzlaff; John Storgårds, conductor (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra); Label: Ondine

Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vols. 8 & 9
Kristian Bezuidenhout; Label: Harmonia Mundi

1930's Violin Concertos, Vol. 2
Gil Shaham; Stéphane Denève, conductor (The Knights & Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra); Label: Canary Classics

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80.Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

Monteverdi
Magdalena Kožená; Andrea Marcon, conductor (David Feldman, Michael Feyfar, Jakob Pilgram & Luca Tittoto; La Cetra Barockorchester Basel); Label: Archiv Produktion

Mozart: The Weber Sisters
Sabine Devieilhe; Raphaël Pichon, conductor (Pygmalion); Label: Erato

Schumann & Berg
Dorothea Röschmann; Mitsuko Uchida, accompanist [sic]; Label: Decca

Shakespeare Songs
Ian Bostridge; Antonio Pappano, accompanist [sic] (Michael Collins, Elizabeth Kenny, Lawrence Power & Adam Walker); Label: Warner Classics

Verismo
Anna Netrebko; Antonio Pappano, conductor (Yusif Eyvazov; Coro Dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia; Orchestra Dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia); Label: Deutsche Grammophon

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81.Best Classical Compendium

Daugherty: Tales Of Hemingway; American Gothic; Once Upon A Castle
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer; Label: Naxos

Gesualdo
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor; Manfred Eicher, producer; Label: ECM New Series

Vaughan Williams: Discoveries
Martyn Brabbins, conductor; Andrew Walton, producer; Label: Albion Records

Wolfgang: Passing Through
Judith Farmer & Gernot Wolfgang, producers; (Various Artists); Label: Albany Records

Zappa: 200 Motels - The Suites
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Frank Filipetti & Gail Zappa, producers; Label: Universal Music

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82.Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Bates: Anthology Of Fantastic Zoology
Mason Bates, composer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra); Label: CSO Resound

Daugherty: Tales Of Hemingway
Michael Daugherty, composer (Zuill Bailey, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony); Track from: Daugherty: Tales Of Hemingway; American Gothic; Once Upon A Castle; Label: Naxos

a shot from Cold Mountain
Higdon: Cold Mountain
Jennifer Higdon, composer; Gene Scheer, librettist (Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Jay Hunter Morris, Emily Fons, Isabel Leonard, Nathan Gunn & The Santa Fe Opera); Label: Pentatone Music

Theofanidis: Bassoon Concerto
Christopher Theofanidis, composer (Martin Kuuskmann, Barry Jekowsky & Northwest Sinfonia); Track from: Bassoon Concertos - Theofanidis, Hummel, Mozart; Label: Estonian Record Productions

Winger: Conversations With Nijinsky
C. F. Kip Winger, composer (Martin West & San Francisco Ballet Orchestra); Track from: Winger: Conversations With Nijinsky; Label: VBI Classic Recordings

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73.Best Engineered Album, Classical

Corigliano: The Ghosts Of Versailles
Mark Donahue & Fred Vogler, engineers (James Conlon, Guanqun Yu, Joshua Guerrero, Patricia Racette, Christopher Maltman, Lucy Schaufer, Lucas Meachem, LA Opera Chorus & Orchestra); Label: Pentatone Music

Dutilleux: Sur Le Même Accord; Les Citations; Mystère De L'Instant & Timbres, Espace, Mouvement
Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers (Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony); Label: Seattle Symphony Media

Reflections
Morten Lindberg, engineer (Øyvind Gimse, Geir Inge Lotsberg & Trondheimsolistene); Label: 2L (Lindberg Lyd)

Shadow Of Sirius
Silas Brown & David Frost, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Jerry F. Junkin & The University Of Texas Wind Ensemble); Label: Naxos

Shostakovich: Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphonies Nos. 5, 8 & 9
Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra); Label: Deutsche Grammophon

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74.Producer Of The Year, Classical

Blanton Alspaugh – The Aeolian Organ At Duke University Chapel (Christopher Jacobson) • Bolcom: Canciones De Lorca & Prometheus (René Barbera, Jeffrey Biegel, Carl St. Clair, Pacific Chorale & Pacific Symphony) • Brahms: The Four Symphonies (Leonard Slatkin & Detroit Symphony Orchestra) • Copland: Appalachian Spring Complete Ballet; Hear Ye! Hear Ye! (Leonard Slatkin & Detroit Symphony Orchestra) • Corigliano: The Ghosts Of Versailles (James Conlon, Guanqun Yu, Joshua Guerrero, Patricia Racette, Christopher Maltman, Lucy Schaufer, Lucas Meachem, LA Opera Chorus & Orchestra) • Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 (Andrés Orozco-Estrada & Houston Symphony) • Dvořák: Symphony No. 6; Slavonic Dances (Andrés Orozoco-Estrada & Houston Symphony) • Floyd: Wuthering Heights (Joseph Mechavich, Heather Buck, Vale Rideout, Susanne Mentzer, Kelly Markgraf, Georgia Jarman, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra & Florentine Opera Company)

David Frost – Bach: The Cello Suites According To Anna Magdalena (Matt Haimovitz) • Bates: Anthology Of Fantastic Zoology (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra) • Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 5 (Jonathan Biss) • Brahms & Dvořák: Serenades (Boston Symphony Chamber Players) • Fitelberg: Chamber Works (ARC Ensemble) • Ispirare (Melia Watras) • Overtures To Bach (Matt Haimovitz) • Schoenberg: Kol Nidre; Shostakovich: Suite On Verses Of Michelangelo Buonarroti (Ildar Abdrazakov, Alberto Mizrahi, Riccardo Muti, Duain Wolfe, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus) • Shadow Of Sirius (Jerry F. Junkin & The University Of Texas Wind Ensemble)

Marina A. Ledin, Victor Ledin – Friedman: Original Piano Compositions (Joseph Banowetz) • Moszkowski: From Foreign Lands (Martin West & San Francisco Ballet Orchestra)

Judith Sherman – American First Sonatas (Cecile Licad) • Berlin: This Is The Life! (Rick Benjamin & Paragon Ragtime Orchestra) • Centennial Commissions, Vol. II (Charles Neidich & Pro Arte Quartet) • Gernsheim & Brahms: Piano Quintets (Reiko Uchida & Formosa Quartet) • Latin American & Spanish Masterpieces For Flute & Piano (Stephanie Jutt) • Similar Motion (Momenta Quartet) • Tchaikovsky: Complete Works For Violin & Orchestra (Jennifer Koh, Alexander Vedernikov & Odense Symphony Orchestra) • Tower: String Quartets Nos. 3-5 & Dumbarton Quintet (Miami String Quartet)

Robina G. Young – Johnson: Considering Matthew Shepard (Craig Hella Johnson & Conspirare) • Lutosławski: Concerto For Orchestra; Brahms: Piano Quartet (Miguel Harth-Bedoya & Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra) • Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vols. 8 & 9 (Kristian Bezuidenhout) • Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 (Vadym Kholodenko, Miguel Harth-Bedoya & Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra) • A Wondrous Mystery - Renaissance Choral Music For Christmas (Stile Antico)

Congratulations to everyone who was nominated!

- Dick Strawser