Here is a complete list of this year’s classical Grammy nominees. There’s a lot here to talk about, but for now, discuss amongst yourselves. Hearty congratulations to my old friend and colleague Blanton Alspaugh for the Producer of the Year nod.
Field 29 — Production, Classical
Category 96
Best Engineered Album, Classical
(An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.))
- Garden Of Dreams
Keith O. Johnson, engineer (Jerry Junkin & Dallas Wind Symphony)
[Reference Recordings] - Grechaninov: Passion Week
John Newton, engineer (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix Bach Choir & Kansas City Chorale)
[Chandos] - Nielsen: Clarinet & Flute Concertos
Arne Akselberg & Tobias Lehmann, engineers (Sabine Meyer, Emmanuel Pahud & Simon
Rattle)
[EMI Classics] - Spirit Of The Season
Bruce Leek, Fred Vogler & Trent Walker, engineers (Craig Jessop, Mack Wilberg &
Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
[Mormon Tabernacle Choir] - Strauss: Don Juan, Death And Transfiguration
Lawrence Rock, engineer (Lorin Maazel & New York Philharmonic)
[Deutsche Grammophon]
Category 97
Producer Of The Year, Classical
(A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.))
- Blanton Alspaugh
• Eternal Rest: Mäntyjärvi, Ticheli, Martin, Clausen (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix
Bach Choir & Kansas City Chorale)
• Grechaninov: Passion Week (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix Bach Choir & Kansas City
Chorale)
• The Harrington String Quartet: Daniel McCarthy (The Harrington String Quartet)
• Hartke: The Greater Good (Stewart Robertson & Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra)
• Rider On The Plains: Cello Concertos By Virgil Thomson And Charles Fussell
(Emmanuel Feldman) - John Fraser
• Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2, Scherzos (Simon Trpceski)
• Great Handel (Ian Bostridge)
• Kate Royal (Kate Royal)
• Krommer/Spohr: Clarinet Concertos (Julian Bliss, Sabine Meyer & Kenneth
Sillito)
• Schubert: Piano Sonata D958, Lieder, Fragments (Leif Ove Andsnes & Ian
Bostridge) - Marina A. Ledin, Victor Ledin
• Balakirev And Russian Folksong (Joseph Banowetz)
• Louisiana – A Pianist’s Journey (Kenneth Boulton)
• Piano Impromptus (Jungran Kim Khwarg)
• 20th Century Piano Sonatas (Allison Brewster Franzetti) - Judith Sherman
• American Virtuosa: Tribute To Maud Powell (Rachel Barton Pine & Matthew Hagle)
• From Barrelhouse To Broadway: The Musical Odyssey Of Joe Jordan (Rick Benjamin & The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra)
• Górecki: String Quartet No. 3 ‘…Songs Are Sung’ (Kronos Quartet)
• Strange Imaginary Animals (Eighth Blackbird)
• Tchaikovsky: Three String Quartets, Souvenir De Florence (Ying Quartet) - Robina G. Young
• As Steals The Morn…Handel Arias & Scenes For Tenor (Mark Padmore, Andrew
Manze & The English Concert)
• Bach, CPE: Symphonies 1-4, Cello Concerto (Andrew Manze & The English Concert)
• Brahms: Variations (Olga Kern)
• Music For Compline (Stile Antico)
• Stockhausen: Stimmung (Paul Hillier & Theatre Of Voices)
Category 98
Best Classical Album
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) if other than the Artist.)
- Cherubini: Missa Solemnis In E
Riccardo Muti, conductor; Wilhelm Meister, producer (Ildar Abdrazakov, Herbert
Lippert, Marianna Pizzolato & Ruth Ziesak; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen
Rundfunks)
[EMI Classics] - Grechaninov: Passion Week
Charles Bruffy, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Kansas City Chorale &
Phoenix Bach Choir)
[Chandos] - Homage: The Age Of The Diva
Renée Fleming; David Frost, producer (Valery Gergiev; Orchestra Of The Mariinsky
Theatre)
[Decca Records] - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson; Dirk Sobotka, producer (James Levine; Boston Symphony
Orchestra)
[Nonesuch Records] - Tower: Made In America
Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Tim Handley, producer (Nashville Symphony)
[Naxos]
Category 99
Best Orchestral Performance
(Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.)
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)
[BIS Records] - Shostakovich: The Golden Age
José Serebrier, conductor (Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
[Naxos] - Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
[Deutsche Grammophon] - Tower: Made In America
Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Nashville Symphony)
[Naxos] - Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5, Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis, Serenade To Music
Robert Spano, conductor (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra)
[Telarc]
Category 100
Best Opera Recording
(Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.)
- Albéniz: Pepita Jiménez
José De Eusebio, conductor; Enrique Baquerizo, Carlos Chausson, Plácido Domingo,
Jane Henschel & Carol Vaness; Michael Haas, producer (Orquesta Y Coro De La
Comunidad De Madrid)
[Deutsche Grammophon] - Donizetti: Dom Sébastien, Roi De Portugal
Mark Elder, conductor; Carmelo Corrado Caruso, Giuseppe Filianoti, Vesselina
Kasarova, Simon Keenlyside & Alastair Miles; Patric Schmid, producer (The Royal
Opera Chorus; The Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden)
[Opera Rara] - Humperdinck: Hansel & Gretel
Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor; Rebecca Evans, Jane Henschel & Jennifer
Larmore; Brian Couzens, producer (Sarah Coppen, Diana Montague & Sarah Tynan;
New London Children’s Choir; Philharmonia Orchestra)
[Chandos Opera In English] - Lully: Thésée
Paul O´Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Howard Crook, Ellen Hargis, Laura
Pudwell & Harry Van Der Kamp; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early
Music Festival Chorus; Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra)
[CPO] - Verdi: La Traviata
Zubin Mehta, conductor; Piotr Beczala, Paolo Gavanelli & Anja Harteros; Andreas
Caemmerer & Felix Gargerle, producers (Choir Of The Bavarian State Opera;
Bavarian State Orchestra)
[Farao Classics]
Category 101
Best Choral Performance
(Award to the Choral Conductor, and to the Orchestra
Conductor if an Orchestra is on the recording, and to the Choral
Director or Chorus Master if applicable.)
- Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
Simon Rattle, conductor; Simon Halsey, chorus master (Thomas Quasthoff &
Dorothea Röschmann; Rundfunkchor Berlin; Berliner Philharmoniker)
[EMI Classics] - Cherubini: Missa Solemnis In E
Riccardo Muti, conductor; Peter Dijkstra, chorus master (Ildar Abdrazakov,
Herbert Lippert, Marianna Pizzolato & Ruth Ziesak; Chor Des Bayerischen
Rundfunks; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
[EMI Classics] - Grechaninov: Passion Week
Charles Bruffy, conductor (Kansas City Chorale & Phoenix Bach Choir)
[Chandos] - Penderecki: Symphony No. 7 ‘Seven Gates Of Jerusalem’
Antoni Wit, conductor; Henryk Wojnarowski, chorus master (Boris Carmeli, Ewa
Marciniec, Aga Mikolaj, Wieslaw Ochman, Olga Pasichnyk & Romuald Tesarowicz;
Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir; Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra)
[Naxos] - Schönberg: Gurrelieder
Michael Gielen, conductor; Howard Arman & Michael Gläser, choir directors
(Melanie Diener, Ralf Lukas, Yvonne Naef, Andreas Schmidt, Gerhard Siegel &
Robert Dean Smith; Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks & MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig;
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden Und Freiburg)
[Haenssler Classic]
Category 102
Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)
(Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor.)
- Barber/Korngold/Walton: Violin Concertos
Bramwell Tovey, conductor; James Ehnes (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra)
[CBC Records] - Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor; Lang Lang (Orchestre De Paris)
[Deutsche Grammophon] - Nielsen: Clarinet & Flute Concertos
Simon Rattle, conductor; Sabine Meyer & Emmanuel Pahud (Berliner Philharmoniker)
[EMI Classics] - Rózsa: Violin Concerto, Op. 24
Dmitry Yablonsky, conductor; Anastasia Khitruk (Russian Philharmonic Orchestra)
Track from: Rózsa: Violin Concerto, Sinfonia Concertante
[Naxos] - Tchaikovsky/Saint-Saëns/Ginastera
Ari Rasilainen, conductor; Sol Gabetta (Münchner Rundfunkorchester)
[RCA Red Seal]
Category 103
Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra)
(Award to the Instrumental Soloist.)
- Beethoven Sonatas, Vol. 3
Garrick Ohlsson
[Bridge Records, Inc.] - Haydn: Piano Sonatas
Marc-André Hamelin
[Hyperion] - Louisiana – A Pianist’s Journey
Kenneth Boulton
[Cambria Master Recordings] - Solo Piazzolla
Manuel Barrueco
[Tonar] - 20th Century Piano Sonatas
Allison Brewster Franzetti
[Naxos]
Category 104
Best Chamber Music Performance
(Award to the Artists.)
- On The Threshold Of Hope
Artists Of The Royal Conservatory Ensemble (Richard Margison, Joaquin Valdepeñas
& Diane Werner)
[RCA Red Seal] - Saint-Saëns/Poulenc/Devienne/Milhaud
Oleg Maisenberg & Sabine Meyer
[EMI Classics] - Strange Imaginary Animals
Eighth Blackbird
[Cedille Records] - Tchaikovsky: Three String Quartets, Souvenir De Florence
Ying Quartet (James Dunham & Paul Katz)
[Telarc] - 30 Songs Of The Russian People
Joseph Banowetz & Alton Chung Ming Chan
Track from: Balakirev And Russian Folksong
[Toccata Classics]
Category 105
Best Small Ensemble Performance
(Award to the Ensemble (and to the Conductor.))
- Bach: Brandenburg Concertos
Swiss Baroque Soloists
[Naxos] - Bridges – Eddie Daniels Plays The Music Of Frank Proto
Frank Proto, conductor; Eddie Daniels; Ensemble Sans Frontière
[Red Mark] - Mahler: Das Lied Von Der Erde
Kenneth Slowik, conductor; The Smithsonian Chamber Players & Santa Fe Pro Musica
[Dorian Recordings/ Sono Luminus] - Music For Compline
Stile Antico
[Harmonia Mundi] - Stravinsky: Apollo, Concerto In D; Prokofiev: 20 Visions Fugitives
Yuri Bashmet, conductor; Moscow Soloists
[Onyx Classics]
Category 106
Best Classical Vocal Performance
(Award to the Vocal Soloist(s).)
- Gitano – Zarzuela Arias
Rolando Villazón (Plácido Domingo; Orquesta De La Comunidad De Madrid)
[Virgin Classics] - Homage: The Age Of The Diva
Renée Fleming (Valery Gergiev; Orchestra Of The Mariinsky Theatre)
[Decca Records] - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (James Levine; Boston Symphony Orchestra)
[Nonesuch Records] - Russian Album
Anna Netrebko (Valery Gergiev; Orchestra Of The Mariinsky Theatre)
[Deutsche Grammophon] - Sea Pictures, Op. 37
Sarah Connolly (Simon Wright; Bournemouth Symphony Chorus; Bournemouth Symphony
Orchestra)
Track from: Elgar: Sea Pictures
[Naxos]
Category 107
Best Classical Contemporary Composition
(A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical
composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the
first time during the Eligibility Year.))
- Amargós: Northern Concerto
Joan Albert Amargós (Lan Shui, conductor; Danish National Symphony Orchestra/DR)
Track from: Movements – Michala Petri Plays Amargós/Börtz/Stucky
[OUR Recordings] - Chesky: Concerto For Bassoon And Orchestra
David Chesky (Rossen Gergov, conductor; Symphony Orchestra Of Norrlands Opera)
Track from: Urban Concertos
[Chesky Records] - Higdon: Zaka
Jennifer Higdon (Eighth Blackbird)
Track from: Strange Imaginary Animals
[Cedille Records] - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
Peter Lieberson (James Levine, conductor; Boston Symphony Orchestra)
[Nonesuch] - Made In America
Joan Tower (Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Nashville Symphony Orchestra)
Track from: Tower: Made In America
[Naxos]
Category 108
Best Classical Crossover Album
(Award to the Artist(s) and/or to the Conductor.)
- The Jazz Album – Watch What Happens
Thomas Quasthoff
[Deutsche Grammophon] - A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane
Turtle Island Quartet
[Telarc] - Spirit Of The Season
Craig Jessop & Mack Wilberg, conductors (Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Orchestra At
Temple Square)
[Mormon Tabernacle Choir] - Whirled Chamber Music
Quartet San Francisco
[Violinjazz Recordings] - Wolfgang’s Big Night Out
Brian Setzer (The Brian Setzer Orchestra)
[Surfdog Records]
Finally, Philip Glass received a non-classical nomination in the category of Best Instrumental Composition, for "I Knew Her" from the film score for Notes to a Scandal.
Night After Night 
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