Tag: Grammys

Awards, Contemporary Classical, File Under?, Orchestras

Congrats to Daugherty and the Nashville SO

Sure, we all can complain about the Grammy Awards. For me, the lack of representation of classical music and jazz on the telecast is just one of many disappointments. But before the glitz of the runway and glamour of the broadcast, several artists were acknowledged for their achievements in these genres.

The Naxos Group nearly ran the table at one of the best restaurants in Nashville last night. Their artists and imprints picked up a total of nine Grammy awards.

Noteworthy among the winners were Michael Daugherty, recognized for his Deux Ex Machina, and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra; they garnered 3 awards for their Naxos All-Daugherty recording (Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Best Orchestral Performance, Best Engineered Album, Classical).

The NSO has had quite a challenging year; they were compelled to vacate their performance space, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, for several months due to the severe flooding that struck the city in May, 2010. Now, they’re back in their renovated home and they have much to celebrate!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh6SRDE85AA[/youtube]

by Christian Carey
Awards, Contemporary Classical, File Under?

And the Grammy nominees are…

The 53rd Annual Grammy nominations have been announced (list of nominees in the Classical category here). Lots of contemporary classical represented, even in the more general categories.

Congratulations to Steve Mackey and Michael Daugherty: both are up for Best Classical Album. The ensembles that recorded their works, BMOP and the Nashville SO, respectively, are also up for Best Orchestral Performance.

Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin was nominated in the Opera category, while Magnus Lindberg’s Graffiti and Arvo Pärt’s Symphony No. 4 were both nominated for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

Also glad to see the Sherry Quartet’s recording of Schoenberg and the Parker Quartet’s Ligeti disc (both on Naxos) receiving nominations.

There’s much more. And, of course, there will always be omissions that dismay us. Particularly so in 2010: this was a good year for recordings!

by Christian Carey