The 67th Grammy Awards were handed out last night at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The evening was filled with highlights from across genres, from Beyoncé capturing her first-ever Album of the Year honours for Cowboy Carter, to Canadian superstar The Weeknd ending his Grammys holdout with a live performance. The evening was also dedicated to the city of Los Angeles and its people who are still dealing with the aftermath of last month’s devastating wildfires.
Amidst these celebrations, the best and brightest in the world of classical music were also honoured ahead of the main televised proceedings. Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin picked up his fifth Grammy Award for his work on the film Maestro about the life and music of Leonard Bernstein, while Hans Zimmer was also awarded his fifth Grammy for the score of Dune: Part Two alongside Canadian director Denis Villeneuve.
Here’s a round-up of the winners.
Best Orchestral Performance, Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Classical Compendium – Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Los Angeles Philharmonic (Gustavo Dudamel, conductor) (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Best Classical Instrumental Solo – Bach: Goldberg Variations - Víkingur Ólafsson, piano (DG)
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album – Beyond the Years – Unpublished Songs of Florence Price – Karen Slack, soprano; Michelle Cann, piano (Azica)
Best Opera Recording – Adriana Mater (Kaija Saariaho) - San Francisco Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor); Fleur Barron, Axelle Fanyo, Nicholas Phan and Christopher Purves. (DG)
Best Choral Performance – Ochre – The Crossing (David Nally, conductor) (Navona)
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance – Rectangles and Circumstance – Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion (Nonesuch)
Best Instrumental Composition – Strands – Pascal Le Boeuf (Akropolis)
In addition to the more traditional classical music categories, the Grammys also acknowledged contributions that classical music had to visual media such as films.
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media – Maestro – Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Bradley Cooper (DG)
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media – Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer (Warner Bros.)
Best Song Written for Visual Media - “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony – Jon Batiste (Verve/Interscope)
Best Music Film – American Symphony – Jon Batiste (Verve/Interscope)
The Grammys also acknowledged the role that production plays in capturing classical music performances.
Producer of the Year, Classical – Elaine Martone – Bartók: String Quartet No.3; Suite From 'The Miraculous Mandarin' (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra); The Book Of Spells (Merian Ensemble); Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra); Divine Mischief (Julian Bliss, J. Eric Wilson & Baylor University Wind Ensemble); Joy! (John Morris Russell & Cincinnati Pops); Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra); Schubert: The Complete Impromptus (Gerardo Teissonnière); Stranger At Home (Shachar Israel); Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra)
Best Engineered Album, Classical – Bruckner: Symphony no. 7; Bates: Resurrexit – Mark Donahue and John Newton, engineers; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Manfred Honeck, conductor) (Reference)
You can find a full playlist of winners on Classic 107’s Spotify page.