The Classical Grammy Nominations

Although the awards show might be truncated, the latest news is that many of the musicians and singers will attend the Grammy's even if the WGA strike continues. Of course, I'm usually only interested in the Classical and Jazz nominations and winners (okay, some of the pop, country, rock, and international and especially Brazilian music).

Here are the nominations for Classical:

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; Klemens Kamp, engineer/mixer (Ildar Abdrazakov, Herbert Lippert, Marianna Pizzolato & Ruth Ziesak; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
[EMI Classics]

* Grechaninov: Passion Week
Charles Bruffy, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer; John Newton, engineer/mixer; Jonathan Cooper, mastering engineer (Kansas City Chorale & Phoenix Bach Choir)
[Chandos]

* Homage: The Age Of The Diva
Renée Fleming; David Frost, producer; Mike Hatch, Wolf-Dieter Karwatky & Richard King, engineers/mixers (Valery Gergiev; Orchestra Of The Mariinsky Theatre)
[Decca Records]

* Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson; Dirk Sobotka, producer; Mark Donahue & John Newton, engineers/mixers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (James Levine; Boston Symphony Orchestra)
[Nonesuch Records]

* Tower: Made In America
Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Tim Handley, producer; Tim Handley, engineer/mixer (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]

I do own the Penderecki and that is the CD I think will win in Choral. I also own the Esa-Pekka Solonen "The Rite of Spring," I think my eighth or ninth version of that piece (!), probably only beat out by how may "Carmina Burana" and "The Planets" versions I own. My collection is not well catalog and you'd think since retirement that would have been a project, but, unfortunately, I keep getting lighting, audio and video projects.

I'll post the Jazz on a separate topic.