GRAMMY Classical Music Award Winners, 2011

Although I don't put a lot of stock in Oscars, Emmys, GRAMMYs, and such yearly awards, maybe because I'm not convinced they are anything more than popularity contests, it is probably a good idea at least to inform readers of this year's GRAMMY winners in the Classical Music category for albums released in 2011.



Best Orchestral Performance



Winner:

Brahms: Symphony No. 4

Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Deutsche Grammaphon



Runners-up:

Bowen: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2

Andrew Davis, BBC Philharmonic

Chandos



Haydn: Symphonies 104, 88 and 101

Nicholas McGegan, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

Philharmonia Baroque Productions



Henze: Symphonies Nos. 3-5

Marek Janowski, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin

Wergo



Martinu: The 6 Symphonies

Jirí Belohlávek, BBC Symphony Orchestra

Onyx Classics



Best Opera Recording



Winner:

Adams: Doctor Atomic

Meredith Arwady, Sasha Cooke, Richard Paul Fink, Gerald Finley, Thomas Glenn & Eric Owens; Jay David Saks, producer; Alan Gilbert, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Sony Classical



Runners-up:

Britten: Billy Budd

John Mark Ainsley, Phillip Ens, Jacques Imbrailo, Darren Jeffery, Iain Paterson, and Matthew Rose; James Whitbourn, producer; Mark Elder, London Philharmonic Orchestra; Glyndebourne Chorus

Opus Arte



Rautavaara: Kaivos

Jaakko Kortekangas, Hannu Niemelä, Johanna Rusanen-Kartano, and Mati Turi; Seppo Siirala, producer; Hannu Lintu, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra; Kaivos Chorus

Ondine



Verdi: La Traviata

Joseph Calleja, Renée Fleming, and Thomas Hampson; James Whitbourn, producer; Antonio Pappano, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Royal Opera Chorus

Opus Arte



Vivaldi: Ercole Sul Termodonte

Romina Basso, Patrizia Ciofi, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Vivica Genaux, Philippe Jaroussky, Topi Lehtipuu, and Rolando Villazón; Daniel Zalay, producer; Fabio Biondi, Europa Galante; Coro Da Camera Santa Cecilia Di Borgo San Lorenzo

Virgin Classics



Best Choral Performance



Winner:

Light & Gold

Eric Whitacre; Christopher Glynn and Hila Plitmann, The King's Singers, Laudibus; Eric Whitacre, Pavão Quartet, and the Eric Whitacre Singers

Decca



Runners-up:

Beyond All Mortal Dreams - American A Cappella

Stephen Layton, Choir of Trinity College Cambridge

Hyperion Records



Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45

Justin Blackwell, Scott Allen Jarrett, Paul Max Tipton, and Teresa Wakim; James K. Bass, chorus master; Patrick Dupre Quigley, Professional Choral Institute & Seraphic Fire

Seraphic Fire Media



Kind

Kjetil Almenning, Nidaros String Quartet; Ensemble 96

2L Lindberg Lyd



The Natural World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen

Paul Hillier, Ars Nova Copenhagen

Dacapo Records



Best Small Ensemble Performance



Winner:

Mackey: Lonely Motel - Music From Slide

Rinde Eckert and Steven Mackey, Eighth Blackbird

Cedille Records



Runners-up:

Frank: Hilos

Gabriela Lena Frank, ALIAS Chamber Ensemble

Naxos



The Kingdoms of Castille

Richard Savino, El Mundo

Sono Luminus



A Seraphic Fire Christmas

Patrick Dupré Quigley, Seraphic Fire

Seraphic Fire Media



Sound the Bells!

The Bay Brass

Harmonia Mundi



Best Classical Instrumental Solo



Winner:

Schwantner: Concerto For Percussion & Orchestra

Christopher Lamb; Giancarlo Guerrero, Nashville Symphony

Track from: Schwantner: Chasing Light…

Naxos



Runners-up:

Chinese Recorder Concertos - East Meets West

Michala Petri; Lan Shui, Copenhagen Philharmonic

OUR Recordings



Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Yuja Wang; Claudio Abbado, Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Deutsche Grammaphon



Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4

Leif Ove Andsnes; Antonio Pappano, London Symphony Orchestra

EMI Classics



Winging It - Piano Music of John Corigliano

Ursula Oppens

Cedille Records



Best Classical Vocal Solo



Winner:

Diva Divo

Joyce DiDonato; Kazushi Ono, Orchestre De L'Opéra National De Lyon; Choeur De L'Opéra National De Lyon

Virgin Classics



Runners-up:

Grieg/Thommessen: Veslemøy Synsk

Marianne Beate Kielland; Nils Anders Mortensen

2L Lindberg Lyd)



Handel: Cleopatra

Natalie Dessay; Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert D'Astrée

Virgin Classics



Purcell: O Solitude

Andreas Scholl, Stefano Montanari, Christophe Dumaux, Accademia Bizantina

Decca



Three Baroque Tenors

Ian Bostridge; Mark Bennett, Andrew Clarke, Sophie Daneman Alberto Grazzi, Jonathan Gunthorpe, Benjamin Hulett, and Madeline Shaw; Bernard Labadie, The English Concert

EMI Classics



Best Contemporary Classical Composition



Winner:

Aldridge, Robert: Elmer Gantry

Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein

Naxos



Runners-up:

Crumb, George: The Ghosts of Alhambra

George Crumb

Track from: Complete Crumb Edition, Vol. 15

Bridge Records, Inc.



Friedman, Jefferson: String Quartet No. 3

Jefferson Friedman

Track from: Jefferson Friedman: Quartets

New Amsterdam Records



Mackey, Steven: Lonely Motel - Music From Slide

Steven Mackey

Cedille Records



Ruders, Poul: Piano Concerto No. 2

Poul Ruders

Track from: Music of Poul Ruders, Vol. 6

Bridge Records, Inc.



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