Cellist Zuill Bailey’s disc of works by Michael Daugherty with Giancarlo Guerrero conducting the Nashville Symphony, LA Opera’s recording of John Corigliano’s
“The Ghosts of Versailles” and a collection of three Shostakovich symphonies from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons conducting, are the highest-profile classical winners in this year’s Grammy Awards.Bailey’s set of Daughtery’s “Tales of Hemingway,” “American Gothic” and “Once upon a Castle” (Naxos) won in the Best Classical Compendium category, with “Tales of Hemingway” named the Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
“The Ghosts of Versailles,” conducted by James Conlon (Pentatone), won awards for Best Opera Recording and Best Engineered Classical Album. The Boston Symphony set of Shostakovich’s Fifth, Eighth and Ninth symphonies (Deutsche Grammophon) was named Best Orchestral Performance.
Other winners of classical Grammy Awards:
* Best Choral Performance: Penderecki: “Dies Illa,” “Psalms of David,” “Hymn to St. Danill,” “Hymn to St. Adalbert” – Warsaw Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra/Krzysztof Penderecki (Warner Classics).
* Best Chamber/Small Ensemble Performance: Steve Reich: “Mallet Quartet,” Sextet, “Nagoya Marimbas,” “Music for Pieces of Wood” – Third Coast Percussion (Çedille).
* Best Classical Solo Vocal Album (tie): Schumann: “Liederkreis,” “Frauenlieben und Leben;” Berg: “Seven Early Lieder” – soprano Dorothea Röschmann with pianist Mitsuko Uchida (Decca); Britten, Finzi, Korngold, Schubert, Stravinsky, Warlock, et al.: Shakespeare songs – tenor Ian Bostridge with pianist Anthony Pappano & others (Warner Classics).
* Best Surround Sound Album: Dutilleux: “Sur le même accord,” “Les Citations,” “Mystère de l’instant,” “Timbres, Espace, Mouvement” – Seattle Symphony Orchestra/Ludovic Morlot (Seattle Symphony Media).
* Producer of the Year, Classical: David Frost, for nine recordings on various labels.