And the Grammy Goes To...

Well, the Classical Grammys have come and gone. No major surprises, but let’s see how we did. Two points for a right answer, one point for naming the winner as a strong contender or personal favorite.

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Best Orchestral Performance - Messiaen: Turangalila Symphony Yuja Wang/Boston SO/Nelsons

Marcus and I were both rooting for and predicting a win for the album of works by William Grant Still and Margaret Bonds performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. However, Marcus raised the possibility that the Messiaen could win, which I was skeptical of, so Marcus takes a point here. And I’m not too disappointed; this is the orchestra that premiered this pivotal work, so they have every right to offer their own version (despite the many other recordings of this piece). This win is also a kind of consolation prize for piano soloist Yuja Wang, who lost in the Solo category. 

Best Opera - Jake Heggie: Intelligence

I’m not at all surprised that this won, though I thought Tesori’s Grounded had a slight edge, and that’s the one I officially predicted, as did Marcus. No points here, but I doubt Marcus is much surprised by this win either. It’s possible that this opera will have larger saturation than Grounded since it’s less of a star vehicle and is more performable by regional opera companies (as evidenced by Virginia Opera’s current production.)

Best Choral Performance - Ortiz: Yanga

Marcus and I both confidently predicted that Gabriela Ortiz would repeat her triple win from last year, and she did. Two points for both of us, even though it was neither of our personal preference: we both thought David Lang’s beautiful and austere Poor Hymnal was truly the best representation of choral music in this category.

Best Chamber Music - Donnehy: Land of Winter Alarm Will Sound

This was an example of the difficulty of categorization, since it was also nominated for Best Composition. It’s scored for a 19-piece chamber orchestra with conductor so it seems a little awkward pitting it against a piano trio, a violin/piano duo, a guitar duo and a percussion quartet. But it won, perhaps because voters wanted to save their Composition vote for Ms. Ortiz but they liked this too. Marcus and I were both rooting for Third Coast Percussion’s Standard Stoppages but I thought that the Neave Trio album would win. Again, no points for us, but I’m not mad at the final result; the Donnehy is well worth a listen.

Best Instrumental Solo - Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Yo-Yo Ma/Boston SO/Nelsons

I get credit for voicing this as a possibility, since I thought that the Academy likes voting for Mr. Ma. But I agreed with Marcus that the disc of Shostakovich piano concertos with Yuja Wang was the more compelling recording in what was one of the strongest fields in all categories. Do I get a point?

Best Solo Vocal Album- Telemann Arias Amanda Forsythe/Boston Early Music Festival 

This was the win I was rooting for and thought was a strong contender for the award, though I agreed with Marcus that the album of Schubert and Beatles songs by Theo Hoffman was a gimmick too irresistible for the voters to ignore. This was my favorite win, though I should clarify that isn’t as conservative a choice as it might seem. Both Telemann and Ms. Forsythe have been taken for granted far too long and they both deserved this moment in the spotlight. (I was also excited that my lifelong friend Robert Mealy, concertmaster of BEMF, was named as one of the winners.) I get a point. 

Best Classical Compendium- Ortiz: Yanga

Best Classical Composition - Ortiz: Dzonot

We both correctly predicted these awards. Four more points for each of us.

In the end, we were pretty evenly matched. We both got three right, and saw something the other one of us missed. I think it’s fair to call it a draw. 

That was fun! I got to hear a bunch of new artists and music that would otherwise have passed me by, and it taught me something about the state of the industry in 2026. What did YOU think?