Grammy Week on WETA Virtuoso

Welcome to Grammy Week! In anticipation of the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony this Sunday, Marcus Pfeifer and I will be spending each day listening to the nominees in the Classical categories. You’ll hear substantial selections from each recording as well as information and historical context about them, and on Friday, we’ll have a freewheeling discussion in which we’ll offer our opinions and predictions. Join us on WETA Virtuoso from January 16-30 at 2PM. You can listen from the WETA Classical app, at wetaclassical.org, or on 90.9 HD3.

There are a few notable trends among this year’s nominees. It is dominated by living composers and there are many cross-genre explorations; it seems that the Recording Academy is asking existential questions about the definition of classical music, and looking toward the future rather than the past. There are also a number of recordings dealing with the themes of grief and loss.
Please join us for this remarkable journey through the state of classical music in 2026. 

MONDAY we’ll be exploring the nominees in the categories Best Orchestral Performance and Best Opera Recording.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Toussaint L’Ouverture; Ballade for Violin and Orchestra Op. 4; Suite from 24 Negro Melodies
Curtis Stewart, violin; National Philharmonic; Michael Repper, conductor

Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-symphonie
Boston Symphony Orchestra; Andris Nelsons, conductor

Maurice Ravel: Boléro 
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Still & Bonds
William Grant Still: Symphonies nos. 2 & 4 
Margaret Bonds: Montgomery Variations
The Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Igor Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements 
San Francisco Symphony; Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor

Jake Heggie: Intelligence
Houston Grand Opera; Kwamé Ryan, conductor
Huang Ruo: An American Soldier
American Composers Orchestra; Carolyn Kuan, conductor

Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration
Silvana Quartet; Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Alan Pierson, conductor

Emma O’Halloran: TRADE & Mary Motorhead
Irish National Opera; Elaine Kelly, conductor

Jeanine Tesori: Grounded
The Metropolitan Opera; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

TUESDAY we’ll be exploring the nominees in the categories Best Choral Performance and Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.

Advena: Liturgies for a Broken World
Music of Mark Buller
Conspirare; Craig Hella Johnson, conductor

Billy Childs: In the Arms of the Beloved
Anne Akiko Meyers (violin); Los Angeles Master Chorale; Grant Gershon, conductor

Advena: Liturgies for a Broken World
Music of Mark Buller
Conspirare; Craig Hella Johnson, conductor

David Lang: poor hymnal
The Crossing; Donald Nally, conductor

Ortiz: Yanga
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Master Chorale; Tambuco Percussion Ensemble; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Patti Drennan: Requiem of Light
The Clarion Choir; Steven Fox, conductor
 

Donnacha Dennehy: Land of Winter
Alarm Will Sound; Alan Pierson (conductor)

La Mer - French Piano Trios
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 92
Mel Bonis: Soir et matin, Op. 76
Claude Debussy (arr. Sally Beamish): La mer
Neave Trio

Lullabies for the Brokenhearted
Lili Haydn (violin); Paul Cantelon (piano)

Slavic Sessions
Mak Grgic, Mateusz Kowalski (guitars)

Standard Stoppages
Third Coast Percussion

WEDNESDAY we’ll be exploring the nominees in the categories Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (arr. Curtis Stewart): 3 Selections from “24 Negro Melodies”
Curtis Stewart (violin); National Philharmonic; Michael Repper, conductor

Inheritances 
Adam Tendler (piano)

Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement in D minor
Han Chen (piano); Malmö Opera Orchestra; John Jeter, conductor

Shostakovich: Cello Concertos
Yo-Yo Ma (cello); Boston Symphony Orchestra; Andris Nelsons, conductor

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos
Yuja Wang (piano); Boston Symphony Orchestra; Andris Nelsons, conductor
 

Alike – My Mother’s Dream
Allison Charney (voice); Benjamin Loeb (piano)

Black Pierrot
William Grant Still: Songs of Separation
B.E. Boykin: 26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man
Sidney Outlaw (voice); Warren Jones (piano)

In This Short Life
Devony Smith (voice); Danny Zelibor (piano)

György Kurtág: Kafka Fragments
Susan Narucki (voice); Curtis Macomber (violin)

Schubert Beatles
Theo Hoffman (baritone); Steven Blier (piano)

Telemann – Ino & Opera Arias for Soprano
Amanda Forsythe (voice); Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra; Robert Mealy, Stephen Stubbs and Paul O’Dette, conductors

THURSDAY we’ll be exploring the nominees in the categories Best Classical Compendium and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
 

Christopher Cerrone: Don’t Look Down
Sandbox Percussion

The Dunbar/Moore Sessions, Vol. II
Music by Will Liverman

Ortiz: Yanga
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Kitt Wakeley: Seven Seasons
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Christina Sandsengen: Tombeaux
Christina Sandsengen (guitar)
 

Christopher Cerrone: Don’t Look Down
Sandbox Percussion

Donnacha Dennehy: Land of Winter
Alarm Will Sound; Alan Pierson (conductor)

Tania León: Raices (Origins)
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Edward Gardner, conductor

Shawn E. Okpebholo: Songs in Flight

Ortiz: Dzonot
Alisa Weilerstein (cello); Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor