Month: November 2022

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 82 – Best Orchestral Performance

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Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.

These nominees all had their moments. The first half of the University Of Michigan nominee was amazing. I’ve never heard anything like it. It’s a drawn-out orchestral drone with dramatic percussion, and it is recorded beautifully. I recommend everyone reading this click on the link in the nominees list and fire this one up. You won’t regret it.

Dudamel never disappoints. The mastering on this release was a little hot. There’s a reason the Dvořák 9th Symphony has been recorded over and over – it is an amazing piece of music. I have heard other recordings I enjoyed more, but this one is pretty great. Symphonies 7 and 8 are nice, but that 9th gets me every time. I saw the LA Phil last month performing another warhorse, the Copland 3rd, and I feel bad for not picking this as my favorite nominee in this bunch, but those Michigan folks are on to something.

The Wild Up piece was frenetic and annoying, with shouted vocals. The John Williams is pointless, unless you want to hear random Star Wars and Superman themes (maybe you do!). The New York Youth Symphony was a nice listen, nothing really stood out except the first few pieces, “Ethiopia’s Shadow in America” and “Anthem of Unity.”

With the end of this category I have now listened to 475 tracks and we are only in Category 82!

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 83 – Best Opera Recording

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Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) of a world premiere Opera recording only.

  • Aucoin: Eurydice
    Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Barry Banks, Nathan Berg, Joshua Hopkins, Erin Morley & Jakub Józef Orliński; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
  • Blanchard: Fire Shut Up In My Bones
    Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Angel Blue, Will Liverman, Latonia Moore & Walter Russell III; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
  • Davis: X – The Life And Times Of Malcolm X
    Gil Rose, conductor; Ronnita Miller, Whitney Morrison, Victor Robertson & Davóne Tines; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Odyssey Opera Chorus)

There aren’t many Opera nominations this year. Of these three, I could only find “X – The Life and Times of Malcolm X” so I gave it a listen. Most years I skip the Opera category, but I went ahead and took a listen. I’ve read a few biographies on Malcolm – the Autobiography and the Manning Marable. I’ve also watched most documentaries I have come across. He is definitely someone worth learning about.

As a result of my interest in the subject of this Opera, I was able to follow along. It’s in English. I don’t care for the atonal melodic style of this piece, I thought the recording was a little murky, and the text felt clunky. I don’t have much else to add because I really didn’t enjoy it, I tolerated it.

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 84 – Best Choral Performance

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Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.

  • Bach: St. John Passion
    John Eliot Gardiner, conductor (English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir)
  • Born
    Donald Nally, conductor (Dominic German, Maren Montalbano, Rebecca Myers & James Reese; The Crossing)
  • Verdi: Requiem – The Met Remembers 9/11
    Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Donald Palumbo, chorus master (Michelle DeYoung, Eric Owens, Ailyn Pérez & Matthew Polenzani; The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)

Typically this is a category full of swooshy choral music that I enjoy. I am guessing the category is a little bare this year due to pandemic restrictions. There was famously a church choir practice in Seattle at the beginning of the pandemic that became one of the first super-spreader events in the USA.

I’ve been trying to warm up to Bach vocal music without much success. The recording nominated here is the THIRD recording of this piece from conductor John Eliot Gardner going back over 40 years. He must really like it.

I took a few semesters as a music major, and I studied composition in High School in my Senior Year, plus a summer program I took for four years, so I’m acquainted with what this music is for. This is church music. I started thinking about the purpose of this – it’s not a Mass because a Mass is Catholic and Bach was in Germany a hundred years or so after Martin Luther, so he would not have been writing a Mass; he was most definitely a Lutheran.

I have also dabbled in theology, I took a few comparative religion classes and have a basic understanding of how different denominations came to be. I had never really thought about denominations other than Catholics having Saints, but luckily I had dinner with a Lutheran last night and he explained that Lutherans do have Saints, but they don’t pray to them. I guess that explains why Bach wrote this very long piece of music – which I assume would have been performed as a Church service, maybe on a holiday related to St. John.

I listened through to it twice, once riding in the car with my son who has been taking German in school. The entire piece is in German. It felt like it was somewhere between a Mass and an Oratorio. I haven’t bothered to research it. I couldn’t really follow what was happening – I assume the text is all direct from the Bible, but I didn’t catch any thematic unity or really interesting melodies. That’s my way of saying I don’t know what’s going on here, it all sounded random to these ears. Nothing stood out, but I am glad that I gave it a few tries. If the conductor tackled it 3 times on recordings, there must be something to it.

The collection by The Crossing was more of what I expect in this category. A modernist choral experience. The lyrics were in English, I wasn’t paying close attention to them but I did here the choir mention Wilmington, North Carolina for some reason. Maybe I’ll go back and listen to it some more to figure it out. Nothing really grabbed me, though.

The Verdi Requiem was a PBS Great Performances thing that I don’t have access to in my streaming world over here. I’m sure it was great!

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 85 – Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

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For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.

I lived with these nominees for what felt like months. In reality it was only a few days. These nominees have absolutely nothing to do with one another, except for the size of the group performing the music. How does one compare and contrast a collection of early Beethoven String Quartets (Dover Quartet), a collection of Piano Trios from Rachmaninoff, Brahms and Ravel (Neave Trio), a collection of percussion pieces (Third Coast Percussion), and two chamber works that incorporate occasional vocals (spoken or sung) (Attacca Quartet and PUBLIQuartet) ?

It’s categories like these where Grammy voters usually select the most recognizable name. The only name here anyone will know is Beethoven, so I predict ol’ Ludwig will take the trophy. I am probably the only person on the planet that has listened to all of these nominees, aside from the nominating committee, and I bet even they skipped around a bit.

The Beethoven release is fine. There were a few toe-tappers in this set, and a few where the cellists plunked their bass strings like a modern-day bass fiddle. The Piano Trios from the Neave Trio were a little too flighty for my taste – Ravel especially. Rachmaninoff is also not a favorite.

Third Coast Percussion are always amazing, although parts of this reminded me of an exhibit at a local science museum where you could watch a bunch of percussion instruments triggered by a computer interface people could program. The Attacca Quartet nominee had some nice moments, but was a little artsy for me. The PUBLIQuartet had spoken word interludes from the writings of, I assume, Harriet Tubman in between some snazzy music. A little too artsy for my ears. The only one hear I recommend checking out is the Third Coast Percussion release.

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 86 – Best Classical Instrumental Solo

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Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.

The confounding mysteries of the Grammy Nominations continues. Why is Hilary Hahn nominated for a single piece less than 3 minutes long, and the rest of these are full – length releases? The Trifonov collection has over 50 pieces. Also, the Time for Three release is a group, and no soloist is identified in the nomination. It doesn’t make sense.

The stunner in these nominations has to be the Trifonov. During the height of the pandemic the Tanglewood Music Festival was offering live-streaming events you could pay for and watch. For some reason, a recital from Trifonov caught my eye and I bought a livestream. My family sat down at the appointed hour and watched Trifonov perform the Bach “Art of the Fugue” he performs here, along with one Brahms piece and a bunch of other Bach and Bach’s kids and grandkids’ pieces. This release is mesmerizing and perhaps one of my favorite piano performances of all time. It makes me feel zoned out like the best Hüsker Dü does. He is in the zone for all of this, turning what can sometimes be a stuffy exercise into an exhilarating thrill ride. I want to listen to nothing but this for the next month. It is absolutely amazing.

I have become a big Mitsuko Uchida over the last few months, but I’ve never been a fan of the Diabelli Variations. I am not a variations fan at all, really. Solid musicianship and a nice job, just not my thing. The Mak Grgić is solo guitar. He’s good, tackles some baroque, but my heart yearns for the Trifonov. The other two nominations here don’t even seen to fit the category. The entire category is a nice listen, however.

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 87 – Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

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Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with greater than 50% playing time of new material.

The Classical vocal categories are usually the toughest for me to get through. I’ve learned to love many things I previously did not care for – Bob Dylan, brussel sprouts, computers, New Jersey – but Classical operatic singing just doesn’t do it for me.

I listened to about 8 tracks on the first nominee here, “Eden“. This release has a deluxe edition and I think I saw it has an ATMOS mix. It begins innocently enough, kinda spacey and artsy, but by the third track the opera singing starts. I let it play way past when I lost interest in it. “How Do I Find You” fared worse for me – I made it through three tracks. I didn’t look very closely, but the lyrics seemed to be in English and there was a line in the first song that made me laugh out loud. I don’t remember what the line was, and I am not interested enough to go back and listen.

“Lord, How Come Me Here” is a collection of folk songs, spirituals, etc. performed in the lieder / operatic style. If you want to hear “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands” opera style, here’s your chance.

I might be getting “Stranger” mixed up with “How Do I Find You” but I will say nothing more about either of them so I may unveil the real surprise here. I LOVED THE RENEE FLEMING. I listened to the entire release, and it is pure enchantment. The only real clunker on here is the closing track, where they invite Alison Krauss and Rhiannon Giddons to offer up their stylings on a Jackson Browne ditty called “Before the Deluge.” Luckily, it’s the last tune on the record so it’s easy to skip. Jackson Browne doesn’t hold a candle to Fauré!

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 88 – Best Classical Compendium

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Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 50% playing time of the album, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) with over 50% playing time of a world premiere recording only.

  • An Adoption Story
    Starr Parodi & Kitt Wakeley; Jeff Fair, Starr Parodi & Kitt Wakeley, producers
  • Aspire
    JP Jofre & Seunghee Lee; Enrico Fagone, conductor; Jonathan Allen, producer
  • A Concert For Ukraine
    Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; David Frost, producer
  • The Lost Birds
    Voces8; Barnaby Smith & Christopher Tin, conductors; Sean Patrick Flahaven & Christopher Tin, producers

Hard to see anything but “A Concert for Ukraine” winning this category. The nomination doesn’t show who the performers are on this other than the Conductor, so I will tell you it’s an album by the Metropolitan Opera and Orchestra, so there’s a bunch of Opera singing on it. I listened all the way through, which may a surprise to you (it is to me!), but I didn’t mind it. It closes out with the Beethoven’s 9th “Ode to Joy” part which is always a toe-tapper.

“An Adoption Story” is entirely instrumental, and nothing really stands out. It sounded like the soundtrack to a Marvel Disney+ series. “Aspire” has some nice Clarinet work and it went by without interesting me much or annoying me much. Not exactly a sweet spot or a ringing endorsement, but I was just glad it wasn’t aspiring to loftier ambitions. “The Lost Birds” is also surprisingly melodic and pretty, reminds me of the soundtrack to a never-released Merchant & Ivory movie from the 80’s. This “Compendium” involves very pretty choral work as well. I guess that’s Voces8 there. Have the Grammys nominating committee gone soft? Where’s the plink-plonk? It’s been driving me crazy for years, but now that’s it isn’t here I miss it. I will be patient. With 87 more categories to go I can be confident there will be more plink-plonk.

Blogging the 2023 Grammys Category 89 – Best Contemporary Classical Composition

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A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.

  • Akiho: Ligneous Suite
    Andy Akiho, composer (Ian Rosenbaum & Dover Quartet)
  • Bermel: Intonations
    Derek Bermel, composer (Jack Quartet)
  • Gubaidulina: The Wrath Of God
    Sofia Gubaidulina, composer (Andris Nelsons & Gewandhausorchester)
  • Puts: Contact
    Kevin Puts, composer (Xian Zhang, Time for Three & The Philadelphia Orchestra)
  • Simon: Requiem For The Enslaved
    Carlos Simon, composer (Carlos Simon, MK Zulu, Marco Pavé & Hub New Music)

And we are off to the races again, after giving up last year and the year before. I still listened to the nominees, I just didn’t sit down to jot down my thoughts about them. I actually visited the Grammys Museum in Los Angeles a few months ago, and especially enjoyed the teeny-weeny displays they had for “Classical” and “Jazz.” It’s a mystery to me, then, why they have so many Classical categories. It’s also a mystery that most of the nominees are U.S. Orchestras. Shrug.

This category was easy to get through – I enjoyed most of what I heard. I can handle plink-plunk atonal ‘modern’ classical if it has some rhythm and pep, and the “Ligneous Suite” has that and more. Added bonus: mallets! “Contact” was my favorite in this category, mixing in some modern and traditional for an enjoyable 28 minutes of my life. My least favorite was the Simon piece, “Requiem For The Enslaved” because it incorporated spoken word and rap, two renditions of “When The Saints Go Marching In“, and a little too much jazz for a Classical category. And a little too much rap. “The Wrath of God” was the most traditional piece here, and I enjoyed several parts of it. I recommend listening to all of these.

Pictured below: A fascinating exhibit at the Grammys Museum