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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