Canadians took home two trophies in the 2022 Grammy Awards in the classical music division, with several more wins in other categories.
Superstar conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin took home a Grammy for a recording of a long neglected American composer at the 2022 awards.
In addition, Ottawa-based composer/musician Nadeem Majdalany became part of the winners circle for his part in the album Mythologies in the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category.
The Grammys were presented in Las Vegas, with a broadcast on April 3. The show had been rescheduled from its original date in Los Angeles on January 31 due to the Omicron COVID wave.
Florence Price
Released on the Deutsche Grammophon label, the recording of Price’s first and third symphonies by Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia orchestra is significant, and something of a historical correction.
Florence Beatrice Price was an African-American composer, pianist, organist, and educator. Born in Arkansas, she made her career in Chicago.
Her first symphony made history when Price became the first African-American woman to have her music played by a major U.S. orchestra. It premiered in 1933, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, to positive reviews.
While it was composed during the Great Depression, Price’s Third Symphony also came during a time known as the Chicago Renaissance. Writers and artists like Langston Hughes and Richard Wright were prominent members. The symphony was commissioned by the Federal Music Project.
Unfortunately, Price’s Second Symphony was lost to time and neglect, and most of her work, like that of other Black classical composers, was seldom played after her death in 1953.
However, the 2009 discovery of a large cache of her papers and works has led to a rehabilitation of her work in the classical music repertoire, and a new spate of recordings — including the Grammy winning album.
The Classical Grammys
- Best Engineered Album, Classical: Chanticleer Sings Christmas — Leslie Ann Jones, engineer (Chanticleer)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical: Judith Sherman
- Best Orchestral Performance: Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra)
- Best Opera Recording: Glass: Akhnaten — Karen Kamensek, conductor; J’Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Zachary James & Dísella Lárusdóttir; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- Best Choral Performance: Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand’ — Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Grant Gershon, Robert Istad, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz & Luke McEndarfer, chorus masters (Leah Crocetto, Mihoko Fujimura, Ryan McKinny, Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Simon O’Neill, Morris Robinson & Tamara Wilson; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus & Pacific Chorale)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears — Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax
- Best Classical Instrumental Solo: Alone Together — Jennifer Koh
- Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: Mythologies — Sangeeta Kaur & Hila Plitmann (Virginie D’Avezac De Castera, Lili Haydn, Wouter Kellerman, Nadeem Majdalany, Eru Matsumoto & Emilio D. Miler)
- Best Classical Compendium: Women Warriors — The Voices Of Change — Amy Andersson, conductor; Amy Andersson, Mark Mattson & Lolita Ritmanis, producers
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition: “Shaw: Narrow Sea” — Caroline Shaw, composer (Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish & Sō Percussion)
Other Canadian wins
Other Canadians on the Grammy podium included Joni Mitchell, who won her ninth trophy from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in the category of best historical album for Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967).
- A seventh Grammy for sound engineer Charles Moniz for Silk Sonic’s Leave the Door Open, which garnered record of the year;
- Alex Cuba in best Latin pop album for Mendó (an album he recorded in his living room during the pandemic);
- Dream Theater, (whose lead singer and songwriter James LaBrie hails from Penetanguishene, Ont.), won best
- rock performance for “The Alien”;
- The Weeknd in the best melodic rap performance category for his collaboration with Kanye West in the song “Hurricane”.
But, is anyone still watching…?
According to the figures, audiences for the Grammys ceremonies have been in decline for several years. While presenter antics boosted the Oscars’ ratings this year, the Grammys are not expecting a similar 60% boost.
- In 2021, viewership for the Grammys was 8.8 million viewers, a historic low, and a 53% drop from 2020, which drew 18.7 million.
- Back in 2012, the audience numbered 39 million, but had dropped by 25.5 million in 2018, and in 2019, to about 20 million.
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