The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has announced the nominees for The 53rd Annual JUNO Awards. The JUNO Awards ceremonies open March 23, with the Awards broadcast on March 24, 2024.
On the non-classical front, Charlotte Cardin leads with six nominations, followed by Daniel Caesar and TALK follow at five each. Within the categories devoted to classical music, Barbara Hannigan, Marc-André Hamelin, and James Ehnes fall into the no-surprises-there slot.
Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, fresh off a GRAMMY win, is nominated for two JUNOs for his work, both with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestre Métropolitain. The Album of the Year/Large Ensemble, however, is crowded with fellow Montréalais, including conductor Rafael Payare and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal with their Mahler 5 (the first release on their multi-year deal with Pentatone), Jacques Lacombe and the Orchestre classique de Montréal with Maxime Goulet: Symphonie de la tempête de verglas, and the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal with Cryptid Ensemble, and their recording of Bekah Simms’ Bestiaries.
Perhaps, next year, TSO fans can hope to break the Montréal stranglehold…?
More than classical…
Perhaps the biggest news for fans of modern neoclassical music is the crossover of pianist/composer Alexandra Stréliski’s phenomenally successful Néo-Romance, which is nominated in two categories entirely outside the genre of classical music.
Here’s a look at the details.
JUNOS 2024: Classical Music
Here is the full list of nominees in the four categories revolving around classical music.
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SOLO ARTIST) | ALBUM CLASSIQUE DE L’ANNÉE (SOLO)
- Infinite Voyage | Barbara Hannigan Alpha Classics*Naxos/Independent
- Nielsen: Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 4 | James Ehnes Chandos*Naxos/The Orchard
- Fauré: Nocturnes & Barcarolles | Marc-André Hamelin Hyperion*Universal
- De Hartmann: Cello Concerto | Matt Haimovitz Pentatone/Naxos
- mouvance | Suzie LeBlanc Centrediscs*Canadian Music Centre/Naxos
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (LARGE ENSEMBLE) | ALBUM CLASSIQUE DE L’ANNÉE (GRAND ENSEMBLE)
- Bekah Simms: Bestiaries | Cryptid Ensemble, Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal Centrediscs*Canadian Music Centre/Naxos
- Maxime Goulet: Symphonie de la tempête de verglas | Orchestre classique de Montréal, conducted by/dirigé par Jacques Lacombe ATMA*Universal
- Sibelius 3 & 4 | Orchestre Métropolitain, conducted by/dirigé par Yannick Nézet-Séguin ATMA*Universal
- Mahler: Symphony No. 5 | Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal, conducted by/dirigé par Rafael Payare Pentatone*Naxos
- Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3; Isle of the Dead The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by/dirigé par Yannick Nézet-Séguin Deutsche Grammophon*Universal
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SMALL ENSEMBLE) | ALBUM CLASSIQUE DE L’ANNÉE (PETIT ENSEMBLE)
- Mythes | Andrew Armstrong & James Ehnes Onyx*The Orchard
- Portrait: Alex Baranowski | Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà Analekta*Naxos/The Orchard
- Portrait | Cheng² Duo Centrediscs*Canadian Music Centre/Naxos
- Il Ponte di Leonardo | Constantinople Glossa*Naxos
- Basta parlare! | Les Barocudas ATMA*Universal
Dinuk Wijeratne: Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling by Cheng² Duo (from their album Portrait):
CLASSICAL COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR | COMPOSITION CLASSIQUE DE L’ANNÉE
- Simulacra | Amy Brandon Independent
- Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling | Dinuk Wijeratne Centrediscs*Canadian Music Centre/Naxos
- …and the Higher Leaves of the Trees Seemed to Shimmer in the Last of the Sunlight’s Lingering
Touch of Them… | Emilie Cecilia LeBel Redshift - Shāhīn-nāmeh, for Voice and Orchestra | Iman Habibi Analekta*Naxos/The Orchard
- Don’t Throw Your Head in Your Hands | Nicole Lizée Redshift
Other Categories
ALBUM OF THE YEAR | ALBUM DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY MUSIC CANADA | PRÉSENTÉ PAR MUSIC CANADA
- Néo-Romance | Alexandra Stréliski Secret City*F.A.B.
- 99 Nights | Charlotte Cardin Cult Nation*The Orchard
- NEVER ENOUGH | Daniel Caesar Republic*Universal
- Mirror Lauren | Spencer Smith Universal
- Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees | TALK Capitol*Universal
INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR | ALBUM INSTRUMENTAL DE L’ANNÉE
- Néo-Romance | Alexandra Stréliski Secret City* F.A.B.
- When we were that what wept for the sea | Colin Stetson 52 Hz
- Calibrating Friction | Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis New Amsterdam*Naxos
- Fourth Album | Markus Floats Constellation*Secretly
- Tesseract | Meredith Bates Phonometrograph*Independent
Best of luck to all the nominees.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
