Curtis in the News: 2018 Grammy Nominations
The nominees for the 2018 Grammy Awards were announced on November 28. Among those honored are several celebrated faculty and alumni of Curtis who are in the front rank of soloists, composers, and conductors worldwide.
Three of the four nominees for Best Contemporary Classical Composition were works by Curtis faculty or alumni: 2005 graduate Zhou Tian, for his Concerto for Orchestra; faculty member Richard Danielpour for his Songs of Solitude; and 1988 graduate and faculty member Jennifer Higdon for her Viola Concerto, performed by Curtis President Roberto Díaz (’84).
The Higdon Viola Concerto, premiered by Roberto Díaz and the Curtis Chamber Orchestra at the Library of Congress in 2015 and performed across the United States as part of Curtis on Tour, was also part of the Higdon album nominated for Best Classical Compendium
See below for a complete list of Curtis faculty and alumni individually nominated for a Grammy in 2018.
BEST CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL COMPOSITION
Richard Danielpour: Songs of Solitude
Performers: Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Nashville Symphony
Jennifer Higdon (’88): Viola Concerto
Performers: Roberto Díaz (’84), Giancarlo Guerrero, and Nashville Symphony
Adam Schoenberg: Picture Studies
Performers: Michael Stern (’86) and Kansas City Symphony
Zhou Tian (’05): Concerto For Orchestra
Performers: Louis Langrée and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
BEST CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM
Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto, and Oboe Concerto
Performers: Giancarlo Guerrero, James Button, Roberto Díaz, and Nashville Symphony
Producer: Tim Handley
BEST CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Performers: Frank Peter Zimmerman, Alan Gilbert (’92), NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE
Handel: Messiah
Performers: Andrew Davis, Elizabeth DeShong (’05), John Relyea (’96), Andrew Staples, and Erin Wall; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; Toronto Symphony Orchestra
BEST ENGINEERED CLASSICAL ALBUM
Danielpour: Songs of Solitude and War Songs
Performers: Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Nashville Symphony
Engineer: Gary Call
A. Schoenberg: American Symphony, Finding Rothko, and Picture Studies
Performers: Michael Stern (’86) and Kansas City Symphony
Engineers: Keith O. Johnson and Sean Royce Martin
