Grammy Winners 2010

[greg]

I watched about 15 minutes of the Grammy show and almost puked; the garbage just overflows.

Oh, come on, man, you just need to really, really lower your standards, that's all. 

[DavidW]

Yeah, the Bernstein Mass was robbed for best album.

Still haven't heard that, but your praise it has made me start to consider it.

Two artists were nominated for multiple CDs, and it might not be the artists one would expect: Valery Gergiev and Antoni Wit!

Actually Gergiev comes up rather frequently on NPR, I think he's IN for this year.   Perhaps the masses just like an unabashedly romantic conductor in the age of restrained neoclassical performances.  Also it doesn't hurt that he was (or is?) juggling three jobs.

[karlhenning]

It's the stubble . . . .

[Catison]

Another year, and no Grammy for Henning . . . .

Write a song for Lady GaGa.

[MN Dave]

Write a song for Lady GaGa.

I've mentioned a prog rock album to him, but...nothing... 

[Gurn Blanston]

Don - LOL!     I stopped watching the Grammys years ago - just garbage for my musical tastes - 

However, I did go through the LONG list of nominations and at the bottom were the few categories for classical selections - sad -     Dave

There's a link back early in this thread for nominated disks and the winners. Sad to say, I didn't see a single disk among all the nominee's that I would have clicked on a "buy it now" button for, and that's the laziest way to shop on Earth!  I thought there was some irony in having a "crossover" category (mostly jazz. WTF is that all about?) when most of the nominee's in the other categories seemed like crossover to me. Sorry, just bitter about it all this AM, record companies have me down (and standing on my throat).

[haydnguy]

Yeah, the Bernstein Mass was robbed for best album.

Two artists were nominated for multiple CDs, and it might not be the artists one would expect: Valery Gergiev and Antoni Wit!

Anne Sofie Von Otter was nominated for two also. (At least she was on two of the CD's, she may have been actually eligible on one of them).

[kishnevi]

There's a link back early in this thread for nominated disks and the winners. Sad to say, I didn't see a single disk among all the nominee's that I would have clicked on a "buy it now" button for, and that's the laziest way to shop on Earth! 

What? Not none of them? Not, for instance, the Loraine Hunt Lieberson recital?
I agree that some of the winners, not to mention some of the nominees, are clunkers; any vocalist whose first name is not Renee could say "we wuz robbed!"; and was it really necessary to give MTT's Mahler cycle a third Grammy, even if its competition was not very robust(sorry, Brian, but Lenny's theatricalizations never appealed to me very much)? (although aside from a rather wobbly and breathy Pater Profundus, it's actually a good recording, and probably deserved the engineering award)--but I find it hard to believe that all of the nominees could be ignored without loss.

[Maciek]

Surely, the Grannies can't be that bad if they have so much 20th century music nominated... (Wit's Utrenja disc!!! )

[Sergeant Rock]

Sad to say, I didn't see a single disk among all the nominee's that I would have clicked on a "buy it now" button for, and that's the laziest way to shop on Earth!

I can understand that, Gurn: recordings from the period and composers you prefer were in short supply. For those of us who enjoy 20th century music, though, the list of nominees was pretty impressive actually: Shostakovich, Britten, Martinu, Janacek, Profkofiev, Korngold, Ravel, Ginastera, Bartok, Bernstein, Higdon, Crumb, Pärt, Takemitsu, Salonen, Penderecki, Tan Dun, Messiaen, Szymanowski, Mahler. Our own Henning has praised the Levine/Boston Ravel winner. O mensch thinks highly of Rattle's Symphonie Fantastique. Brian can't stop talking about the Bernstein Mass.  That most of the winners are obvious and predictable...well, yeah, this is the Grammys  Still, the list of nominees is nothing to sneer at.

Sarge

[DavidW]

and was it really necessary to give MTT's Mahler cycle a third Grammy, even if its competition was not very robust(sorry, Brian, but Lenny's theatricalizations never appealed to me very much)?

Why are you comparing to Bernstein?  His first cycle came out when people were still listening to vinyl.  MTT is competing with contemporaries not his teacher.

This year we had Zinman and Ivan Fischer.  In previous years we had the release of several cycles in modern sound including Boulez and Chailly.  MTT is pretty good, but to say that there has been very little competition for MTT is to admit that you haven't been listening.  I would take Gielen, Bertini, Boulez and Chailly over MTT, MTT is pretty good but he is not even in the same league as those.  At least he's better than Zander.

This actually demonstrates the overall problem with the Grammies: they are americo-centric.  Why did Solti win so many awards in the past?  The CSO.  When he was conducting other orchestras I bet he wasn't in the spot light.  These make the awards useless because, hey I love my country, but the finest performances/recordings are coming from Europe.  And considering their high quality, they are grievously underrepresented at the Grammies.

[Sergeant Rock]

Why are you comparing to Bernstein?  His first cycle came out when people were still listening to vinyl.  MTT is competing with contemporaries not his teacher.

I believe he's referring not to Bernstein's Mahler cycles but to Lenny's Mass, which was nominated in the same category as MTT's Mahler.

This actually demonstrates the overall problem with the Grammies: they are americo-centric.

Of course. And the Gramophone Awards are Brit-centric (year after years, 50 to 60 per cent of their nominees are either British musicians, British bands, or British labels). We acknowledge this. That's why nobody, including many of the winners, takes these things seriously.  A quote I read today sums up industry awards perfectly, "Let's acknowledge that the Oscars are bullshit and we hate them."

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

This year we had Zinman and Ivan Fischer.  In previous years we had the release of several cycles in modern sound including Boulez and Chailly.  MTT is pretty good, but to say that there has been very little competition for MTT is to admit that you haven't been listening.  I would take Gielen, Bertini, Boulez and Chailly over MTT, MTT is pretty good but he is not even in the same league as those.  At least he's better than Zander.

And yet, MTT has his fans. David Ross is one. Jens likes several of the cycle. If we asked each Mahler fanatic in the forum to nominate one Mahler recording released last year as his favorite, would we get a consensus? I doubt it. MTT might make the list as often as anyone. (My pick would be Stenz's M5 on Oehms)

Sarge

[DavidW]

I believe he's referring not to Bernstein's Mahler cycles but to Lenny's Mass, which was nominated in the same category as MTT's Mahler.

Oh.

Of course. And the Gramophone Awards are Brit-centric (year after years, 50 to 60 per cent of their nominees are either British musicians, British bands, or British labels). We acknowledge this. That's why nobody, including many of the winners, takes these things seriously.  A quote I read today sums up industry awards perfectly, "Let's acknowledge that the Oscars are bullshit and we hate them."

Sarge

Amen to that!  I hate the Oscars!  I would just like one good awards ceremony.  Is that too much to ask?   It seems like all of them are just an excuse for the respected industry to pat themselves on the back. 

[Gurn Blanston]

I can understand that, Gurn: recordings from the period and composers you prefer were in short supply. For those of us who enjoy 20th century music, though, the list of nominees was pretty impressive actually: Shostakovich, Britten, Martinu, Janacek, Profkofiev, Korngold, Ravel, Ginastera, Bartok, Bernstein, Higdon, Crumb, Pärt, Takemitsu, Salonen, Penderecki, Tan Dun, Messiaen, Szymanowski, Mahler. Our own Henning has praised the Levine/Boston Ravel winner. O mensch thinks highly of Rattle's Symphonie Fantastique. Brian can't stop talking about the Bernstein Mass.  That most of the winners are obvious and predictable...well, yeah, this is the Grammys  Still, the list of nominees is nothing to sneer at.

Sarge

And don't think I wasn't pleased for y'all.  

But some Haydn good enough to be even nominated would have been a small enough crust to toss during the year of the 200th anniversary... actually there were some possibilities (the Huss disks on BIS, for example (well, maybe if Levine et al would have done that rep)) but no joy, I'm afraid...

[kishnevi]

And yet, MTT has his fans. David Ross is one. Jens likes several of the cycle. If we asked each Mahler fanatic in the forum to nominate one Mahler recording released last year as his favorite, would we get a consensus? I doubt it. MTT might make the list as often as anyone. (My pick would be Stenz's M5 on Oehms)

Sarge

Indeed; I happen to like most of the MTT cycle; I just happen to prefer one or another recording over his when it comes to each particular symphony.    I think his 8th is fairly decent, the major flaw being a struggling Pater Profundis, and overall it was probably as good as anything else that was actually nominated in its categories--as opposed to what might have been nominated.    But we all know what "might have been" will buy you.

And I haven't, of course, heard everything that came out last year (for instance, not the Stenz you refer to), but I would propose for your attention the Ninth Alan Gilbert recorded with the Royal Stockholm (on Bis).

And for the record I was in fact referring to Mass;  hence the use of the word "theatricalization". 

[snyprrr]

when most of the nominee's in the other categories seemed like crossover to me. Sorry, just bitter about it all this AM, record companies have me down (and standing on my throat).

...and accepting for Best Classical Rap Gospel Jazz...

The MAJOR label (s) is what?... Warner-Universal-Vivendi-Frankenburger??? Shouldn't they have a category for Best Repackaged Vault Fodder? Oh, we should NOT encourage each other in record company bitterness. It's what THEY want!

And don't think I wasn't pleased for y'all.  

But some Haydn good enough to be even nominated would have been a small enough crust to toss during the year of the 200th anniversary... actually there were some possibilities (the Huss disks on BIS, for example (well, maybe if Levine et al would have done that rep)) but no joy, I'm afraid...

That second London Haydn Quartet album (Op.9) was 2009. That woulda been nice.

[DavidRoss]

MTT is pretty good, but to say that there has been very little competition for MTT is to admit that you haven't been listening.  I would take Gielen, Bertini, Boulez and Chailly over MTT, MTT is pretty good but he is not even in the same league as those. 

I have confidence in your taste.  Keep listening.  You'll come around. 

[knight66]

What do the winners do with the granny? Do they get to keep her just for a year, take her on holidays and so forth?

Have any of them subsequently married the granny?

Mike