While you may not see much classical music representation on your TV screen during the 2020 Grammy awards, music’s biggest evening this year is worth a look for classical fans. 

The classical music community may not take the Grammys as seriously as, say, the rest of the world. But in recent years, the nominating committee have taken an increasing interest in music from living composers, breathing new life into these all too often overlooked categories.

Composers Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Higdon, Caroline Shaw, Julia Wolfe and Andrew Norman are among this year’s standout nominees. Each has at least two chances to take home a gold-plated gramophone on Jan. 26.

Higdon is no doubt the one to beat in the category of Best Contemporary Classical Composition, with five nominations and two wins in the last 11 years. She faces her stiffest competition yet this year as her stunning and adventurous “Harp Concerto” is pitted against works by Marsalis, Shaw, Wolfe and Norman.

Andrew Norman’s “Sustain,” which was written for the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is up for Best Orchestral Performance as well as Best Contemporary Classical Composition. This eerie, rich, and sonically engrossing orchestral fantasy is his look into the future. “What will it mean to gather as a community and listen to an orchestra in 2118?” he muses while reflecting on the piece. 

The answer is anyone’s guess. However, “Sustain” has a bit of a post-apocalyptic quality to it. According to Norman, as he dug deeper into creating the new work he discovered he was writing about the natural world.

“If there is a sense of sadness or loss that permeates this music, it comes from the knowledge that we, at this critical moment in our history, are not doing enough to sustain the planet that sustains us...” Normal said.

“Sustain” contends with Best Orchestral Performance challenges from new recordings of canonic staples such as Copland, Bruckner, Gershwin, and Weinberg.

Iconic jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis has written a violin concerto of all things, and it’s up for Best Classical Instrumental solo. 

"I love the violin,” he told NPR. “I always felt that if you're going to write American music and use strings, you have to learn about fiddlin'." 

He’s enlisted Scottish superstar Nicola Benedetti to help him do just that. The piece is unabashed Americana, drawing influence from blues, jazz, Celtic music, bluegrass and more. Higdon’s “Harp Concerto” also appears in this powerhouse category, as does a second violin concerto from Michael Torke and a solo recital featuring the acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang.

Caroline Shaw’s album “Orange” has appeared on just about every Best of 2019 list I can think of, so it’s no wonder that she is in line for a couple of Grammys this year. Shaw has a knack for engaging the listener with familiar sounds and then quickly taking off into unexpected territory. But her music is never alienating. It’s quite the opposite, actually.

“Orange” features the stringed foursome Attacca Quartet as they vye for the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance prize, facing off against other outstanding albums like Christopher Cerrone’s “The Pieces that Fall to Earth” and Third Coast Percussion’s “Perpetulum.” The titular composition on “Perpetulum” is a first for the prolific Philip Glass, who’d never before written a stand-alone work for percussion in his 82 years.

Julia Wolfe’s “Fire in My Mouth,” up for Best Engineered Album, recounts the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that torched the top floors of the Asch building in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1911 and killed 146 immigrant workers, most of whom were women.  

The 50-minute oratorio is a documentary of sorts written for orchestra, multimedia presentation, and a huge 146-person choir of all women to represent those killed in the fire. The sheer vastness of the ensemble involved had to earn this powerful work a production nod in this category.

Of course, these are just the tip of the iceberg. More than half of this year’s classical nominees are albums devoted to the music of living composers, showing the world that classical music is far from dead. You can find a full list of the nominees below.

2020 Classical Music Grammy Nominees

Best Orchestral Performance

• Anton Bruckner: "Symphony No. 9"
  Manfred Honeck, conductor
  Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
• Aaron Copland: "Billy The Kid/Grohg"
  Leonard Slatkin, conductor
  Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• Andrew Norman: "Sustain"
  Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
  Los Angeles Philharmonic
• "Transatlantic"
  Louis Langrée, conductor
  Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
• Mieczysław Weinberg: "Symphonies Nos. 2 & 21"
  Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor
  City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Kremerata Baltica

Best Opera Recording

• George Benjamin: "Lessons in Love & Violence"
  George Benjamin, conductor
  Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare & Gyula Orendt, soloists
  Raphaël Mouterde & James Whitbourn, producers
  Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House
• Alban Berg: "Wozzeck"
  Marc Albrecht, conductor
  Christopher Maltman & Eva-Maria Westbroek, soloists
  François Roussillon, producer
  Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Chorus Of Dutch National Opera
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: "Les Arts Florissants & Les Plaisirs de Versailles"
  Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors
  Jesse Blumberg, Teresa Wakim & Virginia Warnken, soloists
  Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer
  Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble
• Tobias Picker: "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
  Gil Rose, conductor
  John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River & Edwin Vega, soloists
  Gil Rose, producer
  Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children's Chorus
• Richard Wagner: "Lohengrin"
  Christian Thielemann, conductor
  Piotr Beczała, Anja Harteros, Tomasz Konieczny, Waltraud Meier & Georg Zeppenfeld, soloists
  Eckhard Glauche, producer
  Festspielorchester Bayreuth; Festspielchor Bayreuth

Best Choral Performance

• Benjamin C.S. Boyle: "Voyages"
  Donald Nally, conductor
  The Crossing
• Maurice Durufle: "Complete Choral Works"
  Robert Simpson, conductor
  Ken Cowan; Houston Chamber Choir
• "The Hope of Loving"
  Craig Hella Johnson, conductor
  Conspirare 
• Kurt Sander: "The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom"
  Peter Jermihov, conductor
  Evan Bravos, Vadim Gan, Kevin Keys, Glenn Miller & Daniel Shirley; PaTRAM Institute Singers
• Kile Smith: "The Arc in the Sky"
  Donald Nally, conductor
  The Crossing

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

• Christopher Cerrone: "The Pieces That Fall to Earth"
  Christopher Rountree & Wild Up

• "Freedom & Faith"
  PUBLIQuartet

• "Perpetulum"
  Third Coast Percussion

• "Rachmaninoff"
  Hermitage Piano Trio

• Caroline Shaw: "Orange"
  Attacca Quartet

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

• "The Berlin Recital"
  Yuja Wang 

• Jennifer Higdon: "Harp Concerto"
  Yolanda Kondonassis
  Ward Stare, conductor
  The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

• Wynton Marsalis: "Violin Concerto / Fiddle Dance Suite"
  Nicola Benedetti
  Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
  Philadelphia Orchestra

• "The Orchestral Organ"
  Jan Kraybill

• Michael Torke: "Sky, Concerto for Violin"
  Tessa Lark
  David Alan Miller, conductor
  Albany Symphony

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

• "The Edge of Silence — Works for Voice by Gyorgy Kurtag"
  Susan Narucki
  Donald Berman, Curtis Macomber, Kathryn Schulmeister & Nicholas Tolle

• "Himmelsmusik"
  Philippe Jaroussky & Céline Scheen
  Christina Pluhar, conductor
  L’Arpeggiata, ensemble
  Jesús Rodil & Dingle Yandell 

• Robert Schumann: "Liederkreis Op. 24, Kerner-Lieder Op. 35"
  Matthias Goerne
  Leif Ove Andsnes, accompanist

• "Songplay"
  Joyce DiDonato
  Chuck Israels, Jimmy Madison, Charlie Porter & Craig Terry, accompanists
  Steve Barnett & Lautaro Greco 

• "A Te, O Cara"
  Stephen Costello
  Constantine Orbelian, conductor
  Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra

Best Classical Compendium

• "American Originals 1918"
  John Morris Russell, conductor
  Elaine Martone, producer

• Jonathan Leshnoff: "Symphony No. 4 'Heichalos'; Guitar Concerto; Starburst"
  Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
  Tim Handley, producer

• Harold Meltzer: "Songs and Structures"
  Paul Appleby & Natalia Katyukova
  Silas Brown & Harold Meltzer, producers

• "The Poetry of Places"
  Nadia Shpachenko
  Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, producers

• Kaija Saariaho: "True Fire; Trans; Ciel D'Hiver"
  Hannu Lintu, conductor
  Laura Heikinheimo, producer

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

• Derek Bermel: "Migration Series for Jazz Ensemble & Orchestra"
  Derek Bermel, composer
  Derek Bermel, Ted Nash, David Alan Miller, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra & Albany Symphony Orchestra

• Jennifer Higdon: "Harp Concerto"
  Jennifer Higdon, composer
  Yolanda Kondonassis, Ward Stare & The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra 

• Wynton Marsalis: "Violin Concerto in D Major"
  Wynton Marsalis, composer
  Nicola Benedetti, Cristian Măcelaru & Philadelphia Orchestra

• Andrew Norman: "Sustain"
  Andrew Norman, composer
  Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic

• Caroline Shaw: "Orange"
  Caroline Shaw, composer
  Attacca Quartet

• Julia Wolfe: "Fire in my Mouth"
  Julia Wolfe, composer
  Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People's Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic

Best Engineered Album, Classical

• Anna Thorvaldsdottir: "Aequa"
  Daniel Shores, engineer
  Daniel Shores, mastering engineer
  International Contemporary Ensemble

• Anton Bruckner: "Symphony No. 9"
  Mark Donahue, engineer
  Mark Donahue, mastering engineer
  Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

• "Rachmaninoff"
  Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers
  Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer
  Hermitage Piano Trio

• Terry Riley: "Sun Rings"
  Leslie Ann Jones, engineer
  John Kilgore, Judith Sherman & David Harrington, engineers/mixers
  Robert C. Ludwig, mastering engineer
  Kronos Quartet

• Julia Wolfe: "Fire in my Mouth"
  Bob Hanlon & Lawrence Rock, engineers
  Ian Good & Lawrence Rock, mastering engineers
  Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People's Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic

Producer Of The Year, Classical

• Blanton Alspaugh
• James Ginsburg
• Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin
• Morten Lindberg
• Dirk Sobotka

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media

• "Avengers: Endgame"
  Alan Silvestri, composer 

• "Chernobyl"
  Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer

• "Game of Thrones: Season 8"
  Ramin Djawadi, composer

• "The Lion King"
  Hans Zimmer, composer

• "Mary Poppins Returns"
  Marc Shaiman, composer

Best Immersive Audio Album

• "Chain Tripping"
  Luke Argilla, immersive audio engineer
  Jurgen Scharpf, immersive audio mastering engineer
  Jona Bechtolt, Claire L. Evans & Rob Kieswetter, immersive audio producers
  YACHT

• "Kverndokk: Symphonic Dances"
  Jim Anderson, immersive audio engineer
  Robert C. Ludwig, immersive audio mastering engineer
  Ulrike Schwarz, immersive audio producer
  Ken-David Masur & Stavanger Symphony Orchestra

• "Lux"
  Morten Lindberg, immersive audio engineer
  Morten Lindberg, immersive audio mastering engineer
  Morten Lindberg, immersive audio producer
  Anita Brevik, Trondheimsolistene & Nidarosdomens Jentekor

• "The Orchestral Organ"
  Keith O. Johnson, immersive audio engineer
  Keith O. Johnson, immersive audio mastering engineer
  Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, immersive audio producers
  Jan Kraybill

• "The Savoir"
  Bob Clearmountain, immersive audio engineer
  Bob Ludwig, immersive audio mastering engineer
  Michael Marquart & Dave Way, immersive audio producers
  A Bad Think

Listen to music from the nominees here on CapRadio's Spotify page: