Classical music’s 2025 Grammy nominees present a starry array

The 2025 Grammy nominations are out, and as far as classical music goes, the list ratifies a mainstream consensus about illustrious prominence in the field. With a confluence of virtuoso soloists, elite ensembles, star conductors and heralded engineers, the results suggest an index of easily identifiable — though far from comprehensive — excellence within the classical realm.

For Best Orchestral Performance, nominees include the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, led by Marin Alsop; the Los Angeles Philharmonic, under Gustavo Dudamel; the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Susanna Mälkki; the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, led by JoAnn Falletta; and the San Francisco Symphony, presumably captured in a happier era with Esa-Pekka Salonen.

In the category of Best Opera Recording, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has two nominations, neither of which are with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Instead he appears in his capacity as music director of The Metropolitan Opera, with recordings of Daniel Catán’s Florencia En El Amazonas and Kevin Puts’ The Hours. 

Dmitriy Lipay, one of the six nominees for Producer of the Year, Classical, was responsible for a few albums in contention — notably John Adams’ Girls Of The Golden West, which is up for Best Opera Recording, and Gabriela Ortiz’s Revolución Diamantina, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which is in the running for Best Orchestral Performance. But another heralded producer — last year’s Producer of the Year winner, Elaine Martone — turned out a handful of acclaimed yet un-nominated albums by The Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst.

Philadelphia’s own The Crossing, led by Donald Nally, has become a favorite in the choral category. Its album Ochre — featuring works by Ayanna Woods, George Lewis and Caroline Shaw — is in the running for Best Choral Performance. Shaw also appears alongside Sō Percussion as a nominee for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, for Rectangles And Circumstance.

In the category of Best Contemporary Classical Composition, the nominees are Andrea Casarrubios (“Seven For Solo Cello”); Valerie Coleman (“Revelry”)’ David Lang (“Composition As Explanation”); Gabriela Ortiz (“Revolución Diamantina”); and the late Kaija Saariaho (“Adriana Mater”), whose work is also nominated in the category of Best Opera Recording.

Here is a complete list of Grammy nominees. Below, find results in the Classical field and related categories. Also read our report on the Jazz field.

Best Engineered Album, Classical

• Adams: Girls Of The Golden West – Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (John Adams, Daniela Mack, Ryan McKinny, Paul Appleby, Hye Jung Lee, Elliot Madore, Julia Bullock, Davóne Tines, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale)
• Andres: The Blind Banister – Silas Brown, Doron Schachter & Michael Schwartz, engineers; Matt Colton, mastering engineer (Andrew Cyr, Inbal Segev & Metropolis Ensemble)
• Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit – Mark Donahue & John Newton, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
• Clear Voices In The Dark – Daniel Shores, engineer; Daniel Shores, mastering engineer (Matthew Guard & Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
• Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, María Dueñas, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale)

Producer Of The Year, Classical

• Erica Brenner
• Christoph Franke
• Morten Lindberg
• Dmitriy Lipay
• Elaine Martone
• Dirk Sobotka

Best Orchestral Performance

• Adams: City Noir, Fearful Symmetries & Lola Montez Does The Spider Dance – Marin Alsop, conductor (ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra)
• Kodály: Háry János Suite; Summer Evening & Symphony In C Major – JoAnn Falletta, conductor (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• Sibelius: Karelia Suite, Rakastava, & Lemminkäinen – Susanna Mälkki, conductor (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Stravinsky: The Firebird – Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)

Best Opera Recording

• Adams: Girls Of The Golden West – John Adams, conductor; Paul Appleby, Julia Bullock, Hye Jung Lee, Daniela Mack, Elliot Madore, Ryan McKinny & Davóne Tines; Dmitriy Lipay, producer (Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Master Chorale)
• Catán: Florencia En El Amazonas – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Mario Chang, Michael Chioldi, Greer Grimsley, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Mattia Olivieri, Ailyn Pérez & Gabriella Reyes; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
• Moravec: The Shining – Gerard Schwarz, conductor; Tristan Hallett, Kelly Kaduce & Edward Parks; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Kansas City Symphony; Lyric Opera Of Kansas City Chorus)
• Puts: The Hours – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming & Kelli O’Hara; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
• Saariaho: Adriana Mater – Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Fleur Barron, Axelle Fanyo, Nicholas Phan & Christopher Purves; Jason O’Connell, producer (San Francisco Symphony; San Francisco Symphony Chorus; Timo Kurkikangas)

Best Choral Performance

• Clear Voices In The Dark – Matthew Guard, conductor (Carrie Cheron, Nathan Hodgson, Helen Karloski & Clare McNamara; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
• A Dream So Bright – Choral Music Of Jake Runestad – Eric Holtan, conductor (Jeffrey Biegel; True Concord Orchestra; True Concord Voices)
• Handel: Israel In Egypt – Jeannette Sorrell, conductor (Margaret Carpenter Haigh, Daniel Moody, Molly Netter, Jacob Perry & Edward Vogel; Apollo’s Fire; Apollo’s Singers)
• Ochre – Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
• Sheehan: Akathist – Elaine Kelly, conductor; Melissa Attebury, Stephen Sands & Benedict Sheehan, chorus masters (Elizabeth Bates, Paul D’Arcy, Tynan Davis, Aine Hakamatsuka, Steven Hrycelak, Helen Karloski, Enrico Lagasca, Edmund Milly, Fotina Naumenko, Neil Netherly, Timothy Parsons, Stephen Sands, Miriam Sheehan & Pamela Terry; Novus NY; Artefact Ensemble, The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Downtown Voices & Trinity Youth Chorus)

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

• Adams, J.L.: Waves & Particles by JACK Quartet
• Beethoven For Three: Symphony No. 4 And Op. 97, ‘Archduke’ by Yo-Yo Ma, Leonidas Kavakos & Emanuel Ax
• Cerrone: Beaufort Scales by Beth Willer, Christopher Cerrone & Lorelei EnsembleHome by Miró Quartet
• Rectangles And Circumstance by Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

• Akiho: Longing by Andy Akiho
• Bach: Goldberg Variations by Víkingur Ólafsson
• Eastman: The Holy Presence Of Joan D’Arc by Seth Parker Woods; Christopher Rountree, conductor (Wild Up)
• Entourer by Mak Grgić (Ensemble Dissonance)
• Perry: Concerto For Violin & Orchestra by Curtis Stewart; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Orchestra)

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

• Beyond The Years – Unpublished Songs Of Florence Price – Karen Slack, soloist; Michelle Cann, pianist
• A Change Is Gonna Come – Nicholas Phan, soloist; Palaver Strings, ensembles
• Newman: Bespoke Songs – Fotina Naumenko, soloist; Marika Bournaki, pianist (Nadège Foofat; Julietta Curenton, Colin Davin, Mark Edwards, Nadia Pessoa, Timothy Roberts, Ryan Romine, Akemi Takayama, Karlyn Viña & Garrick Zoeter)
• Show Me The Way – Will Liverman, soloist; Jonathan King, pianist
• Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder – Joyce DiDonato, soloist; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor (Il Pomo d’Oro)

Best Classical Compendium

• Akiho: BeLonging – Andy Akiho & Imani Winds; Andy Akiho, Sean Dixon & Mark Dover, producers
• American Counterpoints – Curtis Stewart; James Blachly, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
• Foss: Symphony No. 1; Renaissance Concerto; Three American Pieces; Ode – JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Bernd Gottinger, producer
• Mythologies II – Sangeeta Kaur, Omar Najmi, Hilá Plitmann, Robert Thies & Danaë Xanthe Vlasse; Michael Shapiro, conductor; Jeff Atmajian, Emilio D. Miler, Hai Nguyen, Robert Thies, Danaë Xanthe Vlasse & Kitt Wakeley, producers
• Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Dmitriy Lipay, producer

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

• Casarrubios: Seven For Solo Cello – Andrea Casarrubios, composer (Andrea Casarrubios)
• Coleman: Revelry – Valerie Coleman, composer (Decoda)
• Lang: Composition As Explanation – David Lang, composer (Eighth Blackbird)
• Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina – Gabriela Ortiz, composer (Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale)
• Saariaho: Adriana Mater – Kaija Saariaho, composer (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Fleur Barron, Nicholas Phan, Christopher Purves, Axelle Fanyo, San Francisco Symphony Chorus & Orchestra)