The St. Louis Symphony is nominated for two Grammy awards this year. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences members nominated the symphony in the categories of Best Orchestral performance and Best Engineered Album, Classical. Vice President of External Relations Adam Crane almost couldn’t stop smiling when he discussed hearing the news.
“It’s what everyone strives for when you record an album, you want a Grammy award,” said Crane.
Both nominations come from the symphony’s recordings of John Adams’ City Noir featuring the group and its conductor David Robertson. The symphony has won six Grammys and has been nominated 56 times. It last took home an award in 1991. Crane says the next step is to win.
“The competition is intense obviously, but it’s the ultimate validation of a great recording,” said Crane.
He attributes the recording's success to the strong bond shared among John Adams, David Robertson and symphony musicians. Robertson has been with the symphony for 10 years and knows how to wrangle a top-notch performance from every section.
The recordings were made live, during performances here in St. Louis. Crane says the symphony and Robertson both thrive off audience energy and that contributes to the performance as well. He believes the nominations are also good for the city. Nominees for the Best Engineered album, Classical, also included Wolfgang Schiefermair, mastering engineer, and Richard King, engineer.
The Grammy Award ceremonies will take place on Feb. 8, 2015.
