The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Classical is an honor presented to
record producers for quality
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
productions at the
Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
Originally known as the Grammy Award for Classical Producer of the Year, the award was first presented to
James Mallinson at the
22nd Grammy Awards
The 22nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 1980, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1979. This year was notable for being the ...
(1980). The name remained unchanged until 1998, when the category became known as Producer of the Year, Classical. According to the category description guide for the
52nd Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Pe ...
, the award is presented to album producers "whose recordings, released for the first time during the eligibility year, represent consistently outstanding creativity in the production of classical recordings".
Producers must have produced at least 51% playing time on three separately released recordings (only one of which can be an
opera released in
DVD format). Producers may submit content as a team only if they worked together exclusively during the period of eligibility.
[
Anthony Tommasini, ]music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
for '' The New York Times'', asserted that "In the struggling field of classical recording, it's the producers who take the real risks and make things happen." The honor is presented alongside the award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
As of 2021, David Frost
Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...
, Steven Epstein and Robert Woods Robert or Bob Woods may refer to:
Entertainment
* Robert Woods (actor) (born 1936), American actor in European films
* Robert S. Woods (born 1948), American actor
* Robert Woods (producer), classical music producer
Sports
* Robert Woods (offensi ...
share the record for most wins, with seven each. Judith Sherman
Judith Dorothy Sherman (born November 12, 1942) is an American audio engineer, and record producer. She has been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards and won 12 including for Producer Of The Year, Classical six times (in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 20 ...
won the award six times, while James Mallinson has been presented the award three times. Two-time recipients include Joanna Nickrenz
Joanna Nickrenz was an American record producer. She won four Grammy Awards, and received nine Grammy nominations over the course of her career, including two wins and five nominations for Classical Producer of the Year. Early life
Nickrenz was ...
(once alongside Marc Aubort). Elaine Martone received the honor in 2007. David Frost is the son of Thomas Frost
Thomas Frost (born March 7, 1925) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning classical music producer, who won many of his awards for producing the albums of Vladimir Horowitz. Frost is the father of producer David Frost."Like Father, Like Son", ''Bill ...
,
Recipients
Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
See also
* American classical music
* List of Grammy Award categories
References
;General
* Note: User must select the "Producer" category as the genre under the search feature.
;Specific
External links
Official site of the Grammy Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grammy Award For Producer Of The Year, Classical
Awards established in 1980
Grammy Awards for classical music