The San Francisco Symphony’s recordings on the Orchestra’s in-house SFS Media Label have been nominated for two 2022 Grammy® Awards. The live-concert recording of Alban Berg: Violin Concerto, Seven Early Songs, & Three Pieces for Orchestra conducted by Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas and featuring violinist Gil Shaham and soprano Susanna Phillips has been nominated in the category of Best Classical Compendium.
The recording of Nico Muhly’s Throughline, featuring contributions from all eight of the San Francisco Symphony’s Collaborative Partners and Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, has been nominated in the category of Best Orchestral Performance. These are the 25th and 26th Grammy nominations for the San Francisco Symphony; the Orchestra has won 16 Grammy Awards, nine since launching the in-house SFS Media label in 2001. The 64th annual Grammy Awards show returns to the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Monday, January 31; the show will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+ at 8–11:30pm ET / 5–8:30pm PT.
Recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall in March and November 2018 and January 2015, respectively, Alban Berg: Violin Concerto, Seven Early Songs, & Three Pieces for Orchestra illuminates the evocative world of Alban Berg with the heartbreaking pathos of Berg’s Violin Concerto brought to life by violinist Gil Shaham; the soaring, multicolored Seven Early Songs performed by soprano Susanna Phillips; and the spellbinding Three Pieces for Orchestra, in which the composer solidified his reputation as a master of spacious expression. For more information, program notes, and performance video footage, visit sfsymphony.org/berg.
Commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and recorded September 22–25, 2020 in Davies Symphony Hall and around the globe, Nico Muhly’s Throughline received its world premiere as part of the digital concert event “Throughline: San Francisco Symphony—From Hall to Home,” which was first broadcast on Bay Area public television and streamed online November 14, 2020.
Muhly’s “work of remarkable expressive power” (San Francisco Chronicle) offers a kinetic and seamlessly collaborative musical experience that captures the vibrant individualism of its performers.
Throughline exemplifies the groundbreaking artistic leadership model introduced by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony with the appointment of eight Collaborative Partners from a variety of cultural disciplines— Nicholas Britell, Julia Bullock, Claire Chase, Bryce Dessner, Pekka Kuusisto, Nico Muhly, Carol Reiley, and esperanza spalding. Throughline consists of thirteen miniatures, with each movement highlighting a small ensemble of San Francisco Symphony musicians and eight of the movements featuring contributions from one of the Collaborative Partners. Adding to the unique nature of Throughline, the filming and recording of all the individual parts—in particular, of the Collaborative Partners—took place in various places around the US and the world.