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A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Classical Album.

12 ceremonies, 2000–2011. 8 different winners.

Who won most recently?
Riccardo Muti in 2011 for Verdi: Requiem.
Who has won the most?
Michael Tilson Thomas, 4 wins (2000, 2004, 2007, 2010).
  1. Verdi: RequiemRiccardo Muti
  2. Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio from Symphony No. 10Michael Tilson Thomas
  3. Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyJames Conlon
  4. Tower: Made in AmericaLeonard Slatkin
  5. Mahler: Symphony No. 7Michael Tilson Thomas
  6. Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and of ExperienceLeonard Slatkin
Years explored
2000–2011
Different winners
8
Category leader
Michael Tilson Thomas · 4
About this record

It was awarded for the last time in 2011.

It was discontinued in the 2012 restructuring with no replacement, and classical records have competed for Album of the Year since.

2000–2011

12 ceremonies

20002011

01 / The reigns

8 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2000–2011 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

  1. 01
    Michael Tilson Thomas4 wins
  2. 02
    Leonard Slatkin2 wins
One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by label; scroll sideways for the full run.
Michael Tilson Thomas'00
Emerson String Quartet'01
Colin Davis'02
Robert Spano'03
Michael Tilson Thomas'04
Lorin Maazel'05
Leonard Slatkin'06
Michael Tilson Thomas'07
Leonard Slatkin'08
James Conlon'09
Michael Tilson Thomas'10
Riccardo Muti'11

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2011.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Pierre Boulez
    3 noms
  2. 02
    Mariss Jansons
    2 noms
  3. 03
    René Jacobs
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Pierre Boulez
    3L · 0W
  2. 02
    Mariss Jansons
    2L · 0W
  3. 03
    René Jacobs
    2L · 0W
  4. 04
    Colin Davis
    1L · 1W
  5. 05
    Emerson String Quartet
    1L · 1W
  6. 06
    Michael Tilson Thomas
    1L · 4W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2011. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2011Riccardo Muti (Verdi: Requiem)
beat 4 others
  • Mariss Jansons (Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4)
  • Giancarlo Guerrero (Daugherty: Metropolis Symphony; Deus Ex Machina)
  • Gil Rose (Mackey, Steven: Dreamhouse)
  • Il Giardino Armonico (Sacrificum)
Unrecorded
2010Michael Tilson Thomas (Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio from Symphony No. 10)
beat 4 others
  • Marin Alsop (Bernstein: Mass)
  • James Levine (Ravel: Daphin et Chloé)
  • Alastair Willis (Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges)
  • Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre (Shostakovich: The Nose)
Unrecorded
2009James Conlon (Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny)
beat 4 others
  • Orchestra la Scintilla (Maria)
  • Craig Hella Johnson (O'Regan, Tarik: Threshold of Night)
  • Esa-Pekka Salonen (Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos)
  • Phoenix Chorale (Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary)
Unrecorded
2008Leonard Slatkin (Tower: Made in America)
beat 4 others
  • Riccardo Muti (Cherubini: Missa Solemnis in E)
  • Charles Bruffy (Grechaninov: Passion Week)
  • Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre (Homage: The Age of the Diva)
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra (Lorraine Hunt Liberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs)
Unrecorded
2007Michael Tilson Thomas (Mahler: Symphony No. 7)
beat 4 others
  • Bernard Haitink (Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9)
  • Odense Symphony Orchestra (Lieberson: Rilke Songs; The Six Realms; Horn Concerto)
  • Martha Argerich and Friends (Martha Argerich and Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival 2005)
  • René Jacobs (Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito)
Unrecorded
2006Leonard Slatkin (Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and of Experience)
beat 4 others
  • Jeff von der Schmidt (Chávez: Complete Chamber Music, Vol. 3)
  • Martha Argerich (Martha Argerich and Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival)
  • Emerson String Quartet (Mendelssohn: The Complete String Quartets)
  • Mariss Jansons (Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13)
Unrecorded
2005Lorin Maazel (Adams: On the Transmigration of Souls)
beat 4 others
  • Colin Davis (Britten: Peter Grimes)
  • Kenneth Schermerhorn (Carter: Symphony No. 1; Piano Concert; Holiday Overture)
  • Robert Spano (Higdon: City Scape; Concerto for Orchestra)
  • René Jacobs (Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro)
Unrecorded
2004Michael Tilson Thomas (Mahler: Symphony No. 3; Kindertotenlieder)
beat 4 others
  • Mstislav Rostropovich (Britten: Violin Concerto/Walton: Viola Concerto)
  • Pierre Boulez (Mahler: Symphony No. 3)
  • José Serebrier (Rorem: Three Symphonies)
  • Wolfgang Sawallisch (Schumann: Symphonies 1-4; Manfred Overture, Etc.)
Unrecorded
2003Robert Spano (Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1))
beat 4 others
  • Takács Quartet (Beethoven: String Quartets)
  • Patrick Summers (Bel Canto)
  • Michael Tilson Thomas (Mahler: Symphony No. 6)
  • Tőnu Kaljuste (Pärt: Orient & Occident)
Unrecorded
2002Colin Davis (Berlioz: Les Troyens)
beat 4 others
  • Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Boulez Conducts Varèse)
  • Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Janáček: Sarka)
  • Pierre Boulez (Schoenberg: Piano Concerto, Etc.; Berg: Sonata, Op. 1; Webern: Variations, Op. 27)
  • London Symphony Orchestra (Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony)
Unrecorded
2001Emerson String Quartet (Shostakovich: The String Quartets)
beat 4 others
  • Murray Perahia (Bach: The Goldberg Variations)
  • Evgeny Kissin (Chopin: 24 Preludes, Op. 28; Sonata No. 2, Op. 35; Polonaise, Op. 53)
  • Leif Ove Andsnes (Haydn: Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 11)
  • Simon Rattle (Mahler: Symphony No. 10)
Unrecorded
2000Michael Tilson Thomas (Stravinsky: The Firebird; The Rite of Spring; Perséphone)
beat 4 others
  • Pierre Boulez (Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2; Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2)
  • Lambert Orkis (Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas)
  • Robert Shaw (Dvořák: Stabat Mater)
  • Ulf Schirmer (Nielsen: Maskarade)
Unrecorded