A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Soloist with Orchestra.

46 ceremonies, 1959–2011. 26 different winners. The longest run belongs to Van Cliburn, with 2 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
Mitsuko Uchida in 2011 for Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 23 & No. 24.
Who has won the most?
Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma, tied on 5 wins each.
  1. Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 23 & No. 24Mitsuko Uchida
  2. Prokofiev: Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 3Evgeny Kissin
  3. Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin ConcertosHilary Hahn
  4. Barber/Korngold/Walton: Violin ConcertosJames Ehnes
  5. Messiaen: Oiseaux exotiquesAngelin Chang
  6. Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 3Martha Argerich
Years explored
1959–2011
Different winners
26
Category leader
Itzhak Perlman · 5
About this record

It was awarded for the last time in 2011.

It merged with the without-orchestra award to form Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

From 2012 the Grammys awarded Best Classical Instrumental Solo instead.

20002011

12 ceremonies

19592011

01 / The reigns

10 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
    Hilary Hahn2 wins
  2. 02
    Martha Argerich2 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.
Martha Argerich'00
Joshua Bell'01
Strauss: Horn Concertos'02
Hilary Hahn'03
Maxim Vengerov'04
Anne-Sophie Mutter'05
Martha Argerich'06
Angelin Chang'07
James Ehnes'08
Hilary Hahn'09
Evgeny Kissin'10
Mitsuko Uchida'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
    Leif Ove Andsnes
    3 noms
  2. 02
    Philippe Quint
    2 noms
  3. 03
    Sabine Meyer, Emmanuel Pahud
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Leif Ove Andsnes
    3L · 0W
  2. 02
    Philippe Quint
    2L · 0W
  3. 03
    Sabine Meyer, Emmanuel Pahud
    2L · 0W
  4. 04
    Hilary Hahn
    1L · 2W
  5. 05
    Mitsuko Uchida
    1L · 1W

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
2011Mitsuko Uchida (Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 23 & No. 24)
beat 4 others
  • Terrence Wilson (Daugherty: Deus ex Machina)
  • Avi Avital (Dorman: Mandolin Concerto)
  • Joseph Banowetz (Kletzki: Piano Concerto in D Minor, Op. 22)
  • Eliesha Nelson (Porter: Concerto for Viola & Orchestra)
Unrecorded
2010Evgeny Kissin (Prokofiev: Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 3)
beat 4 others
  • Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Neil Percy, Tamara Stefanovich & Nigel Thomas (Bartók: 3 Concertos)
  • Derek Bermel (Bermel: Voices For Solo Clarinet and Orchestra)
  • Philippe Quint (Korngold: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35)
  • Yefim Bronfman (Salonen: Piano Concerto)
Unrecorded
2009Hilary Hahn (Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos)
beat 4 others
  • Wu Man (Bloch/Lees: Violin Concertos)
  • Sabine Meyer, Emmanuel Pahud (Harrison: Pipa Concerto)
  • Leif Ove Andsnes (Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 17 & No. 20)
  • Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 5)
Unrecorded
2008James Ehnes (Barber/Korngold/Walton: Violin Concertos)
beat 4 others
  • Lang Lang (Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 1 & No. 4)
  • Sabine Meyer, Emmanuel Pahud (Nielsen: Clarinet & Flute Concertos)
  • Anastasia Khitruk (Rózsa: Violin Concerto, Op. 24)
  • Sol Gabetta (Tchaikovsky/Saint-Saëns/Ginastera)
Unrecorded
2007Angelin Chang (Messiaen: Oiseaux exotiques)
beat 4 others
  • Nelson Freire (Brahms: The Piano Concertos)
  • Peter Sheppard Skaerved (Henze: Violin Concertos No. 1 & No. 3)
  • Leif Ove Andsnes (Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos No. 1 & No. 2)
  • Ulla Miilmann (Schmidt: Concertos)
Unrecorded
2006Martha Argerich (Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 3)
beat 4 others
  • Thomas Stacy (Fuchs: Eventide)
  • Fred Sherry String Quartet (Schoenberg: Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra)
  • Truls Mørk (Schumann: Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129; Bloch: Schelomo)
  • Evelyn Glennie (Daugherty: UFO)
Unrecorded
2005Anne-Sophie Mutter (Previn: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade after Plato's "Symposium")
beat 4 others
  • Daniel Hope (Berg: Violin Concerto; Britten: Violin Concerto, Op. 15)
  • Peter Donohoe (Bliss: Piano Concerto In B Flat, Op. 58)
  • Mark Wait (Carter: Piano Concerto)
  • Kim Kashkashian (Mansurian: ...And Then I Was In Time Again)
Unrecorded
2004Maxim Vengerov (Britten: Violin Concerto, Op. 15; Walton: Viola Concerto)
beat 4 others
  • Alan Feinberg (Beach: Piano Concerto in C Sharp Minor, Op. 45)
  • Mikhail Pletnev (Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30)
  • Han-Na Chang (Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante)
  • Niel DePonte (Svoboda: Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, Op. 148)
Unrecorded
2003Hilary Hahn (Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77; Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D)
beat 4 others
  • Murray Perahia (Bach: Keyboard Concertos No. 3, No. 5, No. 6, & No. 7)
  • James Buswell (Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14, A Scene From Shelley, etc.)
  • Yuri Bashmet (Kancheli: Styx; Gubaidulina: Violin Concerto)
  • Stephen Hough (Saint-Saëns: The Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra)
Unrecorded
2002Daniel Barenboim, Dale Clevenger, Larry Combs, Alex Klein, David McGill (Strauss: Horn Concertos)
beat 4 others
  • Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Ligeti: Piano Concerto)
  • Sharon Isbin (Rouse: Concert de Gaudi; Tan Dun: Concerto for Guitar)
  • Mitsuko Uchida (Schoenberg: Piano Concerto, Op. 42; Berg: Piano Sonata, Op. 1; Webern: Variations)
  • Philippe Quint (Schumann: Violin Concerto in D Major, WoO 23)
Unrecorded
2001Joshua Bell (Maw: Violin Concerto)
beat 4 others
  • Marc-André Hamelin (Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39)
  • Michael Collins (Carter: Clarinet Concerto)
  • Leif Ove Andsnes (Haydn: Piano Concertos No. 3, No. 4, & No. 11)
  • Arcadi Volodos (Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30)
Unrecorded
2000Martha Argerich (Prokofiev: Piano Concertos No. 1 & No. 3/Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3 in E Major, Sz. 119, BB 127)
beat 4 others
  • Gil Shaham (Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Major Sz. 95, BB 101; Rhapsodies No. 1 & No. 2)
  • Hilary Hahn (Beethoven: Violin Concerto D Major, Op. 61; Bernatein: Serenade after Plato's "Symposium")
  • Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer (Britten: Double Concerto in B Minor)
  • Anatol Ugorski (Scriabin: Piano Concerto in F Sharp Minor, Op. 20)
Unrecorded