Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have won the Grammy Award in the category of Best Orchestral Performance for their recording of John Adams’s Harmonielehre and Short Ride in a Fast Machine. The album was released in March 2012 in conjunction with MTT and the Orchestra’s month-long American Mavericks festival and tour. 

MTT commissioned Short Ride in a Fast Machine from American composer John Adams in 1986. You can view a video excerpt of the Grammy-winning performance from the SFS’s Centennial Season Opening Gala in September 2011  here and a feature about the composition here. You can also watch Adams and MTT discuss Harmonielehre in  this video. The San Francisco Symphony commissioned, premiered, and first recorded Harmonielehre in March 1985.

The 2013 Grammy Award is MTT’s eleventh, the Orchestra’s 15th, and the eighth for recordings on the SFS Media Label.

Purchase the album here.