On November 24, The Recording Academy announced 2021 Grammy Award nominations for Michael Tilson Thomas in two categories: Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Compendium. 

The Best Orchestral Performance nomination comes for MTT and the San Francisco Symphony’s recording, Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3. “Like a magician pulling away the curtain for a big reveal,” (San Francisco Chronicle) this live-concert recording captures “a powerful degree of ardor, clarity, and expressive integrity.” Listen to Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3  or learn about the album here.

MTT’s nomination in the Best Classical Compendium category is for From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke, also with the San Francisco Symphony. The album features two of MTT’s own compositions for voice and orchestra. Soprano Isabel Leonard performs as the narrator in From the Diary of Anne Frank, a role originally written for Audrey Hepburn. Inspired by and based on the words and compassionate spirit of Anne Frank, From the Diary of Anne Frank offers a solemn yet hopeful vision for the future.

Meditations on Rilke is brought to life by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny. The piece takes listeners on an emotional and evocative journey befitting the lyrical sweep of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poems.

Listen to From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke and read more about this album here.

The 2021 Grammy winners will be announced on March 14, 2021.