CLASSICAL

It was a very good year for Americans. Yo-Yo Ma’s recording of cello concertos by U.S. composers Richard Danielpour, Christopher Rouse and Leon Kirchner won best classical album and best instrumental performance with orchestra. Two John Adams compositions were winners. And with the exceptions of instrumental soloist and small ensemble performance, American musicians, composers, orchestras, choruses and producers were everywhere prominent.

Not that it signifies much. Grammy has likely done what it usually does--hand out awards to the most familiar classical names. Hardly a year goes by without Georg Solti (who died last year), Pierre Boulez and Robert Shaw winning something, and this one was no different. But as sentimental favorites go, Solti’s “Die Meistersinger” (best opera recording) and Boulez’s Berlioz (best orchestral recording) are far more distinguished than Shaw’s mushy reading of Adams’ “Harmonium” (with Rachmaninoff’s “The Bells,” best choral recording).

It’s also interesting that Danielpour, despite his presence on the winning Ma disc, had another work passed over for best contemporary composition. That went to the much better-known (and much better) Adams. Yet Adams’ most spectacular 1997 disc, which contains “Shaker Loops” conducted by Sian Edwards, lost to the far more famous Claudio Abbado’s Hindemith recording, in the best small ensemble performance category. But Edwards is a woman, and Grammy can become a bit sexist when classically attired.