Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition

The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to composers for quality works of contemporary classical music. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

The award was first presented in 1961 to Aaron Copland for his Orchestral Suite from The Tender Land Suite. It was not presented from 1967 to 1984. The Grammy is awarded to the composer(s) and the librettist (if applicable) of a classical piece composed in the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the eligibility year. The performing artist, orchestra, ensemble, etc., do not receive a Grammy (except if the performer is also the composer). Since its inception, the award has had several minor name changes.

Composers John Adams, Samuel Barber, John Corigliano and Jennifer Higdon are tied for the most wins in this category, with three each. Multiple composers have won twice: Michael Daugherty, Krzysztof Penderecki, Christopher Rouse and Igor Stravinsky. In one year, 1962, the award was given to two composers, Laurindo Almeida and Stravinsky.__FORCETOC__

Recipients

thumb|upright|[[Aaron Copland was the first recipient of the award.]]

thumb|upright|The composer [[Igor Stravinsky won in 1962 and 1963.]]

thumb|upright|Three-time winner [[Samuel Barber (photograph by Carl Van Vechten).]]

thumb|upright|The composer [[Krzysztof Penderecki, the winner in 1988 and 1999.]]

thumb|upright|Three-time winner [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams.]]

thumb|upright|2004 winner [[Dominick Argento.]]

thumb|upright|2014 winner [[Maria Schneider (musician)|Maria Schneider.]]

thumb|upright|The composer [[Michael Daugherty who won in 2011 and 2017.]]

thumb|upright|2022 winner, [[Caroline Shaw]]

{| class = "wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+ Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Composer

! scope="col" | Work

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Nominees

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1961

| Orchestral Suite from The Tender Land

! scope="row" rowspan="2" align="center" | 1962

| Laurindo Almeida

| Discantus

| rowspan="2" |

| Igor Stravinsky

| Movements for Piano and Orchestra

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1963

| Igor Stravinsky

| The Flood: A Musical Play

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1964

| Benjamin Britten

| War Requiem

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1965

| Samuel Barber

| Piano Concerto

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1966

| Charles Ives

| Symphony No. 4

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #EAECF0" align="center" | Award not presented from 1967 to 1984

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1985

| Samuel Barber

| Antony and Cleopatra

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1986

| Andrew Lloyd Webber

| Requiem

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1987

| Witold Lutosławski

| Symphony No. 3

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1988

| Krzysztof Penderecki

| Cello Concerto No. 2

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1989

| John Adams

| Nixon in China

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1990

| Steve Reich

| Different Trains

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1991

| Leonard Bernstein

| Arias and Barcarolles

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1992

| John Corigliano

| Symphony No. 1

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1993

| Samuel Barber

| The Lovers

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1994

| Elliott Carter

| Violin Concerto

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1995

| Stephen Albert

| Cello Concerto

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1996

| Olivier Messiaen

| Concert à quatre

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1997

| John Corigliano

| String Quartet No. 1

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1998

| John Adams

| El Dorado

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1999

| Krzysztof Penderecki

| Violin Concerto No. 2 "Metamorphosen"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2000

| Pierre Boulez

| Répons

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2001

| George Crumb

| Star-Child

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2002

| Christopher Rouse

| Concert de Gaudí

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2003

| John Tavener

| Lamentations & Praises

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2004

| Dominick Argento

|Casa Guidi

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2005

| John Adams

| On the Transmigration of Souls

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2006

| William Bolcom

|Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2007

| Osvaldo Golijov

| Ainadamar

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2008

| Joan Tower

| Made In America

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2009

| John Corigliano

|Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2010

| Jennifer Higdon

| Percussion Concerto

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2011

| Michael Daugherty

| Deus ex Machina

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2012

|Robert Aldridge

| Elmer Gantry

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2013

|Stephen Hartke

|Meanwhile - Incidental Music To Imaginary Puppet Plays

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2014

|Maria Schneider

| Winter Morning Walks

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2015

|John Luther Adams

| Become Ocean

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2016

|Stephen Paulus

|Prayers and Remembrances

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2017

|Michael Daugherty

| Tales of Hemingway

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2018

|Jennifer Higdon

| Viola Concerto

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2019

|Aaron Jay Kernis

| Violin Concerto

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2020

|Jennifer Higdon

| Harp Concerto

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2021

|Christopher Rouse

| Symphony No. 5

!2022

|Caroline Shaw

|Narrow Sea

Andy Akiho - Seven Pillars
Louis Andriessen - The Only One
Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin & David Skidmore - Archetypes
Jon Batiste - Movement 11

!2023

|Kevin Puts

|Contact

Andy Akiho - Ligneos Suite
Derek Bermel - Intonations
Sofia Gubaidulina - The Wrath of God
Carlos Simon; Marco Pavé (librettist) - Requiem for the Enslaved

!2024

|Jessie Montgomery

|Rounds

Thomas Adès - Dante
Andy Akiho - In That Space, In That Time
William Brittelle - Psychedelics
Missy Mazzoli - Dark with Excessive Bright

! 2025

|Gabriela Ortiz

|Revolución Diamantina

Andrea Cassarubios - Seven for Solo Cello
Valerie Coleman - Revelry
David Lang - Composition as Explanation
Kaija Saariaho - Adriana Mater

!2026

|Gabriela Ortiz

|Dzonot

Christopher Cerrone - Don't Look Down
Donnacha Denehy - Land of Winter
Tania León - Raíces (Origins)
Shawn E. Okpebholo - Songs in Flight
Gabriela Ortiz - Dzonot

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Recipients

Notes

References