‘How is this classical music?’ Composers’ fury at Grammys shortlist
msn.comJon Batiste and Curtis Stewart – have been “mis-categorised”. Their objections have absolutely nothing to do with quality, but genre, say the musicians.
They believe that “mistaken categorisation” jeopardises the credibility of the music industry’s highest honours. Though not disputing the brilliance of the Oscar-winning Batiste, they believe that his track, Batiste: Movement 11’, should not have been nominated for best contemporary classical composition.
While they similarly admire the multi-Grammy nominated Stewart, they believe his album, Of Power, should not have been nominated for best classical instrumental solo.
Composer Marc Neikrug, a former Grammy nominee, told the Observer that Batiste is a pop musician and that nominating his recording for a classical music award is baffling. “How much sense do you think it makes to a serious novelist when Bob Dylan gets a Nobel prize for literature?”, he said. “It’s not that what Bob Dylan does isn’t magnificent in what it is.
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