The 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards, held on 1 February 2026 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, once again confirmed a familiar pattern in the classical categories: a balance between major institutions, long-established artists, and a growing presence of contemporary repertoire. While star names such as Yo-Yo Ma, Gustavo Dudamel and Andris Nelsons remained central to the awards landscape, this year’s results also underlined the Academy’s sustained interest in recent works and living composers.
One of the most striking outcomes of the night was the prominence of music by Gabriela Ortiz, whose works received multiple awards across different categories. Her success — spanning choral, compendium, and contemporary composition prizes — highlighted the increasing visibility of Latin American composers within the US classical recording industry. At the same time, orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic once again featured prominently, reinforcing the institutional continuity that often defines the GRAMMYs’ classical results.
Taken together, the 2026 classical GRAMMY Awards reflected a field in which canonical performers and orchestras continue to dominate, but where contemporary creation — particularly large-scale vocal and orchestral works — plays an increasingly central role. Below is the full list of winners in the classical categories.
Best orchestral performance
Award to the conductor and to the orchestra.
Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie — Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Best opera recording
Award to the conductor, album producer(s) and principal soloists, and to the composer and librettist (if applicable) of a world-premiere recording only.
Heggie: Intelligence — Kwamé Ryan, conductor; Jamie Barton, J’Nai Bridges & Janai Brugger; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Houston Grand Opera; Gene Scheer)
Best choral performance
Award to the conductor, and to the choral director/chorus master and ensemble where applicable.
Ortiz: Yanga — Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Grant Gershon, chorus master (Los Angeles Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale)
Best chamber music/small ensemble performance
For new recordings by chamber/small ensemble (24 players or fewer, not including conductor).
Dennehy: Land of Winter — Alan Pierson & Alarm Will Sound
Best classical instrumental solo
Award to the instrumental soloist(s) and to the conductor when applicable.
Shostakovich: The cello concertos — Yo-Yo Ma; Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Best classical solo vocal album
Award to vocalist(s), collaborative artist(s), producer(s), and engineers/mixers (for albums with more than 50% new material).
Telemann: Ino – opera arias for soprano — Amanda Forsythe, soloist; Robert Mealy, Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors (Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra)
Best classical compendium
Award to the artist(s), album producer(s) and engineer(s); and to the composer/librettist with over 50% playing time of a world-premiere recording.
Ortiz: Yanga — Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Dmitriy Lipay, producer
Best contemporary classical composition
A composer’s award (for works composed within the last 25 years and released for the first time during the eligibility year).
Dzonot — Gabriela Ortiz, composer (Alisa Weilerstein, Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Best engineered album, classical
An engineer’s award (artist names in parentheses).
Cerrone: Don’t Look Down — Mike Tierney, engineer; Alan Silverman, mastering engineer (Sandbox Percussion)
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