Dudamel and Gabriela Ortiz lead Latin Grammy Classical Nominations

Gustavo Dudamel and Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz are among the leading names in the classical categories of the 27th Latin Grammy Awards, with Ortiz’s Yanga continuing a remarkable awards run after collecting three Grammys earlier this year.

The Latin Recording Academy announced five nominees each for Best Classical Album and Best Classical Composition. The eligibility period covers recordings released between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026.

Dudamel conducts two of the five contenders for Best Classical Album: Gabriela Ortiz: Yanga, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Odyssey, with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. Both were produced by Dmitriy Lipay and released by Platoon.

They face Gregorio Nieto’s Opus 33 “Romantic Cello”, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra under Josep Vicent; Hermeto Pascoal’s Sinfonia Em Quadrinhos, with the Orquestra Jovem Tom Jobim conducted by Tiago Costa; and the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s live album devoted to Tania León, Horizons, Raíces (Origins), Stride, Pasajes, featuring conductors Karina Canellakis, Edward Gardner and Dima Slobodeniouk.

The nomination for Yanga comes only months after the album enjoyed major success at the 68th Grammy Awards. The recording won Best Classical Compendium, while Ortiz’s cello concerto Dzonot, featuring Alisa Weilerstein, received Best Contemporary Classical Composition and the title work won Best Choral Performance.

The album is the latest chapter in a particularly successful collaboration between Ortiz, Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Their previous recording, Revolución diamantina, also collected three Grammys in 2025 and two Latin Grammys.

Ortiz is represented again in the Latin Grammy category for Best Classical Composition, this time for Yanga, performed by Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Tambuco Percussion Ensemble.

Dudamel also appears in that category through Gonzalo Grau’s Odisea: Concerto for Venezuelan Cuatro and Orchestra, performed by cuatro player Jorge Glem with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.

The other composition nominees are Richard Scofano’s Adagio de las Tres y Diez, for bandoneon and string orchestra; Tania León’s Raíces (Origins), recorded live by Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic; and Elodie Bouny’s Tríptico Sudamericano, performed by guitarist Berta Rojas with Pedro Franco, Federico Tarazona and Jorge Glem.

León’s Raíces (Origins) also crossed over into the US Grammy field earlier this year, receiving a nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

The classical nominations consequently place contemporary music — rather than recordings centred on the traditional repertoire — firmly at the heart of this year’s Latin Grammy field. All five works nominated for Best Classical Composition were written within the past 25 years, as required by the category, while several of the nominated albums are built substantially around music by living Latin American composers.