Montreal conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin scores two Grammys
Montreal conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin scored two Grammys for his classical works Sunday evening, in a night of ups and downs for Quebec artists at the 2023 awards show.
Nézet-Séguin won best opera recording for Terrance Blanchard's "Fire Shut Up In My Bones," and best classical solo vocal album for "Blanchard: Fire Shut Up In My Bones,"
It isn't Nézet-Séguin's first win; the conductor earned his first Grammy in 2022 for best orchestral performance.
He spoke to CTV News about how each Grammy reflects a piece of what he does as a musician.
"Nobody can ever really count on getting any prize any award like a Grammy," he said. "To me, it's seeing the result of years and years of investment and the mission in which I believe: in music, being able to be act on social issues and being an agent of change of music that can bring new music on the stage and new communities."
The "Fire Shut Up In My Bones" opera is the first time an African American living composer and lead vocalist performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
"That's something I'm really committed to and to give our stage to underrepresented communities, artists, new repertoires as well," said Nézet-Séguin. "It was an amazing event: sold out, packed houses, people coming into opera for the first time. So to be recognized by a Grammy for this is very, very encouraging."
The "Voice of Nature" performance with Renée Fleming was an attempt to address the relationship between nature and humanity.
"She reached out to me in the beginning of the pandemic and said, 'Look, we have all of this time now, together, we can probably get together and do a recital, and I want to have people to reflect on climate change and on our relationship to nature,'" said Nézet-Séguin, who played piano.
Nézet-Séguin was unable to attend on Sunday, as he is in Philadelphia for a performance.
He splits his time between New York, Philadelphia and Montreal, and will be back in Quebec at the end of February.
"Now, with three Grammys, I'm going to have one in each house. That's what I decided," he said with a smile.
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: Montreal conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin
MAKING VIDEOGAME HISTORY
"Assassins Creed: Valhalla" -- a game by Ubisoft Montreal -- received the first Grammy ever handed out for a video game soundtrack.
Composer Stephanie Economou, a New York native, accepted the award in the newly created category.
"Thank you for acknowledging and validating the power of game music," she said.
OTHER QUEBEC NOMINEES
Quebec director Xavier Dolan and producer Nancy Grant were finalists in the best video category for Adele's "Easy on Me," shot in the Eastern Townships. In the end, the award went to Taylor Swift for her self-directed "All Too Well: The Short Film" video.
Montreal DJ and producer Kaytranada, who already has two Grammys under his belt, was nominated for an award in the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category for "Intimiated" featuring H.E.R..
The Grammy would ultimately go to Beyonce for "Break My Soul."
Montreal's Arcade Fire was nominated in the alternative album category for "We" but lost out to Wet Leg's self-titled record, "Wet Leg."
Finally, Montreal-born singer Allison Russell was nominated for "Prodigal Daughter" in the American roots category but lost out by Bonnie Rait.
She was also nominated three times in 2023.
Nézet-Séguin said the variety of different musical talents from Quebec nominated for awards this year shows the province's strength in diversity.
"Quebec has always been a land of culture," he said. "It's not new to see that Quebec artists shine internationally, but this is maybe new that it's not only about a single way of making music... I see this as just another way of Quebec shining through with the very specific way of being expressive, but yet in many, many genres, and that's positive."
With files from the Associated Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.