Several Quebecers are nominated for one, or more, Grammy awards, which will be presented Sunday night.
Montreal conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a five-time nominee this year -- he's even competing with himself in the Best Opera Recording category.
The artistic director of the Metropolitan Opera (Met) is nominated for two recordings of contemporary American works staged in New York: Matthew Aucoin's 'Eurydice' and Terence Blanchard's 'Fire Shut Up In My Bones.'
The Montreal conductor is also nominated for a recording of the Met's 'Concert for Ukraine' in the Best Classical Compendium category. He said in an interview last fall that this nomination would be a reminder of the ongoing war and its victims, in particular "the artists who have suffered and are still suffering."
- 2023 Grammys: Canadian nominees revealed
Yannick Nézet-Séguin is also nominated for Best Choral Performance for his direction of Verdi's 'Requiem,' which the Met presented on Sept. 11, 2021 as a tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks 20 years earlier. With this tribute concert, the Met reopened its doors after a year and a half of pandemic closures.
As a pianist, Nézet-Séguin is also a finalist in the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category for 'Voice Of Nature - The Anthropocene,' a collaboration with American soprano Renée Fleming on the theme of climate change.
Last year, the Montreal conductor won a Grammy for 'Best Performance by a Classical Orchestra' for his recording of the First and Third Symphonies of Florence Price, an African-American composer who died in 1953 and whom Nézet-Séguin wanted to celebrate. He was also nominated in two other categories in 2022.
Director Xavier Dolan is a finalist in the best music video category for his work on Adele's 'Easy on Me,' shot in Quebec's Eastern Townships. The filmmaker had already directed the video for the British singer's mega-successful 'Hello' in 2015.
Kaytranada, a DJ and producer who already has two Grammys, could win a third for 'Intimidated,' featuring H.E.R., in the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category.
Kaytranada, who grew up in Montreal, won a Grammy in 2021 for the album 'Bubba' and another for his song '10%' in Best Dance/Electronic Recording category.
Montreal band Arcade Fire is also nominated for a Grammy this year in the Best Alternative Music Album category for the record 'We.'
The band's lead singer, Win Butler, faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct last year, which he denied. While these allegations led some radio stations to ban the band from the airwaves, the Grammy nomination appears to be a vote of support from the American music industry. Arcade Fire is also a finalist for the Juno Awards in the Group of the Year category.
The 65th Grammy Awards will be televized Sunday night beginning at 8 p.m. on CBS and Citytv from the Crypto Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 3, 2023
