Violinist Nicola Benedetti wins Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo

27 January 2020, 11:06 | Updated: 27 January 2020, 15:13

The Scottish musician won the award for her performance of Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto and Fiddle Dance Suite.

Violinist Nicola Benedetti has won the Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for her recording of Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto and Fiddle Dance Suite.

The Scottish-born musician received the award at the 62nd Grammy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles yesterday (26 January).

Benedetti was also the first classical solo violinist to perform at the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony in 10 years, where she gave a performance of Marsalis’ ‘Bye Bye Breakdown’ from his Fiddle Dance suite.

Read more: Nicola Benedetti: ‘There is no more valuable position than that of a music teacher’ >

“I am so honoured to have won a Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo and to have performed at the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony,” she said.

“This recording project has been a deeply edifying experience for me and one I will always reflect on with immense gratitude.”

Read more: Nicola Benedetti releases recording with Benedetti Foundation Orchestra >

The award-winning album also includes premiere recordings of two works written specifically for Nicola by Marsalis – Violin Concerto in D and Fiddle Dance Suite.

“It has been a privilege to learn and perform these two inspired and unequivocal masterpieces, and to deepen my understanding of Wynton’s compositional language, cultural richness and philosophical insights,” Nicola continued.

"Long-form musical pieces are often described as a journey and this sure has been a rich and fascinating one."

Grammys 2020: classical winners full list

Best score

Hildur Guðnadóttir, for Chernobyl

Best Engineered Album, Classical

Riley: Sun Rings (Kronos Quartet; Leslie Ann Jones, engineer; John Kilgore, Judith Sherman & David Harrington, engineers/mixers; Robert C. Ludwig, mastering engineer)

Producer Of The Year, Classical

Blanton Alspaugh

Best Orchestral Performance

Norman: Sustain (Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor)

Best Opera Recording

Picker: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children's Chorus; Gil Rose, conductor; John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River & Edwin Vega; Gil Rose, producer)

Best Choral Performance

Duruflé: Complete Choral Works (Houston Chamber Choir; Ken Cowan; Robert Simpson, conductor)

Duruflé: Notre Père (Houston Chamber Choir)

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

Shaw: Orange (Attacca Quartet)

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddle Dance Suite (Philadelphia Orchestra, Nicola Benedetti; Cristian Măcelaru, conductor)

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

Songplay (Joyce DiDonato; Chuck Israels, Jimmy Madison, Charlie Porter & Craig Terry, accompanists,Steve Barnett & Lautaro Greco)

Best Classical Compendium

The Poetry of Places (Nadia Shpachenko; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, producers)

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Higdon: Harp Concerto (Jennifer Higdon, composer; Yolanda Kondonassis, Ward Stare & The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra)

Best Instrumental Composition

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite (John Williams, composer)

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

Moon River (Jacob Collier, arranger)

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

All Night Long (Jacob Collier, arranger)