Press Room

Nov 23, 2021

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony’s recordings on the Orchestra’s in-house SFS Media Label have been nominated for two 2022 Grammy® Awards. The live-concert recording of Alban Berg: Violin Concerto, Seven Early Songs, & Three Pieces for Orchestra conducted by Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas and featuring violinist Gil Shaham and soprano Susanna Phillips has been nominated in the category of Best Classical Compendium. The recording of Nico Muhly’s Throughline, featuring contributions from all eight of the San Francisco Symphony’s Collaborative Partners and Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, has been nominated in the category of Best Orchestral Performance. These are the 25th and 26th Grammy nominations for the San Francisco Symphony; the Orchestra has won 16 Grammy Awards, nine since launching the in-house SFS Media label in 2001. The 64th annual Grammy Awards show returns to the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Monday, January 31; the show will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+ at 8–11:30pm ET / 5–8:30pm PT.

Recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall in March and November 2018 and January 2015, respectively, Alban Berg: Violin Concerto, Seven Early Songs, & Three Pieces for Orchestra illuminates the evocative world of Alban Berg with the heartbreaking pathos of Berg’s Violin Concerto brought to life by violinist Gil Shaham; the soaring, multicolored Seven Early Songs performed by soprano Susanna Phillips; and the spellbinding Three Pieces for Orchestra, in which the composer solidified his reputation as a master of spacious expression. For more information, program notes, and performance video footage, visit sfsymphony.org/berg.

Commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and recorded September 22–25, 2020 in Davies Symphony Hall and around the globe, Nico Muhly’s Throughline received its world premiere as part of the digital concert event “Throughline: San Francisco Symphony—From Hall to Home,” which was first broadcast on Bay Area public television and streamed online November 14, 2020. Muhly's "work of remarkable expressive power" (San Francisco Chronicle) offers a kinetic and seamlessly collaborative musical experience that captures the vibrant individualism of its performers. Throughline exemplifies the groundbreaking artistic leadership model introduced by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony with the appointment of eight Collaborative Partners from a variety of cultural disciplines—Nicholas Britell, Julia Bullock, Claire Chase, Bryce Dessner, Pekka Kuusisto, Nico Muhly, Carol Reiley, and esperanza spalding. Throughline consists of thirteen miniatures, with each movement highlighting a small ensemble of San Francisco Symphony musicians and eight of the movements featuring contributions from one of the Collaborative Partners. Adding to the unique nature of Throughline, the filming and recording of all the individual parts—in particular, of the Collaborative Partners—took place in various places around the US and the world. For more information, program notes, and performance video footage and interviews, visit sfsymphony.org/nicomuhly.

About SFS Media
SFS Media is the San Francisco Symphony’s award-winning in-house media production company and label, launched in 2001. SFS Media captures, records, and releases audio and audio/visual material reflecting the Orchestra’s restless creativity and commitment to leading-edge production standards, and showcasing the vibrant and inclusive musical communities it serves. From audio recordings released in 5.1 surround-capable SACD, 24-bit, and DSD Studio Master digital formats to unique concert capture video programs presented on the Orchestra’s new streaming service SFSymphony+, SFS Media has been at the forefront of production and distribution among the world’s leading orchestras for 20 years. SFS Media productions and recordings have garnered multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Peabody Awards, most recently winning a 2021 Grammy® Award in the category of Best Classical Compendium for the recording of Michael Tilson Thomas’ own compositions From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke, featuring Isabel Leonard, Sasha Cooke, and Ryan McKinny as soloists. Notable SFS Media releases include Throughline: From Hall to Home and the recent audio release of Nico Muhly’s Throughline; MTT25: An American Icon; digital SoundBox programs; the CURRENTS video series; the San Francisco Symphony’s national public television series and multimedia project Keeping Score; and its seven-time Grammy Award-winning Mahler Project. Other video recordings of the San Francisco Symphony available from SFS Media include A Celebration of Leonard Bernstein: Opening Night at Carnegie Hall 2008 and San Francisco Symphony at 100—the centennial season’s Opening Gala live concert video paired with a documentary about the Symphony’s history, which won a Northern California Emmy Award for “Historical/Cultural Program or Special” in 2012.

All SFS Media recordings and videos are available online at https://www.warnerclassics.com/artist/san-francisco-symphony/releases, and at major retailers nationwide. Audio recordings can also be purchased as downloads from digital outlets including iTunes (itunes.com/sfsymphony), Amazon, AppleMusic, Spotify, IDAGIO, Primephonic, and HDTracks. Global distribution of all SFS Media products is managed by Warner Classics Label Services.

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