Deutsche Grammophon’s 'Letters for the Future' Wins Two Grammy Awards

The 65th GRAMMY Awards ceremony took place yesterday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Deutsche Grammophon album Letters for the Future won not one but two GRAMMYS.

Letters for the Future comprises the world premiere recordings of two concertos by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Kevin Puts and Jennifer Higdon. Both works were specially commissioned for genre-surfing classically trained string trio and vocalists Time for Three (TF3), who recorded them for their debut DG album, in company with The Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Xian Zhang.

Kevin Puts won the GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Contact. His musically rich and technically demanding concerto grew out of experimentation with the ideas of unexplored frontiers and the greater beyond, and was also influenced by the isolation imposed by the pandemic.

The musicians of TF3 – violinists Nicolas (Nick) Kendall and Charles Yang, and bassist Ranaan Meyer – were presented with the award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo, a category in which Deutsche Grammophon with albums by Hilary Hahn and Daniil Trifonov had garnered three out of five nominations. Renowned for performances full of dynamism and charisma, TF3 are also enthusiastic champions of contemporary music. Speaking about Letters for the Future, they note, “This album is ‘us’. It gives voice to our roots in the Western classical tradition; it embraces our innovation through various Americana musical languages; and it looks with us towards the future as we reach to the stars.”

The success garnered by Letters for the Future underlines DG’s commitment to excellence in boundary-expanding contemporary genres as well as in core classical repertoire.

“I send my heartfelt congratulations to Time for Three and Kevin Puts, as well as to everyone else involved in making the outstanding Letters for the Future album,” says Dr Clemens Trautmann, President Deutsche Grammophon. “The album underlines the desire for brand-new credible music and fresh constellations in classical music. Deutsche Grammophon remains committed to contemporary projects, as illustrated by this year’s nominations for Hilary Hahn and Andris Nelsons with premiere recordings of works by Michael Abels and Sofia Gubaidulina. It is hugely encouraging to see our efforts honoured once again by the Recording Academy.”

The GRAMMY, which recognises both artistic and technical achievement, is the recording industry’s most prestigious award.