1961 Grammy Awards Database

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1961 Grammy Awards

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About The Show

This is truly the grand-daddy of all awards shows. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognizes outstanding musical achievements. The Grammys always prove to be a night of spectacle and performance that truly can't be missed.


City: Los Angeles

The Nominees

Album Of The Year

Best Album Cover

  • Winner: Peggy Lee Latin a la Lee
  • Dick Schory Wild Percussion and Horns A'Plenty
  • Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite Excerpts
  • Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
  • Milt Jackson Bean Bags
  • Monteux conducting the Boston Symphony Stravinsky: Petruchka

Best Album Created For Children

Best Arrangement

Best Chamber Music Performance - Vocal Or Instrumental

  • Winner: Laurindo Almeida Conversations with the Guitar
  • Smetana Quartet Janacek String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2
  • Clifford Curzon and Vienna Octet Schubert: Trout Quintet
  • Griller Quartet Haydn: Quartets, Opp. 71 and 74
  • Juilliard Quartet Debussy and Ravel Quartets
  • Joseph Eger, Henryk Szeryng, Victor Babin Brahms: Horn Trio / Beethoven: Sonata for Horn and Piano
  • Robert Shaw Chorale Bach: Cantata No. 4 / Christ Lag in Todesbanden
  • Yehudi Menuhin and Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra Bach: The Complete Brandenburg Concertos

Best Classical Opera Production

  • Winner:
    Erich Leinsdorf, conducting the Rome Opera House Chorus and Orchestra (solos: Tebaldi, Nilsson, Bjorling, Tozzi)     Puccini: Turandot
  • Tullio Serafin (solos: Siepi, Tebaldi, Del Monaco) Boito: Mefistofele
  • Tullio Serafin conducting the Accademia di Santa Cecilia (solos: Tebaldi, Bergonzi, Bastianini, Corena) Puccini: La Boheme
  • Josef Krips (solos: Siepi, Danco, Dermote, Corena) Mozart: Don Giovanni
  • Tullio Serafin conducting the Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra (solos: de los Angeles, Del Monte, Sereni) Verdi: La Traviata
  • Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Singverein and Vienna Philharmonic (solos: Tabaldi, Bergonzi, Simionato, Corena) Verdi: Aida
  • Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra (solos: Warren, Hines, Rysanek, Bergonzi) Verdi: Macbeth
  • Georges Pretre conducting the Paris Opera Comique and National Theater Orchestra (solo: Duval) Poulenc, Cocteau: La Voix Humaine
  • Benjamin Britten conducting the Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra (solos: Pears, Please, Watson) Britten: Peter Grimes

Best Classical Performance - Choral (including Oratorio)

  • Winner:
    Thomas Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus (solos: Vyvyan, Sinclair, Vicki, Tozzi)     Handel: Messiah
  • Roger Wagner Chorale Vaughan Williams: Mass in G Minor; Bach: Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death
  • Fritz Reiner, Vienna Philharmonic Society of Friends of Music of Vienna Verdi: Requiem
  • Maria Stader, Sieglinde Wagner, Hans Ernst Haefliger, Kim Borg Dvorak: Requiem
  • Robert Shaw Chorale Bach: Motet No. 3 (Jesu Meine Freude)
  • Charles Munch and New England Conservatory Chorus Berlioz: Requiem
  • Moravian Festival Chorus Arias, Anthems and Chorales of American Moravians, Vol. 1

Best Classical Performance - Concerto Or Instrumental Soloist

  • Winner:
    Sviatoslav Richter (Leinsdorf conducting the Chicago Symphony)     Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat
  • Van Cliburn (Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony) Schumann: Piano Concerto in A
  • Jascha Heifetz (Hendl conducting the Chicago Symphony) Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D
  • Malcolm Frager (Leibowitz conducting the Paris Conservatoire) Prokofiev: Concerto No. 2
  • Gervase De Peyer (Maag conducting the London Symphony) Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
  • Rudolf Serkin (Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Symphony) Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2
  • Glenn Gould (Golschmann conducting the Columbia Symphony) Bach: Concerto No. 5
  • Zino Francescatti, Pierre Fournier (Walter conducting the Columbia Symphony) Brahms: Double Concerto (Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor)

Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist Or Duo (other Than Orchestra)

  • Winner: Laurindo Almeida The Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Almeida
  • Sviatoslav Richter Prokofiev: Sonata No. 7; Pictures at an Exhibition
  • Julian Bream The Art of Julian Bream
  • Vladimir Horowitz Pictures at an Exhibition
  • Wanda Landowska Hadyn... Landowska
  • Paul Maynard Brahms: Keyboard Music of the French Court
  • Artur Rubinstein Chopin: Ballades
  • Jaime Laredo Bach: Partita No. 3 in E; Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in D Minor

Best Classical Performance - Orchestra

  • Winner:
    Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony     Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
  • Pierre Monteux conducting the Boston Symphony Stravinsky: Petrushka
  • Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Symphony Tchaikovsky: Sixth Symphony
  • Josef Krips conducting the London Symphony Schubert: Symphony No. 9
  • Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic Ives: Symphony No. 2
  • Morton Gould conducting the Morton Gould Orchestra Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite
  • Thomas Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonic Haydn: Solomon Symphonies, Vol. 2
  • Aaron Copland conducting the Boston Symphony Copland: Appalachian Spring

Best Classical Performance - Vocal Soloist

  • Winner:
    Leontyne Price     A Program of Song
  • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Schubert: Songs, Album 3
  • Cesare Valletti Schumann: Dichterliebe
  • Maureen Forrester Mahler: Kindertotenlieder
  • Salli Terri Conversations with the Guitar
  • Eileen Farrell Arias in Great Tradition
  • Peter Pears Britten: Nocturne
  • Joan Sutherland Handel: Arias

Best Comedy Performance - Musical

Best Comedy Performance - Spoken World

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

  • Winner:
    Aaron Copland     Orchestral Suite from Tender Land
  • Paul Hindemith Sonata for Cello and Piano
  • Roger Sessions Symphony No. 1
  • Igor Stravinsky Threni
  • Edgard Varese Density 21.5
  • Charles Ives Symphony No. 2
  • Easley Blackwood Symphony No. 1
  • Francis Poulenc La Voix Humaine

Best Engineered Recording - Novelty

  • Winner:
    Stan Freberg     The Old Payola Roll Blues
  • John Klein New Sounds America Loves Best
  • Larry Verne Mr. Custer
  • David Seville & the Chipmunks Let's All Sing the Chipmunks
  • Jack Cookerly June Night
  • David Seville & the Chipmunks Alvin for President

Best Engineering Contribution - Classical Recording

  • Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony R. Strauss: Don Quixote
  • Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra; solos: Tebaldi, Nilsson, Bjorling, Tozzi Puccini: Turandot
  • Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
  • Charles Munch conducting the New England Conservatory Chorus and Boston Symphony Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony)

Best Engineering Contribution - Popular Recording

Best Folk Performance

Best Jazz Composition

Best Jazz Performance - Large Group

Best Jazz Performance - Solo Or Small Group

Best Performance - Documentary Or Spoken Word (other Than Comedy)

  • Winner:
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt     F.D.R. Speaks
  • Henry Fonda Voices of the Twentieth Century
  • Archibald MacLeish J.B.
  • John Gielgud Ages of Man, Vol. 2 (One Man in His Time) Part 2 - Shakespeare

Best Performance By A Band For Dancing

Best Performance By A Chorus

  • Winner:
    Norman Luboff Choir     Songs of the Cowboy
  • Robert Shaw Chorale What Wondrous Love
  • Pete King Chorale My Favortie Things
  • Ray Charles Singers Deep Night
  • Belafonte Folk Singers Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall

Best Performance By An Orchestra

Best Show Album - Original Cast

Best Soundtrack Album Or Recording Of Music Score From A Motion Picture Or Television

  • Winner:
    Ernest Gold     Exodus
  • Nelson Riddle The Untouchables
  • Miklos Rozsa Ben-Hur
  • Henry Mancini Mr. Lucky
  • Adolph Deutsch The Apartment

Best Soundtrack Album Or Recording Of Original Cast From A Motion Picture Or Television

  • Winner:
    Cole Porter (film score)     Can-Can
  • Nelson Riddle Li'l Abner
  • Elvis Presley G.I. Blues
  • Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jule Styne (film score) Bells Are Ringing

Country And Western Performance

Female Vocal Performance - Album

Female Vocal Performance - Single

Male Vocal Performance - Album

Male Vocal Performance - Single

New Artist

Record Of The Year

Rhythm & Blues Performance

Song Of The Year

  • Winner:
    Ernest Gold     Theme from Exodus
  • Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen Second Time Around
  • Max Steiner Theme from A Summer Place
  • Lew Spence, Marily Keith, Alan Bergman Nice 'n' Easy
  • Charles Grean, Joe Allison, Audrey Allison He'll Have to Go

Vocal Group

Vocal Performance - Pop Single Artist

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