Grammy Awards Feature Big Wins for Philly Classical Music

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Grammy Awards Feature Big Wins for Philly Classical Music


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Plus: The Brothers Kelce interview their mom. Hoagie Mania. And the Inquirer wants your heart data.

Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who just won yet another Grammy at Sunday’s Grammy Awards and extended his contract with the orchestra (photo courtesy Philadelphia Orchestra)

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Philly Classical Music Scores Big at Sunday’s Grammy Awards

It’s not often that I’d lead Philly Today with a report about classical music. OK, I’ve never done it before and probably never will again. But, hey, last night was the Grammy Awards. If you didn’t watch the awards show, you are no doubt still aware they happened because of the wide-ranging debate playing out on social media over:

– Red carpet outfits
– Whether the Sam Smith performance was total trash or total genius
– Why the cameras wouldn’t go in for a closeup of Madonna
– Trevor Noah’s rating as a Grammys host
– The whole 50 years of hip-hop tribute (curated by Philly’s own Questlove, no less), which I thought was, as the kids say, fire

I could go on.

But let us turn to another side of the Grammys, one in which Philadelphia was actually a big winner. And that side is classical music.

Philadelphia’s fabulous choir The Crossing won the Grammy for Best Choral Performance for their latest album, Born. But where the Crossing really shines is in their live performances. Fortunately for you, they have some local shows this spring. Check their schedule here.

The Philadelphia Orchestra was part of two Grammy wins: Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

And, last but certainly not least, Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin was named in two Grammy wins: Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

You can read the full list of Grammy winners here.

And if you enjoy bumping into Nézet-Séguin at Parc, Talula’s Garden and Zahav, you’ll be happy to know that he just extended his contract with the Philadelphia Orchestra through the 2029-2030 season, so there’s plenty more of him to come. (You can read my recent interview with him here.)

Well OK Then

Eagles fans: The Inquirer wants your heartbeat data.

Speaking of the Eagles

The opposing Kelce brothers interview their mom on their podcast.

What Are You Gonna Eat Today?

Might I suggest a hoagie? But from where?! So many choices. Fortunately, we broke it all down for you in our February cover story.

What Are You Gonna Do This Week?

If you’re looking for the best events in Philly this week, we’ve got them right here. If I had to pick one and only one, it would probably be the musical Come from Away, which opens this week.

Is Winter Over?!

Not quite yet, but a pretty mild week ahead of us. It’s 9 a.m. and I’m sitting at my picnic table writing this, albeit in full sun. Good day to go out for a walk. All that said, I would definitely approve of one solid snowstorm before it’s all said and done. I’m not talking Blizzard of ’96 material. But enough that my kids can earn some bucks from the neighbors and have a good sled ride down the nearby hills.

Political Movements

Control of the Pennsylvania House is still undecided.

And from the Hmm-Then Sports Desk …

Let’s start with the good stuff. On Friday night, the Sixers were in San Antonio to play the Spurs, who I’m sure are very nice but don’t exactly field a host of familiar names. We, on the other hand …

Still, said familiar names got off to a sluggish start and didn’t score until two minutes in. But they settled in: With three and a half minutes left in the first, they took the lead — for a hot minute. On the ol’ seesaw!

The Sixers, with Tyrese’s help, pulled ahead in the second.

They were having fun out there!

After the half, it was Turnover City for the Spurs, as the Sixers put together a 12-2 run to end the third quarter.

Why in the world did the Spurs’ Twitter team tweet the loss this way, complete with exclamation point?

Other things that confound us:

All right then! A nice relaxing game for a change. Thanks, guys! Now on to the bad stuff. On Sunday night, the Sixers traveled to Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks. It was the usual suspects for starters: Harden, Embiid, Tucker, Harris, Melton. A good sign, right?

Then there was this:

Knicks fans were ticked that ESPN was showing flag football instead of their game.

The Sixers game was running parallel to Temple’s (14-10) rematch against number three Houston (22-2), and the Sixers’ early lead left plenty of leisure to click over and check that score.

Any Iggles fans in the house?

So of course the Knicks went on a run and pulled to within five early in the second. Make that within three. Sigh.

But the Sixers got their act together in the third — for a change — with an 8-0 run. And then the turnovers began.

Meantime, over in Owlville:

But that wouldn’t last.

Back to the Sixers game, where the Knicks were on a 10-0 run. And took the lead. Ouch. Everyone seems to agree:

Things were going south fast, as the Knicks reveled in a 22-8 run. The Sixers didn’t score a field goal in the final five and a half minutes.

Take consolation in happy memories, Eagles fans! Five years ago this weekend …

Tonight, the Flyers play.

In college hoops besides Temple, on Friday, Penn beat Columbia, though you’d think an Ivy League school would be better at tweeting.

On Saturday, the Drexel Dragons (13-11) just barely got nipped by the Monmouth Hawks (4-20).

Penn (13-7) faced off again, vs. Cornell (15-7). There, Ivy Twitterer, that’s better!

To cap Saturday off, Villanova (10-13) almost — almost — pulled out a terrific comeback against Creighton (15-8).

And on Sunday, La Salle (10-13) and St. Joe’s (11-12) faced off in a Big Five matchup, and the Explorers came out on top.

All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.



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