Grammys

I have been looking at the Grammy web site from time to time to see who won awards that were presented before they rolled out the red carpet for Kanye West and Eric Clapton. Best Opera Recording went to a recording of Engelbert Humperdink's Hansel and Gretel conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. When I was twelve years old I played the recorder in the orchestra for the very first performance of Benjamin Britten's Noyes Fludde. Mackerras, long before he was dubbed Sir Charles, was the conductor. I remember him as being patient, kind and amusing. Two years later we recorded the work, this time conducted by Norman Del Mar. He was a wonderful conductor but a big bear of a man who frightened us kids to death. Years later I did my graduate law degree at Cambridge University where one of my chums was Christopher Del Mar, nephew of said conductor. Small world, ain't it?

In other Grammy news, some of you may recall that I wrote a while ago about the composer Peter Lieberson who tragically lost his wife, singer Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson to cancer recently but who was posthumously nominated for Grammy for her album Neruda Songs, a song cycle written by her husband. I am delighted to report that she was awarded the 2008 Grammy for Best Classical Album that recording, beating out, inter alia, Renee Fleming. Brava Ms Hunt-Lieberson! And I hope this comes in some way as a comfort for Peter Lieberson who by all accounts is among the most decent of men.