NICK NOMINATED FOR GRAMMY AWARD

CLAIRIÈRES NOMINATED FOR GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST CLASSICAL VOCAL SOLO ALBUM

Nicholas Phan has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category for his recording Clairières: Songs by Lili & Nadia Boulanger.

This is the second Grammy nomination for Nicholas Phan and his regular collaborator, pianist Myra Huang. The duo were nominated in 2017 for Gods & Monsters, an exploration of great Austrian and German Romantic composers’ meditations on deities and other fantastical creatures. Phan was also previously nominated for his participation in the 2010 recording of Igor Stravinsky's Pulcinella with conductor Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Clairières pays homage to sisters Lili and Nadia Boulanger, two exceptional composers of the 20th century who have often been overlooked in favour of their male counterparts. At the heart of the album is Lili’s 13-part song cycle Clairières dans le ciel (“Clearings in the Sky”). Alongside are a selection of songs set to poetry by the their contemporaries Paul Verlaine, Maurice Maeterlinck, Francis Jammes and Albert Victor Samain.

Released in January 2020, Clairières has earned widespread critical acclaim. “Phan has deeply internalised this music” and “delivers [an] emotionally comprehensive (and deeply welcome) vision of this worthy music”, commented Gramophone magazine. The Guardian asserted, “It’s hard to imagine these Boulanger songs could have more convincing advocacy”. MusicWeb International praised Phan’s “passion and commitment” and the “responsive and sympathetic playing of accompanist Myra Huang”, concluding “the music demands to be heard”.