Anne Akiko Meyers Wins First Latin GRAMMY® Award

 

 

Los Angeles, Nov. 15, 2024 — Superstar violinist Anne Akiko Meyers has won her first Latin GRAMMY® Award. Meyers, baritone Gustavo Castillo, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and album producer Dmitriy Lipay received a “Best Classical Album” statuette for their album Fandango, recorded with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and released on the Apple-owned Platoon label. Composer Arturo Márquez also won a Latin GRAMMY® for “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” for his work “Fandango”. The 25th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards? ceremony took place yesterday in Miami.

 

Released on Sept. 15, 2023, Fandango features the world-premiere recording of Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’s mariachi-inspired concerto for violin and orchestra of the same title. Recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the album also includes “Estancia,” by the 20th-century Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, featuring Castillo as both narrator and soloist.

 

Arturo Márquez says, “Anne Akiko Meyers is the heart and soul of ‘Fandango’ — a violin concerto especially composed for her virtuosic and expressive playing, and Gustavo Dudamel is one of the greatest conductors in music history. I am indebted to their vibrant and heartfelt performance of my violin concerto.”

 

"It is such an honor to receive a Latin GRAMMY® for 'Fandango', the amazing violin concerto written by Arturo Márquez," says Meyers. "I am so thankful to my collaborators Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for their stunning performances and to Dmitriy Lipay and Platoon for turning these live concerts into such a fantastic recording. 'Fandango' is one of the most remarkable new works composed for violin and orchestra and I am thrilled that this recording, which has already been embraced by music fans around the world, has received such prestigious recognition."

 

Fandango is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Pan-American Music Initiative — a five-year project exploring more than 30 new commissions and numerous creative partnerships, emphasizing the importance of Latin American heritage. The composition follows the traditional concerto structure of three contrasting movements, each based on popular airs. The third movement, “Fandanguito” (“Little Fandango”), gives the work its title and defines its spirit.

 

A muse and champion of living composers, Anne has been called “the Wonder Woman of commissioning” by The Strad. She premiered and performed “Fandango” with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, and the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City. On tour, Anne has performed “Fandango” in Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, San Diego, Vancouver, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Seattle, Tucson, Salt Lake City, and Des Moines, among other cities. In early 2025 she will perform the concerto in Madison, Sarasota, and Cincinnati. 

 

Fandango was also previously nominated for two GRAMMYs® at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards®.

 

 

Stream Fandango

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Anne Akiko Meyers is one of the most respected and admired violinists, collaborating with today’s most important composers, championing their work and creating a remarkable legacy of new violin repertoire for future generations. Since her teens, she has performed around the world as soloist with leading orchestras and in recital and is a prolific recording artist with more than 40 releases, which are staples of classical music radio stations and streaming platforms. Anne has worked closely with Arvo Pärt (Estonian Lullaby), Einojuhani Rautavaara (Fantasia, his final complete work), John Corigliano (cadenzas for the Beethoven Violin Concerto; Lullaby for Natalie), Arturo Márquez (Fandango), Michael Daugherty (Blue Electra), Mason Bates and Adam Schoenberg (violin concertos), Jakub Ciupinski, Jennifer Higdon, Samuel Jones, Morten Lauridsen, Wynton Marsalis, Akira Miyoshi, Somei Satoh, and Joseph Schwantner. She has premiered new music with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Seattle, Washington D.C., Helsinki, Leipzig, London, and New Zealand, among others. Future commissions include a work for violin and orchestra by Eric Whitacre and New Chaconne by Philip Glass. John Williams personally chose Anne to perform Schindler’s List for a Great Performances PBS telecast and the iconic Estonian composer Arvo Pärt selected her as the featured soloist for the opening concerts of his new centre and concert hall in Laulasmaa, Estonia. She performs on the Ex-Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù, dated 1741, considered by many to be the finest sounding violin in existence. Visit www.anneakikomeyers.com for more info.

 

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Matthew Herman

Managing Director

8VA Music Consultancy

 

Allison Van Etten

Vice President 

8VA Music Consultancy

323.449.5030