On Atlanta’s merits

The Atlanta Symphony walked away with the awards for top classical album, choral performance and engineered album. Sound familiar? In the 1980s, Atlantans so manipulated the voting that the academy eventually changed its rules.

This time, though, Robert Spano’s bright, brassy performance of Vaughn Williams’ oh-so-British, cinematic-sounding epic “A Sea Symphony” seems to have won on its own.

The classical Grammys played it safe and proved a popularity contest, stars and standard repertory beating anything up to date or innovative. Michael Tilson Thomas’ frighteningly intense performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony is the only real standout among the winners.

But the conventional and commercial choices weren’t, at least, laughable. Renee Fleming brings a pretty voice to bel canto arias; Hilary Hahn shows seriousness with Brahms and Stravinsky; Murray Perahia offers expert finesse in Chopin’s etudes; the Takacs Quartet has a passion for Beethoven’s middle string quartets; and Chanticleer demonstrates lovely singing on John Tavener’s easy-on-the-ears “Lamentations and Praises.”

-- Mark Swed