NEW YORK, November 28. /TASS/. Parents, other family members and friends of deceased Russian opera singer Dmitri Hvorostovsky learned of his nomination for the Grammy Award shortly after the funeral, his friend and colleague, conductor Konstantin Orbelian told TASS by phone on Tuesday.
"During a funeral banquet, held after the burial at the Novodevichy cemetery, I was informed about the nomination, and announced it to everyone, including Dima’s parents. And this was very touching," said Orbelian, who received this nomination together with Hvorostovsky.
The cycle of twelve songs "Russia Cast Adrift" composed by Georgy Sviridov using the lyrics of great Russian poet Sergei Yesenin was nominated in the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category, according to Grammy website.
According to Orbelian, Hvorostovsky has long dreamed of recording the orchestral version of "Russia Cast Adrift." The record was made in July 2016 in St. Petersburg.
"After being diagnosed with his illness in 2015, making this record became Dima’s dream. That’s why the record was made as early as in summer 2016, despite his tight schedule," Orbelian continued. "I’m glad that we managed to do this when he was in a perfect musical form and that he was very pleased with the result."
"And today, on the day of this great musician’s funeral, we get the news about the Grammy nomination," Orbelian said. "We will find out in February whether we will get the award or not, but the nomination is what really matters, and the recognition by professionals is what really matters, because this music is purely Russian in its nature and quite difficult."
Hvorostovsky, who is broadly viewed as one of the greatest opera baritones of our times, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the summer of 2015. He quit the opera stage in 2016 but carried on with concerts. Hvorostovsky died of brain cancer at the age of 55 on November 22 in London where he lived with his family.
According to Hvorostovsky’s last will, his body was cremated and the ashes were placed into two urns. One was buried at Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery (the final resting place of the most outstanding artists, cultural personalities, scientists, politicians, and military heroes) earlier on Tuesday, and the other will be flown to his home town of Krasnoyarsk, Eastern Siberia, on Wednesday.