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When Curtis Stewart heard the news that his album was nominated for a in the category of Best Classical Instrumental Solo, he was overjoyed. He was also a little surprised. 鈥泪 just didn鈥檛 think I would have much of a chance there,鈥� he says. But 鈥渢he fact that I got that nomination was extremely heartening for me.鈥�

Then the backlash began.

Alongside the well-known pop star 鈥攚ho was also nominated for a Grammy, in the category of Best Contemporary Classical Composition, for his piece 鈥溾�濃�擲tewart鈥檚 inclusion in a classical Grammy category has sparked anger from critics who say their music is simply not classical enough.

According to a lengthy in The Observer, 鈥淟etters of complaint have been sent to 鈥� the Recording Academy, arguing that the tracks in question,鈥� by Batiste and Stewart, 鈥渉ave been 鈥榤is-categorised.鈥欌�� Marc Neikrug, a Grammy-nominated composer, said in his letter to the Academy, 鈥淎s a serious, dedicated composer of what has always been considered 鈥榗lassical鈥� music, I am dismayed.鈥� Neikrug found it 鈥渦nfathomable鈥� that the Academy 鈥渨ould choose to re-categorise an entire segment of our inherited culture.鈥�

Stewart is a classically trained violinist and composer who plays in , a nontraditional classical music group he calls a 鈥渘ew music improvising string quartet.鈥� He is also a faculty member at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. Although his music stretches the traditional definition of European-origin classical music from past centuries, he is bewildered at the vitriolic responses to his and Batiste鈥檚 nominations, given that the field has constantly benefited from , and especially recently from over the past decade.

The part of Neikrug鈥檚 critique that Stewart finds 鈥渕ost hurtful鈥� is the idea that his music does not fit the composer鈥檚 definition of 鈥渙ur inherited culture.鈥� Stewart is the child of two professional musicians, and says, 鈥泪 have literally inherited the music of my mother and father.鈥� His mother, the late Elektra Kurtis, was a Greek American composer and violinist who straddled the world of classical and jazz music, and his father is Bob Stewart, a Grammy-nominated tuba player and music educator.

鈥泪 am a classical musician,鈥� he asserts.

How Does One Define Classical Music?

鈥淲hat exactly about what I鈥檓 doing is invalid, and not classical?鈥� asks Stewart, saying that classical musical themes are 鈥渂aked into the actual composition鈥� of the pieces on his Grammy-nominated album Of Power. Still, The New York Times op-ed columnist summarized the thrust of the controversy over Stewart and Batiste鈥檚 nominations when he claimed that the Academy was merely trying to be 鈥渋nclusive.鈥� McWhorter said he felt insulted that 鈥渕usic that isn鈥檛 classical鈥� was nominated.

Another critic, Apostolos Paraskevas, a professor at Berklee College of Music, went further, complaining to The Observer about Batiste鈥檚 nontraditional style of classical music, 鈥泪f this person gets an award, this is a big slap on our face. It鈥檚 a message to everyone that we should give up and just do this.鈥�

Stewart takes issue with such criticisms. 鈥淟isten to [my] music and 鈥� if you feel it鈥檚 watered down, please, let me know. I will better my craft!鈥� he says. He sees the backlash as an indication of fear within a traditionally White-dominated industry where people of color are slowly but surely breaking in and taking up space. The critics are 鈥減rojecting that fear of not being heard and represented onto me and Jon Batiste,鈥� he says by way of explanation.

Black Influence on Classical Music Through the Ages

Political analyst and radio host Earl Ofari Hutchinson has long examined the role of people of color, particularly African Americans, in classical music. He has written two books about the genre, including Beethoven and Me: A Beginner鈥檚 Guide to Classical Music in 2015, and It鈥檚 Our Music Too: The Black Experience in Classical Music in 2016. 鈥泪鈥檓 not really surprised there would be some controversy鈥� over Batiste and Stewart鈥檚 Grammy nominations, he says.

According to Hutchinson, the traditionally accepted definition of classical music is based on 鈥�17th, 18th, or 19th century Western European or Russian music.鈥� However, today, he says, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e blending more things into classical music that have traditionally not been there,鈥� such as jazz, rock, and pop. Jazz in particular has been fused into classical music for decades, and Hutchinson says that 鈥渕any of the 鈥榩urists鈥� take exception to that.鈥�

That puritanical approach鈥攁nd the racial dynamics at play鈥攎ay be informing the backlash to Stewart and Batiste鈥檚 nominations, Hutchinson says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 sometimes been an overt, but more likely subtle, undertone of 鈥榃ait a minute, Blacks in classical music? That鈥檚 like the sun and the moon!鈥欌��

Hutchinson cites numerous White composers who were influenced by composers of color, particularly jazz musicians, including Americans like George Gershwin, French composers like Maurice Ravel, and, to an extent, Russia鈥檚 Sergei Rachmaninoff and Dmitri Shostakovich. 鈥淭hey were influenced by African American jazz rhythms,鈥� he says.

Similarly, Stewart sees classical music itself as the result of merging influences. 鈥泪鈥檝e seen musicians of many cultures bring their culture into the world of classical music and either be recognized for it, or not,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here is literally a classical tradition of violinists taking music from one world and bringing it into another world.鈥� Stewart does just such a thing with his classical violin interpretation of Stevie Wonder鈥檚 pop classic 鈥溾�� on his album Of Power.

Black Classical Music Matters

The Grammy controversy is the latest flashpoint over within the classical music field, and it is fueling ongoing debates about how the music is defined and who gets to define it. A genre that has long been associated with White European highbrow culture has for years to embrace musicians of color, especially Black musicians. Stewart speculates that perhaps 鈥渢his year is a reaction to 2020鈥� and the nationwide racial justice uprisings from nearly two years ago. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e afraid of what being 鈥榳oke鈥� will do to our field,鈥� he says.

鈥泪 have always been deeply interested in social justice,鈥� says Stewart. When the pandemic hit and the quarantine-era mass protests against the police killing of George Floyd gripped the nation, Stewart, who was participating in the protests while also caring for his sick mother, produced his Grammy-nominated album in his living room.

鈥淲e were all stuck in our little bubbles, and I just needed to put my anxiety and my feelings somewhere,鈥� he says. Of Power is a musical documentation of a society in turmoil, encapsulating the reactions of a Black musician during a moment of racial reckoning. 鈥泪 was using these recordings as a kind of journal, as a way to 鈥� react to what was happening in the world,鈥� says Stewart.

Among the pieces on his album that Stewart is most proud of is a solo violin arrangement of 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing,鈥� the Black national anthem. 鈥淭o call that 鈥榥ot serious鈥� [classical music] is hurtful,鈥� he says.

Fighting to Be Seen and Heard

When asked why there is such a reluctance in the world of classical music to accept Black people, Hutchinson says that racism is one reason. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of money in classical music,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭he whole genre is very well-endowed.鈥� That wealth creates a kind of 鈥減rotective layer鈥� around the genre, he explains. Although there are increasing numbers of people of color, and particularly African Americans, entering the classical music profession鈥攅specially on orchestras鈥攖he .

鈥淵ou still have the old guard out there who are very protective of their interest in classical music,鈥� says Hutchinson. Nevertheless, he is about to start hosting a classical music radio program on KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles, becoming one of very few, if any, Black classical music show hosts nationwide.

In thinking about what his craft means to him, Stewart invokes Nina Simone, an American musical icon who was also considered to be the in the U.S. Simone famously said she was turned away from the 鈥攅ven though she passed their audition鈥攕imply because she was Black. Stewart cites Simone鈥檚 regret in being introduced as a jazz musician instead of as a classical musician during her debut performance at Carnegie Hall. 鈥泪 refuse to have that sense of regret,鈥� he says.

Stewart plans on continuing to innovate musically without tamping down his unique cultural influences. 鈥淭he field of classical music needs this. I want to hear more people like me in my field!鈥� he says, smiling broadly. 鈥泪t just makes me excited, it makes me joyous.鈥�

Hutchinson is heartened that, despite the pushback, the Recording Academy took a courageous and progressive stance in ensuring that this year鈥檚 classical Grammy nominations included nontraditional compositions and performances like Stewart鈥檚 and Batiste鈥檚. 鈥泪鈥檓 glad to see that, and I鈥檓 hopeful that we鈥檒l see more of that in the future.鈥� He sees it as progress and the 鈥渞ecognition that Blacks are in classical music, and they鈥檙e here to stay.鈥�

鈥淭o be seen is like this is joy, it鈥檚 a release, it鈥檚 a catharsis,鈥� says Stewart of his Grammy nomination. 鈥淭here are plenty of musicians of color in the classical music field that deserve that.鈥�