The Grammys have not enjoyed a good reputation among classical music critics. But there are a few encouraging trends developing with this year’s nominations – The influence of independent labels continued. “Across 12 categories, independent labels garnered 32 nominations this year and the majors 29, versus 31 for independents last year and 29 for the majors.” Also, writes Bradley Bambarger, this years nominees reflect “an impressive percentage of modern and rare repertoire figures across the field.”