The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) was awarded from 1959 to 2011. From 1967 to 1971, and in 1987, the award was combined with the award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) and awarded as the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with or without orchestra).
The award has had several minor name changes:
In 2012, the award was discontinued in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. The category was merged with the Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) category to form the new Best Classical Instrumental Solo category, similar to the award from 1967 to 1971.
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.
| Year | Winner(s) | Title | Nominees | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Andrés Segovia | Segovia Golden Jubilee | [1] | ||
| 1960 | Arthur Rubinstein | Beethoven Sonatas No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 & No. 18 in E Flat Major, Op. 53, No. 3 | [2] | ||
| 1961 | Laurindo Almeida | The Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Almeida | [3] | ||
| 1962 | Laurindo Almeida | Reverie for Spanish Guitar | [4] | ||
| 1963 | Vladimir Horowitz | Columbia Records Presents Vladimir Horowitz | [5] | ||
| 1964 | Vladimir Horowitz | The Sound of Horowitz | [6] | ||
| 1965 | Vladimir Horowitz | Horowitz Plays Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin | [7] | ||
| 1966 | Vladimir Horowitz | Horowitz at Carnegie Hall - An Historic Return | [8] | ||
| 1972 | Vladimir Horowitz | Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff (Etudes-Tableaux Piano Music; Sonatas) | [9] | ||
| 1973 | Vladimir Horowitz | Horowitz Plays Chopin | [10] | ||
| 1974 | Vladimir Horowitz | Horowitz Plays Scriabin | [11] | ||
| 1975 | Alicia de Larrocha | Albéniz Iberia | [12] | ||
| 1976 | Nathan Milstein | Bach | [13] | ||
| 1977 | Vladimir Horowitz | The Horowitz Concerts 1975/76 | [14] | ||
| 1978 | Arthur Rubinstein | Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 18 in E Flat/Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 | [15] | ||
| 1979 | Vladimir Horowitz | The Horowitz Concerts 77/78 | [16] | ||
| 1980 | Vladimir Horowitz | The Horowitz Concerts 78/79 | [17] | ||
| 1981 | Itzhak Perlman | The Spanish Album | [18] | ||
| 1982 | Vladimir Horowitz | The Horowitz Concerts 79/80 | [19] | ||
| 1983 | Glenn Gould | Bach: The Goldberg Variations | [20] | ||
| 1984 | Glenn Gould | Beethoven | [21] | ||
| 1985 | Yo-Yo Ma | Bach The Unaccompanied Cello Suites | [22] | ||
| 1986 | Vladimir Ashkenazy | Ravel Gaspard de la nuit; Pavane pour une infante défunte; Valses nobles et sentimentales | [23] | ||
| 1987 | No Award Given | ||||
| 1988 | Vladimir Horowitz | Horowitz in Moscow | [24] | ||
| 1989 | Alicia de Larrocha | Albéniz Iberia; Navarra; Suite Espagnola | [25] | ||
| 1990 | András Schiff | Bach The English Suites | [26] | ||
| 1991 | Vladimir Horowitz | The Last Recording | [27] | ||
| 1992 | Alicia de Larrocha | Granados Goyescas, Allegro de Concierto, Danze Lenta | [28] | ||
| 1993 | Vladimir Horowitz | Horowitz - Discovered Treasures (Chopin, Liszt, Scarlatti, Scriabin, Clementi) | [29] | ||
| 1994 | John Browning | Barber The Complete Solo Piano Music | [30] | ||
| 1995 | Emanuel Ax | Haydn Piano Sonatas, Nos. 32, 47, 53, 59 | [31] | ||
| 1996 | Radu Lupu | Schubert Piano Sonatas (in B Flat major and A major) | [32] | ||
| 1997 | Earl Wild | The Romantic Master - Works of Saint-Saëns, Handel | [33] | ||
| 1998 | János Starker | Bach Suites for Cello Nos. 1-6 | [34] | ||
| 1999 | Murray Perahia | Bach English Suites No. 1, 3, & 6 | [35] | ||
| 2000 | Murray Perahia | Bach The English Suites Nos. 2, 4, & 5 | [36] | ||
| 2001 | Tobias Lehmann, producer; Jens Schünemann, engineer; Sharon Isbin, soloist | Dreams of a World (Works of Lauro, Ruiz-Pipò, Duarte, etc.) | [37] | ||
| 2002 | Arne Akselberg, Truls Mørk producers; Arne Akselberg, engineer; Truls Mørk, soloist | Britten Cello Suites | [38] | ||
| 2003 | Andreas Neubronner, producer; Andreas Neubronner, engineer; Murray Perahia, soloist | Chopin Études, Op. 10 & Op. 25 | [39] | ||
| 2004 | Emanuel Ax | Haydn Piano Sonatas Nos. 29, 31, 34, 25 & 49 | [40] | ||
| 2005 | David Russell | Aire Latino (Morel, Villa-Lobos, Ponce, etc.) | [41] | ||
| 2006 | Evgeny Kissin | Scriabin, Medtner, Stravinsky | [42] | ||
| 2007 | Maurizio Pollini | Chopin | [43] | ||
| 2008 | Garrick Ohlsson | Beethoven Sonatas, Vol. 3 | [44] | ||
| 2009 | Gloria Cheng | Piano Music of Stucky, Lutosławski | [45] | ||
| 2010 | Sharon Isbin | Journey to the New World | [46] | ||
| 2011 | Paul Jacobs | Messiaen Livre du Saint-Sacrement | [47] | ||