The duo's take on down-home narratives and fist-pumping country anthems is edged in angsty, masculine sensitivity, betraying Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton's emo and mall-punk reference points.
The annual ceremony, held in New York Thursday night, also honored Motown founder Berry Gordy, producer Max Martin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface and members of the band Chicago.
The Russian pianist, known for his fiery technique, scales back to let his instrument sing sweetly in an autumnal miniature from late in the career of Johannes Brahms.
A new musical seeks to present a different side of the emperor, known best for fiddling while Rome burned. But some historians object to what they see as the commercialization of Roman heritage.