Masterprize International Composing Competition, informally known as Masterprize, was an international composing competition founded in April 1996 by author, investment banker and former diplomat, John McLaren. The brief for the inaugural competition was "to find new and original works for symphony orchestra with artistic integrity with the potential for broad and lasting appeal". Additional specifications were that the compositional entry should be of a duration of 8 to 12 minutes and that composers could be of any age or nationality. For the 2001 competition, the submitted works had to have been scored for orchestral forces of between 50 and 90 players and have a duration of between 6 and 15 minutes. Composers who were awarded first place received a monetary prize of either £25,000 for the 1998 competition, or £30,000 for the 2001 and 2003 competitions, respectively. The first Masterprize competition which culminated in 1998 was supported by significant institutions, such as the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

, the

BBC orchestras BBC Orchestras and Singers refers collectively to a number of orchestras, choirs and other musical ensembles, maintained by the BBC. Current operation All of the BBC’s Orchestras and Singers record performances primarily for BBC Radio 3, with t ...

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EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

, the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, the

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC, was the original owner and publisher together with ...

and the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

.Dam, Julie K.L
" The Prize Is Right"
''

Time (magazine) ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published Weekly newspaper, weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first publishe ...

'', 20 April 1998. Retrieved on 13 October 2021. The final round of the competition was held at the

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

on 7 April 1998 where the London Symphony Orchestra under

Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor and airplane pilot. Biography Harding was born in Oxford. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, ...

performed the six finalist works in full. The gala concert was attended by

Cherie Blair Cherie, Lady Blair (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is the spouse of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair. Early life and education Booth was born ...

who presented the winning composers with their prizes.

Prize winners

References

Music competitions in the United Kingdom 1996 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 1996 Awards established in 1996 Classical music in London Composition competitions {{music-event-stub