The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition () is an annual prize instituted by
Henry Charles Grawemeyer, industrialist and entrepreneur, at the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
in 1984. The award was first given in 1985. Subsequently, the
Grawemeyer Award
The Grawemeyer Awards () are five awards given annually by the University of Louisville. The prizes are presented to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion, and psychology. The religion awa ...
was expanded to other categories: ''Ideas Improving World Order'' (instituted in 1988), ''Education'' (1989), ''Religion'' (1990) and ''Psychology'' (2000). The prize fund was initially an endowment of US$9 million from the Grawemeyer Foundation. The initial awards were for $150 000 each,
increasing to $200 000 for the year 2000 awards. After the economic crash of 2008, the prize was reduced to $100,000.
The selection process includes three panels of judges. The first is a panel of faculty from the University of Louisville, who hosts and maintains the perpetuity of the award. The second is a panel of music professionals, often involving conductors, performers, and composers (most frequently the previous winner). The final decision is made by a lay committee of new music enthusiasts who are highly knowledgeable about the state of new music. This final committee of amateurs makes the final prize determination because Grawemeyer insisted that great ideas are not exclusively the domain of academic experts.
The award has most often been awarded to large-scale works, such as symphonies, concerti, and operas. Only two Award-winning pieces (
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
's ''
Études'', for piano; and
Sebastian Currier's ''Static'', for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano) do not require a conductor in performance.
Only four years have seen no prize awarded. In 1988, the second panel, consisting of professional musicians (which that year included previous winner
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...
) determined that no work was deserving of the award. In 1999, the awarding of the prize was moved from the fall semester to the spring semester due to the University of Louisville's bicentennial celebrations, which meant that that year's winner (
Thomas Adès
Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: ''The Tempest (opera), The T ...
) was given the prize in the spring of 2000 rather than the fall of 1999. No award was given in 2015 or 2020.
Recipients of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition
References
External links
The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition
{{Classical music awards
American music awards
Classical music awards
Contemporary classical music
Awards established in 1984
University of Louisville