British composer wins richest award for fire score
NewsThe 2023 Grawemeyer music prize, worth $100,000, has been awarded to Julian Anderson for his cello concerto, Litanies.
The score was inspired by the death of his colleague Oliver Knussen and the devastating fire at Notre Dame.
Alban Gerhardt and the Orchestre National de France gave the work its 2020 world premiere in Paris.
Anderson, 55, is professor of composition and composer-in-residence at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London.
The Grawemeyer was originally worth $150k but a shrinking investment fund has reduced it by one third.
photo PR Newswire
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- Julian Anderson (photo by John Batten)
What? A winning piece written by someone who’s not simultaneously black, transgender and Ukrainian? Say what??
I think he won because he has talent.
Why are you implying people who happen to be black, transgender and Ukrainian don’t have talent?
Oh, grow up!
Truly! a white middle-aged man getting recognized in classical music is almost unprecedented.
This composer has had ample recognition in the classical music world. A pillar of the establishment.
Julian’s a very good composer, but he hardly needs the money
In addition he was a recipient of a huge PRS grant awhile back . Not the PRS’s finest hour .
Yeah, it’s almost as if that fictional world in which “wokeness” (whatever that means) has overtaken everything does not actually exist! 🙂
You must have very broad shoulders. You need them to carry all those chips.
Loved the excerpt you linked to your post, Mr Lebrecht.
By the way, fantastic cellist I never heard of!
Thank you for permitting me to discover this composer.
Bonetti, Gerhardt has recorded some very fine Hyperion discs
Grazie, Mr Repairman,
I will surely check!
P.S.: In case you read this second comment, well, I checked, and Mr Gerhardt is a fully remarkable cellist, skilled and deeply sensitive, playing either Bach or contemporary music!
Like what I hear on the YouTube clip very much
The prize is worth 200,000 USD. It says so on the press release. No worries.
It’s $100,000…has been since 2011. It began at $150,000 from 1985-1999, increased to $200,000 from 2000-2010.
Wow! Beautiful! The cellist plays with such sensitivity and sentiment. The orchestration reminds me of many masterful moments in 20th century French repertoire including Ravel. My only complaint as such is I wanted to hear much more. Is this the entire work?
should mention the fine conductor is John Storgards.
To him who already has it all, much more shall be given.
200k for empty junk. What on earth happened to creative composition??!!