Justin Timberlake Loses Pulitzer
Do you remember all the brouhaha in the music community back in 2004 when the Pulitzer board announced that they were revising the guidelines for the music award?
Apr 11, 2005
View From the West: New Hope for the Pulitzer
Dean Suzuki Photo by Ryan Suzuki I recall reading a brief but powerful and insightful article by Kyle Gann titled “Pulitzer Hacks” in the July 30, 1991 issue of The Village Voice. In it, he quite rightly savaged the institution known as the Pulitzer (pronounced, by the way, PULL-it-zer, not PYU-lit-zer) Prize as a “Reward… Read more »
Aug 01, 2003
Lewis Spratlan: Beyond the Pulitzer Prize
Shortly after learning that Lewis Spratlan had won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in Music for part of an opera that had been completed in 1978 but was only performed in a concert version this past year, we trekked up to Amherst to talk to him about it.
Jun 01, 2000
Pulitzer Follies
Greg Sandow It’ll be old news by the time you read this, but it’s worth revisiting: The Pulitzer Prize for Music has changed its guidelines. This was all over the press when it happened back in May, because from now on film scores, musical theater pieces, and jazz works will be eligible for Pulitzers. Nominees… Read more »
Jul 01, 2004
Julia Wolfe Wins 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Julia Wolfe has been awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music for the oratorio Anthracite Fields which premiered on April 26, 2014 in Philadelphia in a performance by the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Mendelssohn Club Chorus.
Apr 20, 2015
Julia Wolfe Wins 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music
[UPDATED APRIL 21, 2015] Anthracite Fields by Julia Wolfe has been awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music. The work (which was commissioned through Meet the Composer’s Commissioning Music/USA program and is published by Red Poppy Music/G. Schirmer, Inc. ASCAP) premiered on April 26, 2014 in Philadelphia in a performance by the Bang on a… Read more »
Apr 20, 2015
INDEXED: What we’re reading when we read about Lamar’s Pulitzer Win
Ever since Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy announced Kendrick Lamar’s win in the music category on Monday, news outlets and social media have been alight with hot takes and existential reflections. We’ve indexed some highlights.
Apr 18, 2018
Anthony Davis Wins 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Anthony Davis has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his opera The Central Park Five.
May 04, 2020
And the Pulitzer Prize for the best apple of the year goes to—an orange!
Stephen Hartke Photo by Jeffrey Herman The Pulitzer Prize in music, already one of the most peculiar honors in our field, has just become even stranger and, probably, much less meaningful. On June 1, the Pulitzer Prize Board issued a press release with a title worthy of the Bush administration press office: “It’s time to… Read more »
Jul 01, 2004
David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion awarded 2008 Pulitzer
David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion has been awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Music and Bob Dylan receives a Special Citation. (Commentary by David Lang added on April 8, 2008.)
Apr 07, 2008
Tania León Orchestral Work Stride Awarded 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Tania León has been awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her orchestra work Stride which received its world premiere in a performance by The New York Philharmonic conducted by Jaap van Zweden in David Geffen Hall in New York City on February 13, 2020. According to the Pulitzer Prize guidelines, the annually awarded… Read more »
Jun 11, 2021
Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels Jointly Win the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels have been awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music for their jointly composed opera Omar. Omar was commissioned by the Spoleto Festival USA where it received its world premiere performance on May 27, 2022 at the Sottile Theatre in Charleston, S.C. It was subsequently staged by the LA Opera (October… Read more »
May 08, 2023
Kevin Puts Wins 2012 Pulitzer Prize
Silent Night: Opera in Two Acts by Kevin Puts has been awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music.
Apr 16, 2012
9/11 Piece Wins Adams the Pulitzer
Recognized for On the Transmigration of Souls, his New York Philharmonic-commissioned work to commemorate the events of September 11th.
Apr 09, 2003
Ornette Coleman Recording Wins 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Ornette Colemanrecording has been awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Music.
Apr 16, 2007
Rewriting History: Alternative Pulitzers
Reading through the list of Pulitzers, I’m struck by the rather orthodox view of American musical history it suggests.
Jun 01, 2000
John Luther Adams Wins 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Become Ocean by John Luther Adams has been awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Music. The work, premiered on June 20, 2013 by the Seattle Symphony, was described in the citation as “a haunting orchestral work that suggests a relentless tidal surge, evoking thoughts of melting polar ice and rising sea levels.”
Apr 14, 2014
Henry Brant Reflects in Glow of Pulitzer
Award for his work Ice Field, the 20-minute organ concerto commissioned by the San Francisco new-music organization Other Minds
Apr 12, 2002
Raven Chacon Wins 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Raven Chacon has been awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music for Voiceless Mass. The annually awarded $15,000 prize is for a distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the previous year. The work, which premiered on November 21, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,… Read more »
May 09, 2022
Reflections on the Pulitzer Prize
When pianist Robert Levin called me in Italy bringing us the news about the Pulitzer Prize, I tried to remain calm in an effort to simulate mature equanimity—but it was no use. The exhilaration trumped all restraint.
