Alaska based minimalist composer John Luther Adams has been awarded the 2014 Pulitzer for a work titled Become Ocean, which was premiered on June 20, 2013, by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
The prize is awarded to the most distinguished musical composition by an American and must have had it’s first performance or recording on US soil during the previous calendar year. The prize comes with ten thousand dollars cash.
According to the program notes, the piece is described as “a haunting orchestral work that suggests a relentless tidal surge, evoking thoughts of melting polar ice and rising sea levels.”
The title comes from a quote by John Cage describing the music of Lou Harrison “Listening to it we become ocean.”
Also nominated were The Gospel According to the Other Mary by (the other) John Adams, and Invisible Cities by Christopher Cerrone.
Past prize-winning works include Aaron Copland, Walter Piston (twice), Gian-Carlo Menotti (twice), Robert Ward, Samuel Barber (twice) Charles Wuorinen, David Del Tredici, Elliott Carter (twice) Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Wynton Marsalis, John Adams, Ornette Coleman, and Jennifer Higdon. Last year’s winner was Caroline Shaw for her choral work Partita for Eight Voices.
You can here a promo video for the piece here:
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