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Pulitzer Prize for Music

Pulitzer Prize Coin Front

The Pulitzer Prizes, started by New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), are awarded each year for letters (books), works in journalism, music, and the arts produced during the previous calendar year. The prizes are normally announced in May of each year. Winners receive a cash prize, a medal and/or a certificate.

During some years no award was given.

The Music category was created in 1943. The winner is the most distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance in the United States, as recognized by the Nominating Juries and The Pulitzer Prize Board.

Listed below are winners, with catalog links provided to those titles owned by Jacksonville Public Library.

1990s | 1980s | 1970s | 1960s | 1950s | 1940s


2000s
2007   Sound Grammar by Ornette Coleman
2006   Piano Concerto: ‘Chiavi in Mano’ by Yehudi Wyner
Score available only through RENTAL FROM THE PUBLISHER
No recording available
Other works by Yehudi Wyner
Premiered February 17, 2005 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
2005   Second Concerto for Orchestra by Steven Stucky
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #62676845)
No recording available
Other works by Steven Stucky
Premiered March 12, 2004 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Calif.
2004   Tempest Fantasy by Paul Moravec
RECORDING & SCORE ON ORDER
Other works by Paul Moravec
Written for and premiered by the Trio Solisti and clarinet soloist David Krakauer on May 2, 2003 at the Morgan Library, New York City.
2003   On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams
Score not available (unpublished)
Recording
Premiered by the New York Philharmonic on September 19, 2002 at Avery Fisher Hall.
2002   Ice Field by Henry Brant
Score ON ORDER
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #52089262)
No recording available
Other works by Henry Brant
Premiered by the San Francisco Symphony on December 12, 2001 at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, Calif.
2001   Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra by John Corigliano
Score ON ORDER
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #56580264)
Recording
Premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on November 30, 2000 at Symphony Hall, Boston, Mass.
2000   Life is a Dream, Opera in Three Acts: ACT II, Concert Version by Lewis Spratlan
Score not available (unpublished)
No recording available
Premiered on January 28, 2000 by Dinosaur Annex in Amherst, Mass. Libretto by James Maraniss.
1990s
1999   Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion by Melinda Wagner
Score (Solo with Piano reduction)
Recording
Premiered on May 30, 1998 in Purchase, New York by the Westchester Philharmonic, and commissioned by that orchestra for Paul Lustig Dunkel.
1998   String Quartet No. 2, Musica Instrumentalis by Aaron Jay Kernis
Score not available (unpublished)
Recording
Premiered on January 19, 1990, at Merkin Concert Hall, New York City, by The Lark Quartet.
1997   Blood on the Fields. Oratorio by Wynton Marsalis
Score not available (unpublished)
Recording
Premiered on January 28, 1997 at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
1996   Lilacs, for voice and orchestra by George Walker
Vocal score
Recording
Premiered on February 1, 1996, in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and was commissioned by that orchestra.
1995   Stringmusic by Morton Gould
Score
No recording available
Premiered on March 10, 1994 by the National Symphony Orchestra at The John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
1994   Of Reminiscences and Reflections by Gunther Schuller
Score
Recording
Premiered on December 2, 1993, in Louisville, Ky. Performed and commissioned by The Louisville Orchestra.
1993   Trombone Concerto by Christopher Rouse
Score (Solo with Piano Reduction)
Recording
Premiered December 30, 1992, in New York by the New York Philharmonic.
1992   The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark by Wayne Peterson
Score
No recording available
Premiered on October 17, 1991, by the San Francisco Symphony.
1991   Symphony by Shulamit Ran
Score
No recording available
Commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and premiered by that orchestra on October 19, 1990.
1990   "Duplicates": A Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra by Mel Powell
Score not available (unpublished)
Recording
Premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic on January 26, 1990.
1980s
1989   Whispers Out of Time by Roger Reynolds
Score
Recording
Premiered on December 11, 1988, at Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College, Mass.
1988   12 New Etudes for Piano by William Bolcom
Score
Recording
First complete performance by Marc-Andre Hamelin, pianist, on March 30, 1987 at Temple University, Philadelphia, Penn.
1987   The Flight Into Egypt by John Harbison
Score
Recording
Premiered by the Cantata Singers and Ensemble on November 21, 1986, at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
1986   Wind Quintet IV by George Perle
Score
Recording
Premiered on October 2, 1985 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City.
1985   Symphony, RiverRun by Stephen Albert
Score
Recording
Premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra on January 17, 1985.
1984   "Canti del Sole" for Tenor and Orchestra by Bernard Rands
Score (chamber version) available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #24840920)
Recording (Reduced instrumentation)
Premiered by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on June 8, 1983.
1983   Symphony No. I (Three Movements for Orchestra) by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
Score
Recording
Commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and premiered by that orchestra on May 5, 1982 in Alice Tully Hall, New York City.
1982   Concerto for Orchestra by Roger Sessions
Score
Recording
First performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on October 23, 1981, Seiji Ozawa, conductor.
1981   (No award)
1980   In Memory of a Summer Day by David Del Tredici
Score ON ORDER
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC# 18856358)
Recording not available (out of print)
Other works by David Del Tredici
A work for soprano solo and orchestra, commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony for its 100th anniversary and premiered by that orchestra on February 23, 1980.
1970s
1979   Aftertones of Infinity by Joseph Schwantner
Score
Recording
First performed by the American Composers Orchestra on January 29, 1979 in Alice Tully Hall New York City.
1978   Deja Vu for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra by Michael Colgrass
Score
Recordings
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered by that orchestra October 20, 1977.
1977   Visions of Terror and Wonder by Richard Wernick
Score
No recording available
For mezzo-soprano and orchestra, premiered at the Aspen Music Festival, July 19, 1976. It was commissioned by the Festival's Conference on Contemporary Music, with assistance from the National Endowment for the Arts.
1976   Air Music by Ned Rorem
Score
Recording
First performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on December 5, 1975. It is subtitled "Ten Etudes of Orchestra. "
1975   From the Diary of Virginia Woolf by Dominick Argento
Score
Recordings
For medium voice and piano, commissioned by the Schubert Club of St. Paul, and premiered January 5, 1975 in Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis.
1974   Notturno by Donald Martino
Score
Recordings
A chamber music piece commissioned by the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation and first performed May 15, 1973 a Alice Tully Hall, New York City, by Speculum Musicae.
1973   String Quartet No. 3 by Elliott Carter
Score
Recording
Premiered by the Juilliard String Quartet at Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City, on January 23, 1973.
1972   Windows by Jacob Druckman
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #1028240)
Recording
Premiered by the Chicago Symphony on March 16, 1972 at Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
1971   Synchronisms No. 6 for Piano and Electronic Sound (1970) by Mario Davidovsky
Score
Recording
Premiered August 19, 1970 at the Berkshire Music Festival.
1970   Time's Encomium by Charles Wuorinen
Score
Recording
Premiered in its entirety at the Berkshire Music Festival on August 16, 1969.
1960s
1969   String Quartet No. 3 by Karel Husa
Score
Recording
First performed at the Goodman Theater, Chicago, on October 14, 1968 by the Fine Arts Quartet.
1968   Echoes of Time and the River by George Crumb
Score
Recordings
An orchestral suite first performed on May 26, 1967 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Mandel Hall, University of Chicago, having been commissioned by the University in connection with the celebration of its 75th anniversary.
1967   Quartet No. 3 by Leon Kirchner
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #411609)
Recordings
For strings and electronic tape. First performed by the Beaux Arts Quartet in Town Hall, January 27, 1967.
1966   Variations for Orchestra by Leslie Bassett
Study score ON ORDER
Study score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #1019757)
Recording
It was first performed in the United States by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on October 22, 1965.
1965   (No Award)
1964   (No Award)
1963   Piano Concerto No. 1 by Samuel Barber
Scores
Recordings
Premiered with the Boston Symphony at Philharmonic Hall on September 24, 1962.
1962   The Crucible by Robert Ward
Vocal Score
Recording
An opera in three acts, Libretto by Bernard Stambler, based on the play by Arthur Miller. First performed at New York City Center, on October 26, 1961 by the New York City Opera Company.
1961   Symphony No. 7 by Walter Piston
Score
Recording
First performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra on February 10, 1961, and commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association.
1960   Second String Quartet by Elliott Carter
Score
Recordings
First performed at the Juilliard School of Music, March 25, 1960.
1950s
1959   Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by John LaMontaine
2-piano reduction available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #5737726)
Recording
First performed in Washington, D.C. by the National Symphony Orchestra on November 25, 1958.
1958   Vanessa by Samuel Barber
Vocal Score
Recordings
An opera in four acts, libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti. First presented January 15,1958, at the Metropolitan Opera House.
1957   Meditation on Ecclesiastics by Norman Dello Joio
Score
Recording
First performed at the Juilliard School of Music on April 20, 1956.
1956   Symphony No. 3 by Ernst Toch
Study score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #22396365)
Recording
First performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, December 2, 1955.
1955   The Saint of Bleecker Street by Gian-Carlo Menotti
Vocal Score
Recording
An opera first performed at the Broadway Theater, New York, December 27, 1954.
1954   Concerto For Two Pianos and Orchestra by Quincy Porter
Facsimile of score ms. may be available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #8108820)
No available recording
Other works by Quincy Porter
First performed by the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, March 17, 1954. This was one of the works commissioned under a grant of the Rockefeller Foundation for new American compositions for orchestra, or soloists and orchestra.
1953   (No Award)
1952   Symphony Concertante by Gail Kubik
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #2046776)
No available recording
Other works by Gail Kubik
Performed at Town Hall, January; 7, 1952.
1951   Giants in the Earth by Douglas S. Moore
Score not available (unpublished)
No available recording
Other works by Douglas Moore
Produced by Columbia Opera Workshop, March 28, 1951.
1950   The Consul by Gian-Carlo Menotti
Vocal Score
Recording
DVD
Produced at the Barrymore Theater, New York.
1940s
1949   Louisiana Story (film score) by Virgil Thomson
Score
Recordings
DVD
For film production released by Robert Flaherty Productions in 1948.
1948   Symphony, No. 3 by Walter Piston
Score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #927170)
Recording
First performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston, January, 1948.
1947   Symphony No. 3 by Charles Ives
Score
Recordings
Recording (complete symphonies)
First performed by Lou Harrison and Chamber Orchestra in New York, April, 1946.
1946  

The Canticle of the Sun by Leo Sowerby
Vocal score available through Interlibrary Loan (REF: OCLC #498940)
No available recording
Other works by Sowerby
Commissioned by the Alice M Ditson Fund, first performed by the Schola Cantorum in New York, April 1945.

1945   Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland
Scores
Recordings
DVD
A ballet written for and presented by Martha Graham and group, commissioned by Mrs. E. S. Coolidge, first presented at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. October, 1944.
1944   Symphony No. 4. Opus 34 by Howard Hanson
Score
Recording
Performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on December 3, 1943.
1943   Secular Cantata No. 2. A Free Song by William Schuman
Vocal Score
No available recording
Performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
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