ABOUT THE MARIE-JOSÉE KRAVIS PRIZE FOR NEW MUSIC AT THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC

The Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music at the New York Philharmonic is awarded to a composer for extraordinary artistic endeavor in the field of new music.

Frequency: The Prize, consisting of $200,000 and a commission for the New York Philharmonic, is bestowed every two seasons. In alternating seasons, when no prize is given, the Orchestra names the Kravis Emerging Composer, who receives a $50,000 stipend and a commission. The combined award of $250,000 is among the largest new-music prizes in the world.

Selection Process: Prize winners are selected by a committee comprising leading artists and administrators who have close ties to the Philharmonic, and a demonstrated interest in fostering new music. The committee currently includes Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert; Jaap van Zweden, who becomes Music Director in the 2018–19 season after serving as Music Director Designate in the 2017–18 season; Esa-Pekka Salonen, The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, 2015–18; Nicholas Kenyon, managing director, Barbican Centre, London; Ara Guzelimian, provost and dean of The Juilliard School; and Daniel Druckman, New York Philharmonic Associate Principal Percussion.

Henry and Marie-Josée Kravis: Henry and Marie-Josée Kravis have long been generous supporters of new music at the New York Philharmonic. In 2009 they made a gift of $10 million to the Orchestra, endowing both The Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music at the New York Philharmonic and the Composer-in-Residence position. This gift supported the commissioning of Franck Krawczyk’s Après (April 2016); Peter Eötvös’s Senza sangue (May 2015); Christopher Rouse’s Thunderstuck (October 2014); Sean Shepherd’s Songs (June 2014); Anthony Cheung’s Lyra (June 2014); Christopher Rouse’s Symphony No. 4 (June 2014) and Prospero’s Rooms (April 2013); and Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 2, written for Yefim Bronfman (May 2012), Al Largo (June 2010), Souvenir (in memoriam Gérard Grisey) (November 2010), and EXPO (September 2009). Before extending this gift, Mr. and Mrs. Kravis supported the commissions of six new compositions: Peter Lieberson’s The World in Flower (May 2009); Marc Neikrug’s Quintessence (March 2008); Bernard Rands’s Chains Like the Sea (October 2008); Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto (February 2007); ’s Gathering Paradise, Emily Dickinson Settings for Soprano and Orchestra (September 2004); and ’s Symphony No. 3 (September 2003).

Past Recipients: In December 2011 the inaugural Kravis Prize for New Music was awarded to Henri Dutilleux (1916–2013), who shared the proceeds with three composers — Anthony Cheung, Franck Krawczyk, and Peter Eötvös — each of whom was commissioned to write a work for the Orchestra. Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic gave the World Premiere of Anthony Cheung’s Lyra in June 2014; the World Premiere of Peter Eötvös’s Senza sangue in Cologne, Germany, on the Orchestra’s EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour, and its U.S. Premiere in

New York City in May 2015; and the World Premiere of Franck Krawczyk’s Après in April 2016. The second Kravis Prize was awarded to Per Nørgård in June 2014; Alan Gilbert led the Philharmonic in the U.S. Premiere of Per Nørgård’s Symphony No. 3 during the second NY PHIL BIENNIAL, in June 2016. Sean Shepherd was named the 2012 Kravis Emerging Composer, which led to the commission and premiere of Songs in June 2014, led by Alan Gilbert. Anna Thorvaldsdottir was named the second Kravis Emerging Composer in June 2015; Alan Gilbert will lead the Philharmonic in the New York Premiere of Ms. Thorvaldsdottir’s Aeriality in May 2017, and the Philharmonic has commissioned Ms. Thorvaldsdottir to compose a work that the Philharmonic will premiere in a future season.