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Julian Anderson Wins the 2023 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for Litanies

Dec. 21, 2022

Schott Music is delighted to report that Julian Anderson is the recipient of the 2023 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for his work Litanies. Anderson is the first British recipient of the award in over 20 years.

Influenced by the death of an esteemed colleague and part-destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral by fire in 2019, Litanies received its premiere with cellist Alban Gerhardt and the Orchestre National de France in 2020. The work was co-commissioned by Radio France, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Det Norske Kammerokester, The Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.

Click here to learn more about Litanies and here to view the score.

Julian Anderson notes: “I am overjoyed and deeply honored to be the recipient of the 2023 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. My concerto Litanies was inspired by the special qualities of cellist Alban Gerhardt, to whom it is dedicated. Two unrelated tragedies occurred while I was composing: the death of my dear colleague Oliver Knussen and the burning down of Notre Dame in Paris. The ‘Litanies’ of the title sing out both the loss of a dear friend and the destruction of a world monument. I am deeply grateful to the panel of the Grawemeyer Award for their recognition of a work which is both an act of commemoration and a celebration of musical beauty.” 

Marc Satterwhite, Director of the Grawemeyer Music Award, says: “Litanies explores virtually every sound a cello and orchestra can make together. It spans a vast emotional range and is constantly inventive. It is always towards an expressive end, and never for the sake of novelty.”


Excerpt from Alban Gerhardt's performance of Julian Anderson's Litanies 
with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of John Storgårds

Julian Anderson’s first cello concerto, Litanies, can be seen as an exploration in the possibilities of the cello, beginning with a Toccata and working through a full range of textures and techniques available to the instrument. The musical material is highly varied and includes unusual tunings as well as diatonic modes which are sharply contrasted. Following the traditional three movement form, albeit without break, the concerto features a central slow section with lyrical passages exploiting the cello’s singing qualities. A chorale at the end of this section is written in memory of Anderson’s dear friend, the composer/conductor Oliver Knussen. The faster opening and closing sections contrast this central movement, ending with a lively finale which takes its inspiration from dance. 


To learn more about Julian Anderson, visit: schott-music.com and fabermusic.com.

Julian Anderson
Litanies (2018-2019)
concerto for cello and orchestra
2(2.pic & afl).2(2.eh).2.(2.bcl & cl tuned down 1/4 tone).2(2.cbn)-2.2.1.0-perc(2 sus cym, tub bells, water bell, bell tree, sizzle cym, tam-t, steel drum, b.d., 2 congas, 2 tumbas, claves, anklung, maraca)-hp.pno(synth, pno & hp sounds with 1/4 tone pitch control)-str(10.8.6.6.4 max; 7.5.4.4.2 min)
25'

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