John Luther Adams Wins Pulitzer Prize for Music
The nearly century-old Pulitzer prizes honor achievement in journalism, books, drama, and music. This year’s music winner, John Luther Adams, is an Alaska-based composer whose orchestral work “Become Ocean” was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony, inspired by the waters of the Pacific Northwest. The piece, which is written for an exceptionally large orchestra (including four harps), evokes an ocean of sound reminiscent of the landscapes that Adams has recently frequented. Deeply relevant to the growing environmental crisis, global warming and melting polar ice caps were the crux of the composition, and has been described by Taiga Press as “a haunting orchestral work that suggests a relentless tidal surge.”
On May 6th, “Become Ocean” will make its New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Spring for Music series. You can preview the composition below.
John Luther Adams is perhaps most famously known for “Inuksuit,” an outdoor composition and performance of 70 moving percussionists, inspired by the monolithic stone landmarks of native people of the Arctic.
