Anna Thorvaldsdottir has won the Ivors Composer Award for Large Scale Composition for her orchestral work CATAMORPHOSIS. The announcement was made at a ceremony held at the British Museum, London, on December 9.
CATAMORPHOSIS was premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko in January 2021 in a performance streamed around the world via the orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall. The Guardian described the work, which took its initial inspiration from mankind’s fragile relationship with our planet, as “a piece that stands entirely on its own feet, creating an utterly convincing musical world”.
The awards ceremony will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show on Saturday December 11.
CATAMORPHOSIS was commissioned by the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Iceland Symphony Orchestra. The Iceland Symphony will perform the piece for a second time on March 11 2022 conducted by Daniel Bjarnason. The CBSO and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla will give the UK premiere in Birmingham on June 15 2022 and the North American premiere will take place in the New York Philharmonic's 22/23 season.
Excerpt from the world premiere of CATAMORPHOSIS with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko in January 2021.
The Ivors Composer Awards is the UK's foremost celebration of creative excellence in contemporary classical and jazz composition and sound arts. Recognised as a pinnacle of achievement since they were first presented in 1956, an Ivor represents peer recognition as they are judged by fellow composers and music creators.
