The Ivors Academy has revealed the winners of 11 Ivor Novello Awards at The Ivors Classical Awards, celebrating the best new classical music and sound art. The winners were announced during a ceremony hosted by BBC Radio 3’s Hannah Peel and Tom Service at the British Film Institute in London.
Three composers were presented with special Gift of the Academy awards, including John Rutter who was honoured with a Fellowship of The Ivors Academy – the highest accolade it bestows – which sees him join a prestigious list of 24 Fellows including John Adams, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Judith Weir CBE and Sting. Elsewhere, Tansy Davies was recognised with an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Works Collection, acknowledging her exceptional body of work, and Matthew Herbert received an Ivor Novello Award for Innovation presented in association with the Musicians’ Union.
The Ivors Academy promotes anonymous judging, which sees all identifying information removed from any entered materials seen by judges. A jury of 40 composer judges took part this year, nominating between three and five works for each category.
As with previous years, the Awards shine a light on the importance of the commissioning process. The winning works were commissioned by a wide range of organisations, trusts and venues, including National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Hallé Concerts Society, Sydney Symphony, Berliner Philharmoniker, Héloïse Werner, and Irish National Opera, amongst others.
This is the first year that The Ivors Academy has presented The Ivors Classical Awards to celebrate the best new classical music and sound art by British, Irish or UK resident composers. Previously known as The Ivors Composer Awards, they were established in 2003 as the British Composer Awards.
2023 Ivors Classical Award winners
BEST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE COMPOSITION - THOMAS ADÈS for NÖVÉNYEK
Thomas Adès received his third Ivor Novello Award, and fifth award from The Ivors Academy, for his work Növények. Written for mezzo-soprano and piano sextet, the piece sets seven poems by four great Hungarian poets: Attila József (1905-1937), Miklós Radnóti (1909-1944), Sándor Weöres (1913-1989) and Otto Orbán (1936-2002).
BEST CHORAL COMPOSITION – BEN NOBUTO for SOL
Ben Nobuto was presented with his first Ivor Novello Award for Sol, a piece he wrote for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain’s Fellowship ensemble. In his composer’s note, Nobuto comments, 'I started reading about solar deities in different cultures and came across the character of Sol, the sun god in ancient Rome. I like to imagine the eight singers in this piece as a little sun cult, all dancing and singing and worshipping the sun together, enjoying their weird pagan rituals.'
BEST COMMUNITY AND PARTICIPATION COMPOSITION in association with ABRSM – DOBRINKA TABAKOVA for SWARM FANFARES
Dobrinka Tabakova’s Swarm Fanfares for youth orchestra picked up the award for Best Community and Participation Composition; this is her first Ivor Novello Award. Commissioned by the Hallé Concerts Society, the work was premiered by the Hallé Youth Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, conducted by Delyana Lazarova.
BEST LARGE ENSEMBLE COMPOSITION – HANNAH KENDALL for SHOUTING FOREVER INTO THE RECEIVER
Hannah Kendall received her first Ivor Novello Award for shouting forever into the receiver, a piece she wrote for 17 musicians following a commission from Donaueschinger Musiktage. The title is taken from a line in Ocean Vuong’s novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. In her programme note, Kendall wrote: 'When I first read this phrase, it reminded me of the shouts and cries, not only of the Plantations, but those of the Plantation Machine, its ongoing feedback loop system, despite the passing of time.'
BEST ORCHESTRAL COMPOSITION - BRETT DEAN for CELLO CONCERTO
Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto won the Best Orchestral Composition category. Written for symphony orchestra and solo cello, the piece had its UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall with a performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner, with cellist Alban Gerhardt. This is his second Ivor Novello Award, having won one last year for his chamber ensemble piece Madame ma bonne sœur.
BEST SMALL CHAMBER COMPOSITION – JOSEPHINE STEPHENSON for COMME L’ESPOIR/YOU MIGHT ALL DISAPPEAR
Another first-time winner is Josephine Stephenson, whose piece Comme l’espoir/you might all disappear for soprano and guitar won the small chamber composition category. The dual language piece reflects Stephenson’s friendship with soprano Héloïse Werner – stemming back to their childhood in Paris before they both moved to the UK – and is inspired by a short French poem by Antoine Thiollier.
The piece can be heard on Phrases by Héloïse Werner.
BEST SOUND ART – OLIVIA LOUVEL for LOL
Olivia Louvel was awarded an Ivor Novello Award for Best Sound Art for her site-specific piece LOL, which used the public address system of Middlesbrough’s CCTV surveillance network. Produced with Sound Art Brighton, the piece aimed to reflect the current state of political affairs in Britain.
BEST STAGE WORK – BRIAN IRVINE for LEAST LIKE THE OTHER: SEARCHING FOR ROSEMARY KENNEDY
Brian Irvine collected an Ivor Novello Award for his work Least Like the Other: Searching for Rosemary Kennedy. The one-act opera was commissioned by Irish National Opera and premiered at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre. The piece focuses on the lobotomy of JFK’s sister Rosemary Kennedy and uses verbatim materials collected from archives, historical accounts, personal letters and diary entries.
ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP – JOHN RUTTER
The prestigious Academy Fellowship was awarded to John Rutter, acknowledging him as one of the most influential choral composers of our time. Rutter’s music is performed by professional and amateur choirs around the world and has been used to commemorate some of the most significant landmark occasions in recent history, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, Prince William and Catherine’s royal wedding, and the coronation of King Charles III.
OUTSTANDING WORKS COLLECTION – TANSY DAVIES
The Outstanding Works Collection Award, honouring British or Irish composers who have written a consistently exceptional body of classical compositions, was awarded to Tansy Davies, a cross-genre composer whose works embody elements of rock, funk, disco, bebop, alt-pop and modernism.
Named one of the UK’s most influential people by the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 in 2015, she has worked with renowned performers and concert houses all over the world, including the BBC Proms, the Royal Opera House, and King’s College Cambridge’s famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, broadcast to millions of viewers each year.
INNOVATION AWARD in association with the Musicians’ Union – MATTHEW HERBERT
The Innovation Award this year was awarded to British musician, DJ and producer Matthew Herbert, in recognition of his pioneering work in electronic music and his experimental use of unconventional sounds as instrumentation. He is renowned for mining audio from unique sources, including the environment, the human body, and animals (both dead and alive).
His most recent album, The Horse, saw him construct instruments out of a full-sized horse skeleton and was met with critical acclaim. Previously, his work has featured in Eurovision, Yves St Laurent fashion shows, and several films.