“The 2019 Pulitzer Prize winners have been announced,” writes Evan Minsker in Monday’s (4/15) Pitchfork. “Composer and sound artist Ellen Reid has won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. She is being honored for her opera p r i s m.” The work was given its world premiere in November 2018 by the L.A. Opera. Finalists for the 2019 Pulitzer “included James Romig—for his solo piano composition Still—and Andrew Norman, for his orchestral work Sustain. The late Aretha Franklin was also awarded a ‘Special Citation,’ for ‘her indelible contribution to American music and culture.’ … Ellen Reid is a composer based in Los Angeles and New York. p r i s m, her debut opera, focuses on the psychological trauma following sexual assault, told through a surreal story taking place between a mother and daughter in a ‘pristine sanctuary’ where they are ‘locked away from the world.’ Its premiere made Reid the very first composer to be commissioned by all four of Los Angeles’ major classical music institutions: the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L.A. Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and L.A. Opera. The libretto was written by Roxie Perkins, and it was directed by James Darrah.” The 2018 Pulitzer for music went to Kendrick Lamar for his album DAMN, the first time a non-jazz or classical artist won the award.
Posted April 16, 2019
