John Rutter is awarded the Academy Fellowship, the most important of the Ivor Classical Awards.
The winners of the 2023 Ivor Classical Music Awards, commonly known as the Ivors and named after Ivor Novello (Cardiff, 1893-London, 1951), one of the most popular British singers and composers of the first half of the 20th century, were unveiled last night at an awards ceremony on London’s BFI Southbank.
The awards, regarded as one of the most prestigious in the field of contemporary British classical music, are presented twice a year by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA): in spring, the most outstanding singer-songwriters of the year are honoured, while in autumn the aim is to pay tribute to the best classical music and sound art by British, Irish or UK-based composers created in the last year. The winners in the eleven classical music categories were:
• Academy Fellowship, BASCA’s highest award, has been awarded to John Rutter, acknowledging him as “one of the most influential choral composers of our time”.
• Outstanding works collection – Tansy Davies in honour of her “consistently exceptional body of classical compositions”.
• Best chamber ensemble composition – Növények [Seven Hungarian Poems] composed by Thomas Adès for mezzo-soprano and piano sextet.
• Best choral composition – Sol composed by Ben Nobuto for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain’s Fellowship ensemble.
• Best community and participation composition in association with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) – Swarm Fanfares composed by Dobrinka Tabakova for youth orchestra.
• Best large ensemble composition – Shouting Forever into the Receiver composed by Hannah Kendall for 17 musicians.
• Best orchestral composition – Cello Concerto composed by Brett Dean for symphony orchestra and solo cello.
• Best small chamber composition – Comme L’espoir/You Might All Disappear composed by Josephine Stephenson for soprano and guitar.
• Best sound art – LOL, a site-specific piece using the public address system of Middlesbrough’s CCTV surveillance network, created by Olivia Louvel.
• Best stage work – Least Like The Other: Searching For Rosemary Kennedy, a one-act opera composed by Brian Irvine focusing on the lobotomy of JFK’s sister Rosemary Kennedy.
• Innovation award in association with the Musicians’ Union – Matthew Herbert in recognition of his ‘pioneering work in electronic music and his experimental use of unconventional sounds as instrumentation’.
Six composers collected Ivor Novello Awards for the very first time: Matthew Herbert, Hannah Kendall, Olivia Louvel, Ben Nobuto, Josephine Stephenson and Dobrinka Tabakov. The publishing company of each winning work also received Ivor Novello Award statuettes this year: Faber Music, Valonius Press-Schott Music, G Ricordi-Universal Music Publishing, Boosey & Hawkes and Éditions Alphonse Leduc were all recognised.