Masterprize Lists Finalists; Winner to be Decided on October 10

Masterprize, London’s international composer prize, has announced the 2001 competition’s five finalists. Founded by John McLaren in collaboration with BBC Radio 3, EMI, the London Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Music Magazine, the competition is designed to spotlight symphonic works with the potential to enter the standard orchestral repertoire while involving audiences worldwide in the development of new music. This year’s finalists included three American composers: Anthony Iannaccone, Pierre Jalbert, and Carter Pann.

This year’s finalists are:

Qigang Chen (Chinese), Wu Xing

Anthony Iannaccone (American), Waiting for Sunrise on the Sound (Read more)

Pierre Jalbert (American), In Aeternam (Read more)

Alastair King (British), Hit the Ground (Running, Running, Running)

Carter Pann (American), SLALOM (Read more)

Composers of all ages from around the globe were invited to enter works scored for symphony orchestra of six to fifteen minutes in length. An international panel of twelve judges, consisting mainly of conductors and composers, selected 12 semi-finalist pieces from the 1151 scores entered. The short-listed works without professional recordings were then recorded and all the works were broadcast beginning in April on BBC Radio 3. The pool was further narrowed to five by a second panel in June.

For the next stage in the competition, recordings of the finalist’s works will be distributed with the September issue of BBC Music Magazine (approximately 125,000 copies worldwide) and the international radio broadcasts will continue. The recordings will also be available for download at http://www.masterprize.com/. Worldwide public voting will then commence by mail, phone, and on the Internet.

On October 10, 2001, the London Symphony Orchestra will perform each of the works at the Gala Final concert and the winner will be selected by combining vote of the worldwide public (45 percent), the final Masterprize celebrity jury (40 percent), the members of the London Symphony Orchestra (10 percent), and the members of the audience (5 percent) present that night at the Barbican Centre. The winner of Masterprize will receive a £30,000 cash award, and £1,000 will go to each of the remaining finalists.