Unsuk Chin has won New York Philharmonic’s Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music. The South Korean composer gets USD200,000 (€172,000) and a commission to write for the orchestra.
The prize was bankrolled by a USD10m donation from Henry R Kravis back in 2009, and is named in honour of his wife. Winners to date include Louis Andriessen, Henri Dutilleux and Per Nørgård.
“Working with this exceptional orchestra for the first time some years ago, I immediately felt at home, both musically and personally, feeling such a close connection and such an intriguing sense of adventure with these wonderful musicians,” commented Chin. “It is important that leading orchestras like the NY Phil shine a light on the music of our time, and I am grateful to the Kravises for making it possible for us to do so through this significant prize.”
Added music director Jaap van Zweden: “Unsuk Chin’s musical language speaks with unique colour and poetry, and we at the NY Phil look forward to sharing the musical worlds she creates.”
To date, NY Phil has performed three works by Chin: Gougalōn: Scenes from a Street Theater (2013), Clarinet Concerto (2014) and Fantaisie mécanique (2016).
