PODCAST · music
Hearing The Pulitzers
by hearingthepulitzers
Hearing the Pulitzers: A piece-by-piece, episode-by-episode exploration of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Music with hosts Andrew Granade and David Thurmaier.
Episodes
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Bonus: An Interview with Zhou Long
In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with 2011 Pulitzer Winner Zhou Long. Where did he find the libretto for Madame White Snake? What does he think of people analyzing the opera's music? And what role did Bedřich Smetana play in the opera's creation? We hope you enjoy hearing from...
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Episode 69 - 2011: Zhou Long, Madame White Snake
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore an opera by the composer of our podcast theme, Zhou Long. It's been fifty years since another staged opera won the prize. Is this a worthy work to break that streak? They discuss the opera's synopsis, the music, and how Zhou Long blends Eastern and Western...
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Episode 68 - 2010: Jennifer Higdon, Violin Concerto
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a concerto by one of the most-performed living composers, Jennifer Higdon. Will they think the concerto deserves more play? How does it fit with the other Pulitzer concerto winners? If you'd like more information about Jennifer Higdon, we recommend: This...
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Episode 67 - 2009: Steve Reich, Double Sextet
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore Steve Reich's Double Sextet, but can't help but talk about his earlier work. How does this later piece stack up to classics like Music for 18 Musicians? Could we also view this as a lifetime achievement award for a composer whose music would not have been...
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Episode 66 - 2008: David Lang, The Little Match Girl Passion
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore an oratorio for voice and percussion that mingles minimalism, Bach, and a fairy tale. Will that mixture prove potent for them? And has Andrew ever been more excited for a particular winning piece? If you'd like more information about David Lang and The...
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Episode 65 - 2007: Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar
In this episode, Dave and Andrew listen to the first work without a written score to ever win a Pulitzer, Ornette Coleman's album Sound Grammar. What will they think about this new direction for the prize? And it wouldn't be Hearing the Pulitzers without discussing some drama from the judges! We...
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Episode 64 - 2006: Yehudi Wyner, Piano Concerto: 'Chiavi in Mano'
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a piano concerto that the composer, Yehudi Wyner, said "permits expression of the raunchy as well as the refined." How will that duality sit with the hosts? Why doesn't a distinguished composer like Wyner get more performances?? And what former PP winners...
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Bonus: Giants in the Earth Revisited
In 2020, Dave and Andrew released their 9th episode, covering Douglas Moore's forgotten opera Giants in the Earth without being able to hear it or even see the score. Now, after 50 years after the last performance, Giants in the Earth has appeared again in a new production by the South Dakota...
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Episode 63 - 2005: Steven Stucky, Concerto for Orchestra, No. 2
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a concerto for orchestra that achieved great heights by, in the words of its creator Steven Stucky, "standing on the shoulders of those who have already cleared the path ahead." But will our hosts appreciate the view? And who were some of the other…
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Episode 62 - 2004: Paul Moravec, Tempest Fantasy
In this episode, Dave and Andrew dive into a work inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest. Will the work live up to the Bard's reputation? And does this piece fit into the typical mold of a Pulitzer Prize winning work? If you'd like more information about Paul Moravec, we recommend: Paul Moravec's...
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Episode 61 - 2003: John Adams, On the Transmigration of Souls
In this episode, Dave and Andrew go back to the events of 9/11 and listen to a piece memorializing the day. But will they find the piece moving or maudlin? And how does the piece hold up some 20+ years later? By this point, John Adams was a famous composer, but should this particular piece of his...
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Episode 60 - 2002: Henry Brant, Ice Field
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the first experimental composer to win the Pulitzer since Charles E. Ives. With that pedigree, what will they think of Henry Brant's Ice Field? And why is this piece called a "spatial" composition? If you'd like to learn more about Henry Brant and Ice…
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Episode 59 - 2001: John Corigliano, Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the symphony of John Corigliano they don't know. After appreciating Corigliano's first and third symphonies, what will they think of the second? This piece, a rescoring and revision of Corigliano's String Quartet, is another in a recent stretch of winning...
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Episode 58 - 2000: Lewis Spratlan, Life is a Dream, Opera in Three Acts: Act II, Concert Version
In this episode, Dave and Andrew talk about a curious winner for the year 2000 since it was originally composed 25 years earlier! What will they think about this blast from the past? It's also the first opera to win the Pulitzer Prize in many decades. If you'd like more information about Lewis...
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Episode 57 - 1999: Melinda Wagner, Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a concerto featuring an instrument not often put into a concerto setting: the flute. But its title also promises a balance among three forces instead of a featured soloist. What will they think of this contradictory piece? If you'd like more information...
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Episode 56 - 1998: Aaron Jay Kernis, String Quartet #2 (musica instrumentalis)
In this episode, Dave and Andrew return to the venerable string quartet for a piece that mixes tonality, modernist music, Baroque dances, and Medieval modality. But will this mixture work for them? If you'd like more information about Aaron Jay Kernis and the String Quartet #2, we recommend: Leta...
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Episode 55 - 1997: Wynton Marsalis, Blood on the Fields
In this episode, Dave and Andrew go deep into the tangled history surrounding the first jazz piece to ever win the Pulitzer Prize in Music, Wynton Marsalis's Blood on the Fields. But what will they think of the changes to the Pulitzer that allowed a largely-improvised piece to win an award...
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Episode 54 - 1996: George Walker, Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a song cycle in all but name, George Walker's Lilacs. From the outside, this win looks like another lifetime achievement award, but is it? And does Lilacs remind them of music from an earlier period in the Pulitzer's history? If you'd like more information...
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Episode 53 - 1995: Morton Gould, Stringmusic
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer from an earlier generation winning a Pulitzer in the twilight of his career. What will they think of Stringmusic? If you'd like more information about Morton Gould, we recommend: J. Wesley Flinn's article, "Developing Variation in the Late Work…
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Episode 52 - 1994: Gunther Schuller, Of Reminiscences and Reflections
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss one of the composers Dave wishes he had met, Gunther Schuller. But does Schuller's winning work Of Reminiscences and Reflections live up to his high expectations? If you'd like more information about Gunther Schuller, we recommend: Schuller's…
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Episode 51 - 1993: Christopher Rouse, Trombone Concerto
In this episode, Dave and Andrew consider one of the few concertos to win the Pulitzer Prize, this time for an instrument whose sound some critics claimed grew "tiresome." Will they agree? And what famous composer's music is quoted in the piece? If you'd like more information about Christopher...
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Episode 50 - 1992: Wayne Peterson, The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark
In this episode, Dave and Andrew address one of the most controversial awards in Pulitzer history. What happened in 1992 and was Wayne Peterson's music worthy of the ruckus that grew around it? If you'd like more information about Wayne Peterson, we recommend: Joshua Kosman's Obituary of the...
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Bonus: An Interview with Howard Pollack
In this episode, Dave and Andrew are joined by Howard Pollack, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music at the University of Houston. Dr. Pollack is the author of acclaimed biographies of several Pulitzer Prize winners from the early years, including a recent biography of two-time winner Samuel...
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Episode 49 - 1991: Shulamit Ran, Symphony
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the second Pulitzer Prize in music won by a female composer, Shulamit Ran for her Symphony, in 1991. What will they think about this fourth freely-atonal work in a row to win the prize? And what snags did they run into researching this episode? As…
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Episode 48 - 1990: Mel Powell, Duplicates
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a composer who played with Benny Goodman as a jazz pianist, and then embraced Arnold Schoenberg's musical ideas as a member of the academy. What kind of music does that concoction create? Listen to this episode on Duplicates, Powell's winning piece for two...
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Episode 47 - 1989: Roger Reynolds, Whispers Out of Time
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a work for string orchestra that Kyle Gann opined was the first experimental composition to win the Pulitzer since Charles Ives. Given how much Dave loves Ives, how does he react to Whispers Out of Time? How does the piece fit in the context of music…
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Bonus: An Interview with William Bolcom
In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with 1988 Pulitzer Prize Winner William Bolcom. What is the difference between the Etudes and the New Etudes? What impact did John Cage have on his career? And who is answering the phone? We hope you enjoy hearing from him about these insights…
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Episode 46 - 1988: William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first solo piano work to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. And they try to answer the question–if these are "new" etudes, what are the "old" etudes? They also examine how Bolcom incorporates various styles and techniques into the etudes, and ponder the set's...
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Bonus: An Interview with John Harbison
In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with Pulitzer Winner John Harbison. Why did he decide to play the tuba? What was it like to study composition with two-time winner Walter Piston? What was the impetus for looking at the darker side of Christmas in The Flight Into Egypt? We hope...
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Episode 45 - 1987: John Harbison, The Flight Into Egypt
In this episode Dave and Andrew discuss a composer known for his eclecticism, who writes music that features the influence of jazz, Stravinskian neoclassicism, Schoenbergian serialism, and a variety of popular idioms. But will that mixture of styles win them over when applied to a Biblical text...
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Episode 44 - 1986: George Perle, Wind Quintet IV
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss someone they know primarily as a music theorist. George Perle is celebrated for his theoretical work on twelve-tone theory and Alban Berg's music, but how does he stack up as a composer? And what do they think of the first woodwind quintet to win a…
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Episode 43 -1985: Stephen Albert, Symphony RiverRun
In this episode, Dave and Andrew continue discussing the streak of Neo-Romantic winners of the Pulitzer Prize in music with Stephen Albert's Symphony RiverRun. But will this symphony win them over? For more information about Stephen Albert, we recommend: Ron Petrides's dissertation "Pitch...
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Episode 42 - 1984: Bernard Rands, Canti del Sole
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer associated with New Romanticism. But is that label reductive or does it accurately describe Bernard Rands's music? How about this song cycle based on poems about the sun? If you'd like more information about Rands, we recommend: Will Robin's...
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Bonus: An Interview with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with Pulitzer Winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. What did she learn studying at Florida State University and with former Pulitzer winners Roger Sessions and Elliott Carter? And why does she have a framed "Peanuts" cartoon in her studio? We hope you...
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Episode 41 - 1983: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Symphony No.1 (Three Movements for Orchestra)
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first female Pulitzer Prize winner, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who wrote a symphony of all things. What will they think about the first symphony to win the prize since Walter Piston's Symphony No. 7 back in 1961? As promised in the episode, here's Ellen...
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Episode 40 - 1982: Roger Sessions, Concerto for Orchestra
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the third winner of the Pulitzer Prize to study with Horatio Parker at Yale, Roger Sessions, for his Concerto for Orchestra. Since the other two winners were Charles Ives and Quincy Porter, it isn't a shock that Sessions was 85 years old when he won. What...
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Episode 39 - 1981: No Winner
In this episode, Dave and Andrew cover the fourth and final time (so far) that the Pulitzer Board decided not to award a music prize. Unlike 1965, which was the last year they didn't award the prize, 1981 wasn't mired in controversy. So why did the Pulitzer Board not award a prize and what should...
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Episode 38 - 1980: David Del Tredici, In Memory of a Summer Day
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer Aaron Copland called a "rare find among composers — a creator with a truly original gift." Will they agree with Copland about David Del Tredici's In Memory of a Summer Day? If you'd like more information about David Del Tredici, we recommend:...
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Episode 37 - 1979: Joseph Schwantner, Aftertones of Infinity
In this episode, Andrew and Dave explore a composer they first encountered with his music for wind band. In his Pulitzer-winning work, Schwantner fashioned a composition critics have described as creating a "poetic illusion—but only an illusion— of movement." Will this illusion win them over? If...
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Episode 36 - 1978: Michael Colgrass, Déjà Vu
In this episode, Dave and Andrew record their first live podcast event! In front of the Kansas City Conducting Symposium, they discuss an unusual work for the Pulitzers in that Michael Colgrass featured the percussion section of the orchestra. Will they enjoy this departure from standard...
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Episode 35 - 1977: Richard Wernick, Visions of Terror and Wonder
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a Pulitzer winner that has so fallen out of the repertoire that there is no commercially available recording. But that doesn't mean there aren't interesting things to learn about the state of music in the late 1970s! For example, why was there an extra...
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Episode 34 - 1976: Ned Rorem, Air Music
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a composer better known for his songs who won for an orchestral work, Ned Rorem. They may enjoy The Nantucket Songs but what will they think about Air Music? And was Air Music actually supposed to win the Pulitzer Prize??? Tune in to find out. If you'd…
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Episode 33 - 1975: Dominick Argento, From the Diary of Virginia Woolf
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the first song cycle to ever win the Pulitzer Prize, Dominick Argento's From the Diary of Virginia Woolf. Argento always remarked that his music balanced between his desire for fantasy and his need for control. Do Dave and Andrew think this work has that...
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Episode 32 - 1974: Donald Martino, Notturno
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer who is usually considered a 12-tone composer, but who also rejected labels. He famously told the New York Times in 1997 that "If anyone writes program notes and says I am a Serial or a 12-tone composer, I am infuriated." How do Dave and Andrew...
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Episode 31 - 1973: Elliott Carter, String Quartet No. 3
In this episode, Dave and Andrew revisit Elliott Carter, who won his first Pulitzer in 1960. They awarded his String Quartet No. 2 two big thumbs up. Will they be as enthusiastic about Carter's String Quartet No. 3? If you'd like more information about Elliott Carter and his String Quartet No. 3,...
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Episode 30 - 1972: Jacob Druckman, Windows
In this episode, Dave and Andrew look through Windows at Jacob Druckman's compositional style and legacy in American music. Druckman taught at Yale and the Aspen Music Festival for years, shaping generations of young composers, and coined the term "New Romanticism" when he curated the Horizons...
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Episode 29 - 1971: Mario Davidovsky, Synchronisms No. 6
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first episode they have a personal connection to as Andrew has performed Mario Davidovsky's Synchronisms No. 6. How does Dave react to the third music winner to incorporate electronic sounds, and how do those sounds hold up 50 years later? If you'd…
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Episode 28 - 1970: Charles Wuorinen, Time’s Encomium
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first fully electronic work to ever win a Pulitzer Prize, even though it was the only electronic work its composer ever wrote. Did Charles Wuorinen set a new standard for Pulitzer-winning music or was electronic music a flash in the pan? If you're...
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Episode 27 - 1969: Karel Husa, String Quartet No. 3
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a composer renowned today for his works for wind band, but celebrated during his lifetime for music that was, in Nicolas Slonimsky's famous phrase, "oxygenated by humanistic romanticism." Join us as we try and tease out exactly what Slonimsky meant by...
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Episode 26 - 1968: George Crumb, Echoes of Time and the River
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore an early work by a composer who transformed American music with his singular vision. But how did a composer who concocted a personal aesthetic reflecting a fascination with "life, death, love, the smell of the earth, the sounds of the wind and the sea"...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Hearing the Pulitzers: A piece-by-piece, episode-by-episode exploration of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Music with hosts Andrew Granade and David Thurmaier.
HOSTED BY
hearingthepulitzers
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How many episodes does Hearing The Pulitzers have?
Hearing The Pulitzers currently has 76 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Hearing The Pulitzers about?
Hearing the Pulitzers: A piece-by-piece, episode-by-episode exploration of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Music with hosts Andrew Granade and David Thurmaier.
How often does Hearing The Pulitzers release new episodes?
Hearing The Pulitzers has 76 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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Hearing The Pulitzers is created and hosted by hearingthepulitzers.
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