Nonesuch Records congratulates Steve Reich, who has been awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his piece Double Sextet. The prize is awarded for distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the previous year; Double Sextet, completed in October 2007, received its world premiere on March 26, 2008, at the University of Richmond, in Richmond, Virginia, in a performance by the ensemble eighth blackbird. The ensemble also gave the piece its New York premiere, at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, on April 17, 2008. Both venues contributed to eighth blackbird's commission of the piece. You can listen to an excerpt from the Zankel Hall performance on the Carnegie Hall Commissions page at carnegiehall.org.

The Pulitzer citation calls Double Sextet "a major work that displays an ability to channel an initial burst of energy into a large-scale musical event, built with masterful control and consistently intriguing to the ear."

"We are thrilled for Steve," says Nonesuch President Robert Hurwitz. "He was the first artist we signed to Nonesuch in 1984, and he has been the foundation upon which the modern version of Nonesuch has been built. The fact that pieces like Music for 18 Musicians, Drumming, and Different Trains are performed far more now than when they were written clearly shows the tremendous staying power of his music. We are indebted to Steve for all he has given not only to Nonesuch, but for all he has given to the larger musical culture of our times."

The jury for the music prize comprised its chair, John Schaefer, the host of WNYC's Soundcheck; composer Dwight Andrews, an associate professor of music theory and jazz studies at Emory University; Justin Davidson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic for New York magazine; composer Anthony Davis; and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, a co-founder of Bang on a Can.

Steve Reich discusses the prize on today's edition of NPR's All Things Considered. For broadcast information or to listen again online, visit npr.org.

For more information on the Pulitzer Prize, visit pulitzer.org.

---

Steve Reich has also been nominated for the Composer of the Year Award, for Daniel Variations, at the 2009 Classical BRIT Awards. The piece was completed in 2006; its first recording, performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and conductor by Grant Gershon, was released by Nonesuch last year.

The Classical BRIT Awards, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, will be announced at a ceremony on May 14 at the Royal Albert Hall. The event will then be televised on the ITV1 channel on May 19.

For more information, visit classicalbrits.co.uk.