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Paul Lowin Prizes

The Paul Lowin Prizes award two outstanding Australian music compositions. The Orchestral Prize ($25,000) is for a work for modern chamber or symphony orchestra of at least 30 players and 15 independent lines. The work may include instrumental or vocal soloists and/or choral, electronically produced or pre-recorded elements. The Song Cycle Prize ($15,000) will be awarded to a work suitable for chamber performance, using no more than 1-8 independent vocal lines, accompanied by up to 10 instrumental players. Highly Commended works now also receive $500 (1.) and $300 (2.) in each category.

2009 Paul Lowin Prizes

The winners of the 2009 Paul Lowin Prizes were announced on 30 October 2009 at a special ceremony at The Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House. The judges voted Mary Finsterer the winner of the $25,000 Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize for her work In Praise of Darkness, while Andrew Schultz won the $15,000 Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize for his work To the evening star.

Composers Carl Vine and Julian Yu were Highly Commended in the Orchestral category and Nigel Butterley and David Chisholm were Highly Commended in the Song Cycle category.

Mary Finsterer’s In Praise of Darkness is inspired by the writings of Jorge Luis Borges, in particular his reflections on his own state of blindness: at a time when he was beginning to receive critical acclaim as a writer and received the prestigious position as Director of the Buenos Aires Library, Jorge Luis Borges was encumbered by almost complete blindness.

The Jury's remarks about Finsterer's In Praise of Darkness '... in this strong, imaginative and original work, we hear a unique voice. The composer uses the orchestra individually and inspirationally, demonstrating a creative use of orchestral colour. The orchestration is subtle, with striking textures and gestures…'

Finsterer's work was premiered by the ASKO | Schonberg Ensemble at Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam, in April 2009.

Andrew Schultz’s says of his work To the evening star, 'The subject of this song cycle is obvious from my choice of diverse but very personal texts that reflect on the creative inner life. The poems move from deep longing in the first song, through whimsy and humour in the second and fourth songs, to deep fear and regret in the third song, and, finally, to a mix of wonder at the world’s beauty and an acceptance of time passing in the final song. It is the final song that sets a text by William Blake which provides the title of the work.'

The Jury unanimously agreed that Schultz’s work was deserving of the prize: '... a modest work written for voice and piano, it does not try to impress or to push boundaries. This composition demonstrates a mastery of technique and form in consistently good writing. The composer knows how to make five simple songs into a well-timed, natural and sometimes surprising musical statement, and combines creativity and craft to produce a work of sincerity and musicality .... '.

To the evening star was premiered by Margaret Schindler and Stephen Emmerson at the Bangalow Music Festival in August 2009.

Judged by a panel of leading composers, performers, and musicologists, Perpetual Trustee Company Limited and the Australian Music Centre proudly announce the following winners for the 2009 Paul Lowin Prizes:

Orchestral Winner ($25,000)

Mary Finsterer for In Praise of Darkness for orchestra with concertante for celesta and harp.

Orchestral Highly Commended

Carl Vine for Symphony No. 7 Scenes from daily life for orchestra
Julian Yu for Sinfonia Chaconnissima for orchestra

Song Cycle Winner ($15,000)

Andrew Schultz for To the evening star for soprano and piano.

Song Cycle Highly Commended

Nigel Butterley for Orphei Mysteria for soprano, mezzo-soprano and ensemble.
David Chisholm for The beginning and the end of the snow, an epic song cycle for soprano and boutique orchestra.

The judging panels found that the overall standard of works for 2009 was extremely high. Long and ambitious pieces for large instrumental ensembles contrasted with works for smaller forces in an impressive array of current Australian composition. One panellist described a work as being 'a breath of fresh air, unpretentious and without artifice...'

Application forms

The applications for the 2009 Paul Lowin Prizes are now closed. The following documents are available for information purposes only:

> Download the Paul Lowin Prize application guidelines
> Download the Paul Lowin Prize application form

History of the Paul Lowin Prizes

After immigrating to Australia in 1939, Czechoslovakian Paul Lowin worked as a wholesale dealer of cloth and dry goods, establishing the Swedish Handweaving Co. on George Street. Although a successful businessman, his work was never a main preoccupation. Mrs L Krips, a neighbour often visited by Lowin, wrote 'We never found out what he was doing for a living, as nothing seemed to him important enough to talk about if he could talk about music'.

Lowin's passion for music was manifest in the hand-written will found when, shortly after returning to Vienna in 1959, Lowin died of a heart attack. The will outlined his dream of encouraging excellence in music composition and his wish to establish a competition for works by living Australian composers.

It took thirty years for an appropriate scheme to be approved by the Chief Justice of NSW but eventually, in 1990, one of Australia's richest prizes for music composition was established. The competition was initially held every three years, but in 1995 further changes by the court enabled the competition to be held every two or three years. Since the first prizes in 1991, over $330,000 has been awarded. Since 1999, the prizes have been presented in collaboration with Perpetual Trustee Company Limited as trustee for The Paul Lowin Trust and the Australian Music Centre.

Prize Information

Orchestral Prize - $25,000

A work scored for modern chamber or symphony orchestra of at least 30 players and at least 15 independent lines.
Duration must be of not less than 12-15 minutes.
Works for string ensemble alone will not be considered.
The work may include instrumental or vocal soloists and/or choral, electronically produced or pre-recorded elements.

Song Cycle Prize - $15,000

A Song Cycle, for the purposes of the competition, is music suitable for chamber performance, using no more than 1-8 independent vocal lines. This may be accompanied by up to 10 instrumental players.
The text of the work must have a unifying theme. The composer and the author of the text may or may not be different people, and the author of the text is not eligible for the prize.
The work may be no less than 15 minutes and no more than 60 minutes duration.
The work may be:
- for single unaccompanied voice or up to 8 unaccompanied voices;
- for single voice, accompanied by one instrument or ensemble of up to 10 instrumental players;
- for more than one voice but no more than 8 voices, accompanied by one instrument or ensemble of up to 10 instrumental players;
- a music-theatre work (suitable for concert-hall performance) for more than one voice but no more than 8 voices, accompanied by one instrument or ensemble of up to 10 instrumental players.

Highly Commended Works

Highly Commended 1. – the first highly commended work receives $500 in each category.
Highly Commended 2. – the second highly commended work receives $300 in each category.

Guidelines

Submitting nominations and entries

The Trustee wishes to encourage a diverse field of entries and therefore invite nominations for the prize from composers, musicians, publishers and the general public.

Nominations will be accepted from anyone, including publishers, composers and the general public.
Composers nominated by a third party will be contacted by the Trustee to complete the requirements for entering the competition.
Composers nominating themselves should complete the requirements for entry described below.
If the Trustee is unable to contact the nominated composer, or if the nominated composer does not fulfill the requirements for entry, their works will not be eligible.

Entries by the composer of the work for the Paul Lowin Prizes must be received by the Trustee of the Paul Lowin Prizes: c/- Australian Music Centre.

Age and citizenship requirements

The composer must be at least 18 years of age and an Australian citizen or a resident of Australia for not less than two (2) years prior to 30 June 2009. The Trustee may in its absolute discretion accept entries where the composer of the work has been resident in Australia for a period of less than two (2) years prior to 30 June 2009 provided it is satisfied that the composer intends to reside permanently in Australia.

Date of compositions

Compositions (as distinct from lyrics, if any) must have been completed not earlier than the closing date for entries in the previous competition, 30 June 2006.
Compositions may have been performed in public or broadcast. Compositions need not have been composed for submission to the competition.

Format of entries

The composer must submit five bound copies of the composition, on standard size paper (A4/A3 or B4).
The applicant's name and, if applicable, the name(s) of the lyricist(s) should appear once only on each copy, on the title page. No other indication of the identity of the applicant or the lyricist(s) (if applicable) should be shown on the score. Each entry will be allotted a number and submitted to the jury anonymously.
Unsuccessful entries will be returned after the judging is completed.
Successful entries will also be returned, excepting one copy.

Proof of authorship

Shortlisted applicants will be asked to sign a statutory declaration that the music is the applicant’s own original work.

Copyright

Shortlisted applicants will be required to satisfy the Trustee that where copyright applies:

(a) to the music in the composition, and

(b) to the lyrics in the composition

the Trustee is able to conduct the competition and to perform its other functions without infringing that copyright.

A composer submitting a work which has been commissioned by another body or individual should establish that the commissioning contract does not preclude submission of the work to this competition.

If any condition exists which the composer believes may be contrary to these conditions of entry, he/she should consult the Trustee.

Performing & Reproduction Rights

The Trustee may approach shortlisted applicants to gain non-exclusive performance and reproduction rights for a period to be negotiated on announcement of the results.

General

All judging will be on the basis of assessment of scores but applicants may submit tapes or recordings of the work.

To preserve anonymity in the judging process, any proper names in the title or other material which the Trustee considers may identify the composer or lyricist(s) if applicable should be deleted.

The Trustee will exercise reasonable care with the scores submitted but will not be responsible for any loss or damage to any score while in its custody.

The Trustee may make such additional enquiries regarding any matter contained in an application. The Trustee may in its absolute discretion determine whether an applicant is qualified to enter and whether an application satisfies the conditions of the Paul Lowin Prize.

The decision of the Trustee will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

The Trustee reserves the right to withhold the Prizes.

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