List of awards and nominations received by Elliott Carter

Elliott Carter (1908–2012) was an American modernist composer. Over the course of his career, Carter received two Pulitzer Prizes, and was the first composer to receive the National Medal of Arts, "the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government."^[1][2] Carter was also the first American composer to receive from the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, which has been called the "Nobel Prize of Music."^[3][4] Carter also had the rare honor of being inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame during his lifetime.^[5]

Awards for career and lifetime achievements

Year	Award	Sponsor
1965	Creative Arts Award[6]	Brandeis University
1971	Gold Medal for Eminence in Music[7][8]	American Academy of Arts and Letters
1978	Handel Medallion[4]	City of New York
1981	Ernst von Siemens Music Prize[9]	Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste and the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
1983	Edward MacDowell Medal[10]	MacDowell Colony
1984	George Peabody Medal[11]	The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University
1985	National Medal of Arts[12]	The President of the United States and the National Endowment for the Arts
1987	Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres[13]	Government of France
1991	Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic[4]	Government of France
1992	American Eagle Award[14]	National Music Council
1995	Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal[15]	Royal Philharmonic Society
1998	Inductee[16]	American Classical Music Hall of Fame
2005	Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences[17]	American Philosophical Society
2009	Trustees Award at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards[18]	The Recording Academy
2012	Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur[13][19]	Government of France

Awards and nominations for specific compositions

Year	Composition	Award	Sponsor	Result
1939	To Music	Federal Music Project Choral Competition	Federal Music Project, Columbia Broadcasting System, Columbia Records	First Place[8]
1940	Pocahontas	Juilliard Publication Award	The Juilliard School	Won[20]
1945	Holiday Overture	Independent Concert Music Publisher's Contest	Judges included Serge Koussevitzky, Nicolai Berezowsky, and Aaron Copland	First Prize[21]
	Canonic Suite	BMI Publication Prize	American Composers Alliance and Broadcast Music, Inc.	Won[22]
1953	String Quartet No. 1	Concours international de quatuors à cordes	Liège, Belgium	Won* (Carter had to renounce the prize because the first performance of the quartet had already been given.)[23]
1956	Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord	Walter W. Naumburg Musical Foundation Award	Walter W. Naumburg Foundation	Won[24]
1960	String Quartet No. 2	Pulitzer Prize for Music	The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University	Won[25]
	String Quartet No. 2	New York Music Critics’ Circle Award	New York Music Critics’ Circle	Won[25]
1961	String Quartet No. 2	UNESCO Prize for Outstanding Musical Work	UNESCO	Won[25]
	Double Concerto	New York Music Critics’ Circle Award	New York Music Critics’ Circle	Won[26]
	Double Concerto	Sibelius Award for Music	Harriett Cohen Foundation	Won[27]
1962	String Quartet No. 2	Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition at the 4th Annual Grammy Awards	The Recording Academy	Nominated[28]
1973	String Quartet No. 3	Pulitzer Prize for Music	The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University	Won[29]
1992	Oboe Concerto	Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards	The Recording Academy	Nominated[28]
1994	Violin Concerto	Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards	The Recording Academy	Won[28]
1996	"Adagio tenebroso"	Pulitzer Prize for Music	The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University	Finalist[30]
1997	String Quartet No. 5	Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Chamber-Scale Composition	Royal Philharmonic Society	Won[31]
1998	"Allegro scorrevole"	Lauréat du Prix de Composition Musicale	Jury led by Henri Dutilleux	Won[32]
	"Allegro scorrevole"	Musical Composition Award	Prince Pierre Foundation	Won[32]
1999	90+	Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards	The Recording Academy	Nominated[28]
2005	Dialogues	Pulitzer Prize for Music	The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University	Finalist[33]
2007	Boston Concerto	Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards	The Recording Academy	Nominated[28]
2011	What Are Years	Musical Composition Award	Prince Pierre Foundation	Nominated[34]

Grants and fellowships

Year	Name of award	Sponsor
1945	Guggenheim Fellowship[35]	John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
1950	Guggenheim Fellowship[35]	John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
	Arts and Letters Award in Music[7]	American Academy of Arts and Letters
1953	Rome Prize Fellowship[36]	American Academy in Rome