# 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." 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." Carter also had the rare honor of being inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame during his lifetime.

## Awards for career and lifetime achievements

| Year | Award | Sponsor |
| 1965 | Creative Arts Award | Brandeis University |
| 1971 | Gold Medal for Eminence in Music | American Academy of Arts and Letters |
| 1978 | Handel Medallion | City of New York |
| 1981 | Ernst von Siemens Music Prize | Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste and the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation |
| 1983 | Edward MacDowell Medal | MacDowell Colony |
| 1984 | George Peabody Medal | The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University |
| 1985 | National Medal of Arts | The President of the United States and the National Endowment for the Arts |
| 1987 | Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres | Government of France |
| 1991 | Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic | Government of France |
| 1992 | American Eagle Award | National Music Council |
| 1995 | Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal | Royal Philharmonic Society |
| 1998 | Inductee | American Classical Music Hall of Fame |
| 2005 | Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences | American Philosophical Society |
| 2009 | Trustees Award at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards | The Recording Academy |
| 2012 | Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur | 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 |
| 1940 | Pocahontas | Juilliard Publication Award | The Juilliard School | Won |
| 1945 | Holiday Overture | Independent Concert Music Publisher's Contest | Judges included Serge Koussevitzky, Nicolai Berezowsky, and Aaron Copland | First Prize |
| 1945 | Canonic Suite | BMI Publication Prize | American Composers Alliance and Broadcast Music, Inc. | Won |
| 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.) |
| 1956 | Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord | Walter W. Naumburg Musical Foundation Award | Walter W. Naumburg Foundation | Won |
| 1960 | String Quartet No. 2 | Pulitzer Prize for Music | The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University | Won |
| 1960 | String Quartet No. 2 | New York Music Critics’ Circle Award | New York Music Critics’ Circle | Won |
| 1961 | String Quartet No. 2 | UNESCO Prize for Outstanding Musical Work | UNESCO | Won |
| 1961 | Double Concerto | New York Music Critics’ Circle Award | New York Music Critics’ Circle | Won |
| 1961 | Double Concerto | Sibelius Award for Music | Harriett Cohen Foundation | Won |
| 1962 | String Quartet No. 2 | Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition at the 4th Annual Grammy Awards | The Recording Academy | Nominated |
| 1973 | String Quartet No. 3 | Pulitzer Prize for Music | The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University | Won |
| 1992 | Oboe Concerto | Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards | The Recording Academy | Nominated |
| 1994 | Violin Concerto | Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards | The Recording Academy | Won |
| 1996 | "Adagio tenebroso" | Pulitzer Prize for Music | The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University | Finalist |
| 1997 | String Quartet No. 5 | Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Chamber-Scale Composition | Royal Philharmonic Society | Won |
| 1998 | "Allegro scorrevole" | Lauréat du Prix de Composition Musicale | Jury led by Henri Dutilleux | Won |
| 1998 | "Allegro scorrevole" | Musical Composition Award | Prince Pierre Foundation | Won |
| 1999 | 90+ | Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards | The Recording Academy | Nominated |
| 2005 | Dialogues | Pulitzer Prize for Music | The Pulitzer Prizes — Columbia University | Finalist |
| 2007 | Boston Concerto | Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards | The Recording Academy | Nominated |
| 2011 | What Are Years | Musical Composition Award | Prince Pierre Foundation | Nominated |

## Grants and fellowships

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