Oscar-nominated composer Max Richter is to receive an Ivor Novello Award for Innovation at The Ivors Composer Awards.
Richter, whose catalogue has amassed more than four billion streams worldwide, is being honoured in recognition of his "ingenuity and impact" in contemporary classical composition.
He will receive the Innovation Award in person at the November 17 ceremony, which is sponsored by PRS For Music and in association with BBC Radio 3, at Grosvenor House on Park Lane, London.
As well as composing the film score for Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet (2025), Richter's previous screen soundtracks include Mary Queen Of Scots (2018) and Ad Astra (2019).
On the concert stage, he has collaborated with soloists such as Anna Lapwood, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Gautier Capuçon, while his wider creative partnerships include ballets with choreographer Wayne McGregor and scoring Dior runway shows for Kim Jones. His new album While The Flood Rages will be released on Decca Records this Friday, October 16.
“Max Richter has expanded what contemporary composition can be and who it can reach," said Lord Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy. "His music combines extraordinary craft with a constant desire to innovate, connecting with audiences across concert halls, recordings, stage and screen. We’re proud to recognise Max with an Ivor Novello Award for Innovation.”
Max is a composer of unmistakable originality and influence
Tom Gray, The Ivors Academy
Celebrating outstanding new compositions by British, Irish and UK resident composers, the Ivors Composer Awards champion composers and contemporary composition across all genres and disciplines. Radio presenter Petroc Trelawny will host the event, with BBC Radio 3 as broadcast partner.
The Innovation Award is one of the special Gift Of The Academy Awards which are presented each year, with previous recipients including Anoushka Shankar, Gavin Bryars, Matthew Herbert and Talvin Singh.
“Max is a composer of unmistakable originality and influence," said Ivors Academy chair Tom Gray. "He has created a musical language that is entirely his own, while continually exploring new forms, sounds and ideas. From collaborations with Future Sound of London and Roni Size to ballet, opera, film and television, and landmark works including Sleep, The Blue Notebooks and the score for Hamnet, his work has undoubtedly changed contemporary composition.”
The ceremony will form part of The Ivors Composer Week (November 16-20), an inaugural series of events designed to broaden the celebration and empowerment of composers further. This includes a new annual event, The Ivors Academy Composer Summit, held at the Royal Institution, London, on November 18.
