The finalists for the 2019 Art Music Awards have been announced, with several newcomers appearing alongside established voices, and this year – for the first time in the history of the Art Music Awards – there are more women than men in the running for the prestigious Orchestral Work of the Year category. Presented by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre, the Art Music Awards celebrate achievements in Australian contemporary classical music, experimental music and jazz.

Melody EötvösMelody Eötvös. Photo: supplied

“The finalists for the Art Music Awards this year not only reflect the diversity of creative practice in the art music sector, with much activity that takes place beyond the confines of the concert hall; but they also reflect a diversity of voices – from around the country, and from both established and emerging voices,” said Australian Music Centre CEO John Davis.

In the Orchestral Work of the Year category, Elena Kats-Chernin’s Third Piano Concerto, Lebewohl (premiered by Tamara-Anna Cislowska and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alondra de la Parra), is up against Melody Eötvös’s Ruler of the Hive for orchestra and narrator (premiered by Pamela Rabe and the...