For an outstandingly imaginative and engaging large-scale work receiving its first UK performance, presented for a live audience or digitally.

Kaija Saariaho – Innocence

‘Innocence – the final opera by Kaija Saariaho – is a masterpiece by a composer at the height of her powers. The iridescent score reveals the complexity of human emotion in the aftermath of a tragic event. The multi-lingual libretto by Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière unfolds in sung and spoken lines, with the beautiful, haunting sound of a Finnish folk singer echoing long after the final notes are heard.'

Also shortlisted:

• Cassandra Miller – I cannot love without trembling
• Jasdeep Singh Degun – Orpheus
• Noriko Koide – Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain

The 2024 shortlist for Large-Scale Composition was decided by an independent panel drawn from across the music profession comprising:

Aaron Holloway-Nahum, Composer, Artistic Director, Riot Ensemble
Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Composer
Jessica Cottis, Conductor
Matthew Wood, Head of Artistic Production, BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor