The violent struggle over civil rights in 1964 Mississippi shows what happens when God’s will is interpreted through radically different filters of beliefs. In his book “God’s Long Summer: Stories of Faith and Civil Rights,” Charles Marsh takes an in-depth look at one historical moment when those beliefs clashed violently. Marsh’s work has earned the […]
Through his opera “Marco Polo,” composer Tan Dun takes his audience along for the explorer’s legendary travels from Italy to China. He also takes the audience on a spiritual quest reflecting the three states of the human being — past, present and future — and the cycle of nature. And he takes the listener on […]
Larry L. Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, won the 1997 award for the book Earth Community, Earth Ethics. The $150,000 Grawemeyer prize is presented jointly by the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville. Rasmussen shows through the book how the current environmental […]
Long-standing international disputes often seem unsolvable because the parties involved are too deeply invested in their positions. However, a third party may help them to focus on the basic concerns underlying their positions, and thus to reframe the issues in ways more amenable to negotiation. Herbert C. Kelman describes the process, which he calls interactive […]
An orchestral work inspired by the poems of a Holocaust survivor captured the 1997 award. British composer Simon Bainbridge intertwined his music with the poetry of Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi in “Ad Ora Incerta — Four Orchestral Songs from Primo Levi,” which was selected from among 181 entries for the $150,000 Grawemeyer prize. The work […]
For the first time, the major world powers share a commitment to democracy. By working together, they eventually will encourage other nations toward democracy and, ultimately, peace. This is one of the predictions by Max Singer and the late Aaron Wildavsky, authors of The Real World Order: Zones of Peace/Zones of Turmoil. The ideas presented […]
A concerto written by composer Ivan Tcherepnin for violinist Lynn Chang and cellist Yo-Yo Ma captured the 1996 award. Tcherepnin’s “Double Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra,” a 23-minute work premiered by the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras June 3, 1995, was selected from 173 entries to receive the $150,000 Grawemeyer prize. Tcherepnin described the […]
An author who interpreted her experiences as a Christian encountering God through dialogue with other major world religions has earned the 1995 award. The award is given jointly by the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville. Diana L. Eck, a Harvard University professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, won for her […]
The end of the Cold War has left many nations struggling to develop foreign policies to help maintain a new world order. Former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans has presented ideas that could quicken the process. Evans’ ideas were laid out in an article, “Cooperative Security and Intra-State Conflict,” in the fall 1994 issue of […]
John Adams “Violin Concerto” was commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, the New York City Ballet and the London Symphony Orchestra. The Minnesota Orchestra, under conductor Edo de Waart and featuring violinist Jorja Fleezanis, performed its world premiere Jan. 19, 1994. Composed in three movements, the 33-minute work is a free-flowing showpiece for violin that changes […]