The Pulitzer Prize for Music 1943 A free song (secular cantata no. 2) for full chorus of mixed voices, with accompaniment of orchestra or two pianos by William Schuman
1944 Symphony No. 4, op. 34 (Requiem) by Howard Hanson
1945 Appalachian spring (Ballet for Martha) by Aaron Copland
1946 The canticle of the Sun by Leo Sowerby
1947 Symphony no. 3 : The camp meeting (1901-1912) by Charles Ives
1948 Symphony no. 3 by Walter Piston
1949 Music for the film Louisiana Story by Virgil Thomson
1950 The consul : musical drama in three acts by Gian-Carlo Menotti
1951 Giants in the earth by Douglas S. Moore
1952 Symphony concertante by Gail Kubik
1953 No award
1954 Concerto for two pianos and orchestra by Quincy Porter
1955 The saint of Bleecker Street : musical drama in three acts (five scenes) by Gian-Carlo Menotti
1956 Symphony no. 3 by Ernst Toch
1957 Meditations on Ecclesiastes : for string orchestra by Norman Dello Joio
1958 Vanessa : an opera in four acts by Samuel Barber; libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti
1959 Concerto for piano and orchestra by John LaMontaine
1960 String quartet no. 2 by Elliott Carter
1961 Symphony no. 7 (1960) by Walter Piston
1962 The crucible : an opera in four acts by Robert Ward; libretto by Bernard Stambler, based on the play by Arthur Miller
1963 Piano concerto : op. 38 by Samuel Barber
1964 No award
1965 No award
1966 Variations for orchestra by Leslie Bassett
1967 Quartet No. 3 by Leon Kirchner
1968 Echoes of time and the river : four processionals for orchestra by George Crumb
1969 String quartet no. 3 by Karel Husa
1970 Time's encomium : for synthesized and processed sound by Charles Wuorinen
1971 Synchronisms no. 6, for piano and electronic sounds by Mario Davidovsky
1972 Windows by Jacob Druckman
1973 String quartet no. 3 by Elliott Carter
1974 Notturno : for flute, piccolo, and alto flute, B-flat clarinet and extended bass clarinet, percussion, piano, violin and viola, violoncello by Donald Martino
1975 From the diary of Virginia Woolf : for medium voice and piano by Dominick Argento
1976 Air music by Ned Rorem
1977 Visions of terror and wonder : for mezzo-soprano and orchestra by Richard Wernick
1978 Deja vu for percussion quartet and orchestra by Michael Colgrass
1979 Aftertones of infinity by Joseph Schwantner
1980 Child Alice. Part 1, In memory of a summer day : for soprano solo and orchestra by David Del Tredici; text by Lewis Carroll
1981 No award
1982 Concerto for orchestra by Roger Sessions
1983 Symphony no. 1 : (three movements for orchestra) by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
1984 Canti del sole : tenor and chamber ensemble by Bernard Rands
1985 RiverRun by Stephen Albert
1986 Wind quintet no. 4 for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon by George Perle
1987 The flight into Egypt : for four-part chorus of mixed voices with soprano and baritone solos and orchestra accompaniment by John Harbison
1988 12 new etudes for piano by William Bolcom
1989 Whispers out of time : string orchestra by Roger Reynolds
1990 "Duplicates" : a concerto for two pianos and orchestra by Mel Powell
1991 Symphony (1989-90) by Shulamit Ran
1992 The face of the night, the heart of the dark : orchestra by Wayne Peterson
1993 Trombone concerto by Christopher Rouse
1994 Of reminiscences and reflections : for orchestra by Gunther Schuller
1995 Stringmusic : for string orchestra by Morton Gould
1996 Lilacs : voice and orchestra (1995) by George Walker
1997 Blood on the fields by Wynton Marsalis
1998 String quartet no. 2 (musica instrumentalis) by Aaron Jay Kernis
1999 Concerto for flute, strings, and percussion by Melinda Wagner
2000 Life is a dream : an opera in three acts : Act II, concert version by Lewis Spratlan
2001 Symphony no. 2 for string orchestra by John Corigliano
2002 Ice field : spatial narratives for large and small orchestral groups by Henry Brant
2003 On the transmigration of souls by John Adams
2004 Tempest fantasy : for clarinet, violin, violoncello & piano by Paul Moravec
2005 Second concerto for orchestra by Steven Stucky
2006 Piano concerto 'Chiavi in Mano' by Yehudi Wyner
2007 Sound grammar by Ornette Coleman (recording)
2008 The little match girl passion by David Lang (recording)
2009 Double sextet : for ensemble, or ensemble and pre-recorded tape by Steve Reich
2010 Violin concerto by Jennifer Higdon
2011 "Madame White Snake" by Zhou Long
2012 Silent night : opera in two acts by Kevin Puts
2013 Partita for 8 voices by Caroline Shaw (recording)
2014 Become ocean : for orchestra by John Luther Adams
2015 Anthracite fields by Julia Wolfe
2016 In for a penny, in for a pound by Henry Threadgill (Pi Recordings)
2017 Angel's bone by Du Yun ; libretto by Royce Vavrek
2018 DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar