| 1961 | Aaron Copland | Orchestral Suite from The Tender Land Suite | Easley Blackwood Jr. – Symphony No. 1 Paul Hindemith – Sonata For Cello And Piano Charles Ives – Symphony No. 2 Francis Poulenc – La voix humaine Roger Sessions – Symphony No. 1 Igor Stravinsky – Threni Edgard Varèse – Density 21.5 |
| 1962 | Laurindo Almeida | Discantus | Francis Poulenc – Gloria In G Major Elliott Carter – String Quartet No. 2 Gunther Schuller – Music For Brass Quintet |
| Igor Stravinsky | Movements for Piano and Orchestra |
| 1963 | Igor Stravinsky | The Flood: A Musical Play | Edgard Varèse – Arcana Aaron Copland – Connotations Benjamin Britten – Noye's Fludde Lukas Foss – Song Of Songs William Walton – Symphony No. 2 Lukas Foss – Time Cycle |
| 1964 | Benjamin Britten | War Requiem | Samuel Barber – Andromache's Farewell John La Montaine – Concerto For Piano Heitor Villa-Lobos – Cello Concerto No. 2 Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 4 William Schuman – Symphony No. 8 |
| 1965 | Samuel Barber | Piano Concerto | Darius Milhaud – A Frenchman In New York Charles Ives – A Symphony: New England Holidays Igor Stravinsky – A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer Leonard Bernstein – Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish" |
| 1966 | Charles Ives | Symphony No. 4 | Leonard Bernstein – Chichester Psalms Benjamin Britten – Cantata misericordium David Diamond – String Quartet No. 4 Morton Gould – World War I Suite William Walton – Variations on a Theme by Hindemith |
| Award not presented from 1967 to 1984 |
| 1985 | Samuel Barber | Antony and Cleopatra | Morton Gould – Apple Waltzes Joseph Schwantner – Magabunda "Four poems of Agueda Pizarro" Frank Zappa – "The Perfect Stranger" Vincent Persichetti – Winter Cantata |
| 1986 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Requiem | John Adams – Harmonium Philip Glass – Satyagraha George Perle – Serenade No. 3 For Piano And Chamber Orchestra Robert Starer – Violin Concerto |
| 1987 | Witold Lutosławski | Symphony No. 3 | Robert Beaser – Mountain Songs: A Cycle Of American Folk Music Chick Corea – Septet Philip Glass – String Quartet No. 2, Company Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Symphony No. 1 |
| 1988 | Krzysztof Penderecki | Cello Concerto No. 2 | John Adams – The Chairman Dances Milton Babbitt – Piano Concerto Joseph Schwantner – A Sudden Rainbow Roger Sessions – Symphony No. 5 Michael Tippett – The Mask Of Time |
| 1989 | John Adams | Nixon in China | Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Wadsworth – A Quiet Place William Bolcom – Symphony No. 4 Ned Rorem – String Symphony Karlheinz Stockhausen – Amour |
| 1990 | Steve Reich | Different Trains | Sofia Gubaidulina – Offertorium Witold Lutosławski – Chain 2 Witold Lutosławski – Partita Arvo Pärt – Passio |
| 1991 | Leonard Bernstein | Arias and Barcarolles | John Adams – The Wound-Dresser Henri Lazarof – Tableaux (After Kandinsky) For Piano And Orchestra Terry Riley – Salome Dances For Peace Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Symphony No. 2 |
| 1992 | John Corigliano | Symphony No. 1 | Elliott Carter – Oboe Concerto Nicholas Maw – Odyssey Arvo Pärt – Miserere Dominick Argento – Te Deum |
| 1993 | Samuel Barber | The Lovers | Anthony Davis – X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X Witold Lutosławski – Piano Concerto John Tavener – The Protecting Veil Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Flute Concerto |
| 1994 | Elliott Carter | Violin Concerto | Donald Erb – Cello Concerto Tōru Takemitsu – A Way A Lone Michael Tippett – Byzantium William Bolcom – Orphee-Serenade |
| 1995 | Stephen Albert | Cello Concerto | György Ligeti – Piano Concerto Witold Lutosławski – Symphony No. 4 Olivier Messiaen – Éclairs sur l'au-delà... Tōru Takemitsu – Fantasma/Cantos |
| 1996 | Olivier Messiaen | Concert à quatre | Gunther Schuller – Of Reminiscences and Reflections Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Symphony No. 3 John Adams – Chamber Symphony György Ligeti – Violin Concerto |
| 1997 | John Corigliano | String Quartet No. 1 | John Adams – Violin Concerto Colin Matthews – Fourth Sonata Einojuhani Rautavaara – Symphony No. 7: "Angel of Light" Gunther Schuller – Four Soundscapes |
| 1998 | John Adams | El Dorado | Lowell Liebermann – Concerto No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra Per Nørgård – Symphony No. 5 Richard Danielpour – Concerto For Orchestra Aaron Jay Kernis – Second Symphony |
| 1999 | Krzysztof Penderecki | Violin Concerto No. 2 "Metamorphosen" | John Adams – Gnarly Buttons Elliott Carter – 90+ Arvo Pärt – Kanon Pokajanen George Tsontakis – Ghost Variations |
| 2000 | Pierre Boulez | Répons | Aaron Jay Kernis – Air For Violin John Tavener – Eternity's Sunrise Thomas Adès – Asyla Andrew Imbrie – Requiem |
| 2001 | George Crumb | Star-Child | Heiner Goebbels – Surrogate Cities Nicholas Maw – Violin Concerto Ned Rorem – Evidence Of Things Not Seen Rodion Shchedrin – Concerto Cantabile |
| 2002 | Christopher Rouse | Concert de Gaudí | Poul Ruders – The Handmaid's Tale John Tavener – Total Eclipse Pierre Boulez – Sur Incises |
| 2003 | John Tavener | Lamentations & Praises | John Adams – Naïve and Sentimental Music Osvaldo Golijov – Yiddishbbuk Inscriptions For String Quartet Sofia Gubaidulina – Johannes-Passion Arvo Pärt – Orient & Occident |
| 2004 | Dominick Argento | Casa Guidi | George Rochberg – Symphony No. 5 José Serebrier – Symphony No. 3 György Kurtág – Signs, Games And Messages Benjamin Lees – Symphony No. 5 "Kalmar Nyckel" |
| 2005 | John Adams | On the Transmigration of Souls | Jennifer Higdon – Concerto For Orchestra Tigran Mansurian – "... and then I was in time again" André Previn – Violin Concerto Valentyn Silvestrov – Requiem For Larissa |
| 2006 | William Bolcom | Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience | Carlos Franzetti – Corpus Evita Ned Rorem – Nine Episodes For Four Players Osvaldo Golijov – Ayre Peter Boyer – Ellis Island: The Dream of America |
| 2007 | Osvaldo Golijov | Ainadamar | Elliott Carter – Boston Concerto Christopher Theofanidis – The Here And Now David Del Tredici – Paul Revere's Ride James MacMillan – A Scotch Bestiary |
| 2008 | Joan Tower | Made In America | Joan Albert Amargós – Northern Concerto David Chesky – Concerto For Bassoon And Orchestra Jennifer Higdon – Zaka Peter Lieberson – Neruda Songs |
| 2009 | John Corigliano | Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan | Marc-André Dalbavie – Flute Concerto Michael Gandolfi – The Garden Of Cosmic Speculation George Tsontakis – Violin Concerto No. 2 Chris Walden – Symphony No. 1, The Four Elements |
| 2010 | Jennifer Higdon | Percussion Concerto | George Crumb – The Winds Of Destiny Arvo Pärt – In Principio Roberto Sierra – Missa Latina 'Pro Pace' Yehudi Wyner – Chiavi in Mano |
| 2011 | Michael Daugherty | Deus ex Machina | Hans Werner Henze – Appassionatamente Plus Magnus Lindberg – Graffiti Arvo Pärt – Symphony No. 4 Rodion Shchedrin – The Enchanted Wanderer |
| 2012 | Robert Aldridge | Elmer Gantry | George Crumb – The Ghosts Of Alhambra Jefferson Friedman – String Quartet No. 3 Steven Mackey – Lonely Motel - Music From Slide Poul Ruders – Piano Concerto No. 2 |
| 2013 | Stephen Hartke | Meanwhile - Incidental Music To Imaginary Puppet Plays | Tania León – Inura For Voices, Strings & Percussion Uģis Prauliņš – The Nightingale Einojuhani Rautavaara – Cello Concerto No. 2 Towards the Horizon Steven Stucky – August 4, 1964 |
| 2014 | Maria Schneider | Winter Morning Walks | Magnus Lindberg – Piano Concerto No. 2 Arvo Pärt – Adam's Lament Esa-Pekka Salonen – Violin Concerto Caroline Shaw – Partita for 8 Voices |
| 2015 | John Luther Adams | Become Ocean | Anna Clyne – Prince of Clouds George Crumb – Voices From The Heartland Stephen Paulus – Concerto For Two Trumpets & Band Roberto Sierra – Sinfonía No. 4 |
| 2016 | Stephen Paulus | Prayers and Remembrances | Gerald Barry – The Importance of Being Earnest Andrew Norman – Play Joan Tower – Stroke Julia Wolfe – Anthracite Fields |
| 2017 | Michael Daugherty | Tales of Hemingway | Jennifer Higdon – Cold Mountain Christopher Theofanidis – Bassoon Concerto Kip Winger – Conversations With Nijinsky Mason Bates – Anthology of Fantastic Zoology |
| 2018 | Jennifer Higdon | Viola Concerto | Zhou Tian – Concerto For Orchestra Adam Schoenberg – Picture Studies Tigran Mansurian – Requiem Richard Danielpour – Songs Of Solitude |
| 2019 | Aaron Jay Kernis | Violin Concerto | Jake Heggie – Great Scott Missy Mazzoli – Vespers For Violin Mason Bates – The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs Du Yun – Air Glow |
| 2020 | Jennifer Higdon | Harp Concerto | Derek Bermel – Migration Series For Jazz Ensemble & Orchestra Wynton Marsalis – Violin Concerto In D Major Andrew Norman – Sustain Caroline Shaw – Orange Julia Wolfe – Fire In My Mouth Show |
| 2021 | Christopher Rouse | Symphony No. 5 | Carlisle Floyd – Prince of Players Ted Hearne – Place Thomas Adès – Piano Concerto Richard Danielpour – The Passion Of Yeshua |
| 2022 | Caroline Shaw | Narrow Sea | Andy Akiho - Seven Pillars Louis Andriessen - The Only One Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin & David Skidmore - Archetypes Jon Batiste - Movement 11 |
| 2023 | Kevin Puts | Contact | Andy Akiho - Ligneos Suite Derek Bermel - Intonations Sofia Gubaidulina - The Wrath of God Carlos Simon; Marco Pavé (librettist) - Requiem for the Enslaved |
| 2024 | Jessie Montgomery | Rounds | Thomas Adès - Dante Andy Akiho - In That Space, In That Time William Brittelle - Psychedelics Missy Mazzoli - Dark with Excessive Bright |
| 2025 | Gabriela Ortiz | Revolución Diamantina | Andrea Cassarubios - Seven for Solo Cello Valerie Coleman - Revelry David Lang - Composition as Explanation Kaija Saariaho - Adriana Mater |
| 2026 | Gabriela Ortiz | Dzonot | Christopher Cerrone - Don't Look Down Donnacha Denehy - Land of Winter Tania León - Raíces (Origins) Shawn E. Okpebholo - Songs in Flight Gabriela Ortiz - Dzonot |
