Polar Music Prize

Not to be confused with Polaris Music Prize.

Polar Music Prize
A crown made of music notes and signs
Awarded for	International recognition of excellence in the world of music
Country	Sweden
Presented by	Stig Anderson Music Award Foundation
First awarded	1992
Official website	polarmusicprize.org

The Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, best known as the manager of the Swedish band ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award is annually given to one contemporary musician and one classical musician. Exceptions were made in 2001, when it was awarded to three musicians (one composer, one contemporary musician and one inventor), and 2003, when it was awarded only to one composer. Without any restrictions of nationality, the prize is to be "awarded for significant achievements in music and/or musical activity, or for achievements which are found to be of great potential importance for music or musical activity, and it shall be referable to all fields within or closely connected with music". The prize has been called the "Nobel Prize of Music" in Sweden.

The first recipients were the British musician, Paul McCartney, and the Baltic States. The most recent award was made to singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris and percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Laureates are awarded 1 million kr (approximately US$156,000). The Polar Music Prize is regarded as the foremost musical honour. The prize is overseen by the Stig Anderson Music Award Foundation, which includes members of Anderson's family and representatives of SKAP – the Swedish Society of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and the Swedish Performing Rights Society. A committee of musicians, other experienced members of the music industry, and members of Anderson's family selects the prize recipients from nominations submitted by representatives of several international music industry organizations, such as the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance.

Laureates

Paul McCartney was the first winner in 1992 and one of two people (the other being Chuck Berry) who didn't receive the award in person.

File:Lutoslawski3.jpg

Witold Lutosławski was the first classical musician to win the award in 1993.

Joni Mitchell was the first female award recipient in 1996.

The English band Led Zeppelin became the first musical group to win the award in 2006.

Robert Moog became the first inventor to win the award for the synthesizer MiniMoog in 2001.

Gilberto Gil - the winner in the contemporary category in 2005, receives the prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Björk – the winner in the contemporary category in 2010

Kronos Quartet – winners in the classical category in 2011

Patti Smith – the winner in the contemporary category in 2011

Paul Simon – the winner in the contemporary category in 2012

Yo-Yo Ma – the winner in the classical category in 2012

Year	Recipient	Nationality	Reason	Ref
1992	Paul McCartney	United Kingdom	"...for his creativity and imagination as a composer and artist which has revitalized popular music worldwide over the last 30 years."
1992	Baltic states	the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)	"...to support their national music culture, as a nucleus for the formation of performing rights societies in international co-operation."
1993	Dizzy Gillespie	United States	"...Closely familiar with the origins and roots of jazz, and perceiving its fertile development out of a variety of musical cultures, Dizzy Gillespie came on the scene, almost half a century ago, as a revolutionary innovator."
1993	Witold Lutosławski	Poland	"...one of the pioneers of contemporary European art music."
1994	Quincy Jones	United States	"...a boundary-transcending musical magician"
1994	Nikolaus Harnoncourt	Austria	"...ranks today as a pioneer of the revival of interest, ... But he is also an independent ground-breaker who is constantly discovering new dimensions of the classics."
1995	Elton John	United Kingdom	"...a central figure in the popular music crucible of the 70s and 80s and, eventually, an eccentric mega-star with a big output of successful hits with a worldwide response from a broadbased public."
1995	Mstislav Rostropovich	Russia	"...for a unique artistic achievement distinguished by originality, independence, fluency and vigour of interpretation and instrumental mastery."
1996	Joni Mitchell	Canada	"...In a long career of prolific and many-sided artistry, she has combined the roles of composer, lyric writer, vocal artist and musician with an impressive array of 'first instruments'."
1996	Pierre Boulez	France	"...His profound musicality, clear intelligence and unusual farsightedness have enabled him to act in a wider field than the great majority. Thus he has occupied the forefront as composer, interpreter/conductor and eminent theorist, and he has made unique contributions as a debater and source of ideas."
1997	Bruce Springsteen	United States	"...for an outstanding career as singer and stage performer."
1997	Eric Ericson	Sweden	"...for pioneering achievements as a conductor, teacher, artistic originator and inspirer in Swedish and international choral music."
1998	Ray Charles	United States	"...one of the leading figures of soul music and an important stylistic innovator with an unusual diversity of musical roots ... a man whose presence, ever since the 1950s, has been perceptible behind generations of innumerable pop musicians and singers."
1998	Ravi Shankar	India	"...for nearly six decades of achievement as a brilliant performer and explorer of his country's art music and at the same time a leading representative and communicator to western civilisation of the musical traditions of the Orient."
1999	Stevie Wonder	United States	"...for a unique career as a singer, composer and stage artist."
1999	Iannis Xenakis	France	"...for a long succession of forceful works, charged with sensitivity, commitment and passion, ... exercising within its various fields an influence which cannot be readily overstated."
2000	Bob Dylan	United States	"...his achievements encompass almost four decades of constantly changing modes of creativity, always innovative, but always based on American musical traditions and roots."
2000	Isaac Stern	United States	"...for a unique and consummate artistry distinguished by a personal musicianship without compare for over half a century, for his pioneering achievement on behalf of young people the world over, for his patient and energetic commitment to preserving and developing places where music is played, and for his uncompromising attitude concerning the humanistic power of music."
2001	Burt Bacharach	United States	"...Bacharach has been a principal player on the international music scene since his debut in the late 1950's, producing a host of timeless classics stemming from his infallible feeling for powerful, memorable and unmistakably personal melodies and for brilliantly designed harmony."
2001	Robert Moog	United States	"...for his design of the MiniMoog, the first compact, easy-to-use synthesizer, which paved the way to the realm of electronic sounds that has revolutionised all genres of music during the past half-century."
2001	Karlheinz Stockhausen	Germany	"...for a career as a composer that has been characterized by impeccable integrity and never-ceasing creativity, and for having stood at the forefront of musical development for fifty years."
2002	Miriam Makeba	South Africa	"...Miriam Makeba embodied the concept of world music long before the term even existed on the musical map. In the 1960s, her expressive voice drew attention to the musical riches of the African continent."
2002	Sofia Gubaidulina	Russia	"...whose intensely expressive and deeply personal musical idiom has the ability to speak to an ever-growing audience of listeners all over the world."
2003	Keith Jarrett	United States	"...for his outstanding musical contributions in fields as diverse as classical interpretation and jazz improvisation."
2004	B.B. King	United States	"...for his significant contributions to the blues."
2004	György Ligeti	Austria	"...for stretching the boundaries of the musically conceivable, from mind-expanding sounds to new astounding processes, in a thoroughly personal style that embodies both inquisitiveness and imagination."
2005	Gilberto Gil	Brazil	"...for his unflinching creative engagement in bringing to the world the heart and soul of the rich music of Brazil."
2005	Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau	Germany	"...for his unique artistry in every area of classical singing and for his unparalleled achievements as a penetrating and innovative interpreter of art songs in the German language."
2006	Led Zeppelin	United Kingdom	"...one of the great pioneers of rock."
2006	Valery Gergiev	Russia	"...for the way his unique, electrifying musical skills have deepened and renewed our relationship with the grand tradition; and for how he has managed to develop and amplify the importance of artistic music in these modern, changing times."
2007	Sonny Rollins	United States	"...Sonny Rollins has elevated the unaccompanied solo to the highest artistic level – all characterised by a distinctive and powerful sound, irresistible swing and an individual musical sense of humour."
2007	Steve Reich	United States	"...The award recognises his unique ability to use repeats, canon technique and minimal variation of patterns to develop an entire universe of evocative music, endowed with immediate tonal beauty."
2008	Pink Floyd	United Kingdom	"...for their monumental contribution over the decades to the fusion of art and music in the development of popular culture."
2008	Renée Fleming	United States	"...in recognition of her sublime unparalleled voice and unique stylistic versatility. [People] have been dazzled by the beauty of her soft and natural voice."
2009	Peter Gabriel	United Kingdom	"...for his ground-breaking, outward-looking and boundary-busting artistry."
2009	José Antonio Abreu & El Sistema	Venezuela	"... Abreu created the music network El Sistema, which has given hundreds of thousands the tools to leave poverty. José Antonio Abreu's successful creation has promoted traditional values, like respect, fellowship and humanity."
2010	Björk	Iceland	"...With her deeply personal music and lyrics, her precise arrangements and her unique voice, Björk has already made an indelible mark on pop music and modern culture at large [...]."
2010	Ennio Morricone	Italy	"...Ennio Morricone's congenial compositions and arrangements lift our existence to another plane, making the mundane feel like dramatic scenes in full Cinemascope."
2011	Kronos Quartet	United States	"...For almost 40 years, the Kronos Quartet has been revolutionizing the potential of the string quartet genre when it comes to both style and content."
2011	Patti Smith	United States	"...Patti Smith has demonstrated how much rock'n'roll there is in poetry and how much poetry there is in rock'n'roll."
2012	Paul Simon	United States	"...Nobody else is more deserving of the epithet of "world-class songwriter." For five decades, Paul Simon has built bridges not only over troubled waters but over entire oceans by (re)joining the world's continents with his music."
2012	Yo-Yo Ma	United States	"...Yo-Yo Ma has dedicated his virtuosity and his heart to journeys of musical exploration and discovery around the world."
2013	Youssou N’Dour	Senegal	"...Youssou N’Dour is maintaining the griot tradition and has shown that it can also be changed into a narrative about the entire world. ... His voice encompasses an entire continent’s history and future, blood and love, dreams and power."
2013	Kaija Saariaho	Finland	"...Kaija Saariaho combines acoustic instruments with electronics and computers. She has written chamber music, orchestral works and operas. Kaija Saariaho is a modern maestro who opens up our ears and causes their anvils and stirrups to fall in love."
2014	Chuck Berry	United States	"...Chuck Berry was the rock’n’roll pioneer who turned the electric guitar into the main instrument of rock music."
2014	Peter Sellars	United States	"...Peter Sellars shows us that classical music is not about dusty sheet music and metronomic precision, but that classical music, with its violent power and complexity, has fundamentally always been and will continue to be a way of reflecting and depicting the world."
2015	Emmylou Harris	United States	"The music of Emmylou Harris contains the history and topography of the entire American continent."
2015	Evelyn Glennie	United Kingdom	"Evelyn Glennie shows us that the body is a resonance chamber and that we live in a universe of sound."

External links

• Official website