The laureates of the Polar Music Prize 2010 are:
ENNIO MORRICONE & BJÖRK
Ennio Morricone Citation:
The Polar Music Prize 2010 is being awarded to Italian composer, arranger and conductor Ennio Morricone. Ennio Morricone’s congenial compositions and arrangements lift our existence to another plane, making the mundane feel like dramatic scenes in full Cinemascope. When, in 1964, Ennio Morricone scored the soundtrack for the Western “A Fistful of Dollars” (“Per un pugno di dollari”), budgetary constraints prevented him from using a full orchestra. Instead, he built up a brand new kind of music that set the tone for half a century of film music, but also influenced and inspired a number of musicians in the spheres of pop, rock and classical music.
Björk Citation:
The Polar Music Prize 2010 is being awarded to Icelandic artist Björk. 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, despite her relative youth. No other artist moves so freely between avant-garde and pop. With her albums and videos, Björk has taken avant-garde to the top of the charts. She has also always embraced technological advances, combining computers with ancient sounds. Björk has introduced an arctic temperament to popular music and shown how passionate and explosive it can be. Björk is an untameable force of nature, an artist who marches to nobody’s tune but her own.
The laureates will receive the prize from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a gala ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall to be followed by a celebratory banquet at Grand Hôtel on Monday 30th of August. The ceremony will be broadcast live on national television (TV4). Later in the evening, a summary of the ceremony and the banquet will be broadcast. The event attracts international media, members of the international music business, celebrities, artists, musicians, government ministers, politicians and leading members of society and industry.
Each recipient receives a total amount of one million SEK.
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, a true
legend in the history of Swedish popular music. Stig Anderson was the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, and he played a key role in their enormous success. The name of the prize stems from Anderson’s legendary record label, Polar Music.
The Polar Music Prize is an international music prize which is awarded to individuals, groups or institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music.
The Polar Music Prize awards two laureates in order to celebrate music in all its various forms and to emphasize the original intention of the Polar Music Prize: To break down musical boundaries by bringing together people from all the different worlds of music.
The board of the Polar Music Prize Foundation consists of representatives from the Stig Anderson family, SKAP (The Swedish Society of Popular Music Composers) and STIM (The Swedish Performing Rights Society). The task of scrutinizing nominations submitted and selecting the ultimate laureates is empowered The Polar Music Award Committee comprising of internationally renowned artists and musicians as well as other key figures in the Swedish music industry.
Today, the Polar Music Prize has become one of the most prestigious music prizes in the world. The list of laureates speaks for itself:
Sir Paul McCartney, Dizzy Gillespie, Witold Lutoslawski, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Quincy Jones, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Pierre Boulez, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Ericson, Ray Charles, Ravi Shankar, Iannis Xenakis, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Isaac Stern, Burt Bacharach, Robert Moog,
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sofia Gubaidulina, Miriam Makeba, Keith Jarrett, B.B. King, György Ligeti, Gilberto Gil, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Valery Gergiev, Led Zeppelin, Sonny Rollins, Steve Reich, Renée Fleming, Pink Floyd, Maestro Abreu & El Sistema and Peter Gabriel have all been bestowed with the Prize since its inception in 1992. In 1992 the Baltic States were also awarded the Prize to encourage them in their work for protection of copyright.
An announcement video together with publicity photos and this press release are available for downloading on our web site, www.polarmusicprize.org.
PREVIOUS LAUREATES
1992 Sir Paul McCartney and the Baltic States
1993 Dizzy Gillespie and Witold Lutoslawski
1994 Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Quincy Jones
1995 Sir Elton John and Mstislav Rostropovich
1996 Pierre Boulez and Joni Mitchell
1997 Eric Ericson and Bruce Springsteen
1998 Ray Charles and Ravi Shankar
1999 Stevie Wonder and Iannis Xenakis
2000 Bob Dylan and Isaac Stern
2001 Burt Bacharach, Robert Moog and Karlheinz Stockhausen
2002 Sofia Gubaidulina and Miriam Makeba
2003 Keith Jarrett
2004 B.B. King and György Ligeti
2005 Gilberto Gil and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
2006 Valery Gergiev and Led Zeppelin
2007 Steve Reich and Sonny Rollins
2008 Renée Fleming and Pink Floyd
2009 José Antonio Abreu & El Sistema and Peter Gabriel
