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Press Release # 1/2002 SOFIA GUBAIDULINA AND MIRIAM MAKEBA WINNERS OF THE POLAR MUSIC PRIZE FOR 2002 The winners of the Polar Music Prize, The Royal Swedish Academy of Music Award, for 2002 were unveiled on Monday the 4th of March at The Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm. The Chairman of the Board and Award Committee, Mr. Åke Holmquist, read the Award Committee’s citations. Extract from the Sofia Gubaidulina Citation “The Polar Music Prize for 2002 is being awarded to Sofia Gubaidulina, whose intensely expressive and deeply personal musical idiom has the ability to speak to an ever-growing audience of listeners all over the world.” Extract from the Miriam Makeba Citation “The Polar Music Prize for 2002 is being awarded to the South African singer, Miriam Makeba. 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. At the same time, she helped in raising awareness of the horrors of the South African apartheid regime in the outside world.” During the announcement at the Academy, live music was performed from Gubaidulina’s sonata Et Exspecto (1985) and a recent interview with Miriam Makeba carried out for the occasion was shown to the media present. Both prizewinners share the fact that they were frustrated in their musical ambitions and were denied the right of public expression by their respective governments and political systems. Their open opposition led to oppression, censorship and harassment. Miriam Makeba celebrated her 70th birthday the same day as the official announcement of the prizewinners. The prizewinners will receive the prize from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a gala ceremony at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm to be followed by a celebratory banquet at Grand Hôtel on Monday the 27th of May. Her Majesty Queen Silvia and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria will be amongst the many other dignitaries attending. The event, which is broadcast on national television, attracts international media, members of the international music business, celebrities, government ministers, politicians and leading members of society and industry. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig Anderson who was one of the true greats in the music industry. As the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, he played a key role in their enormous success. Stig Anderson donated a large sum of money to The Royal Swedish Academy of Music with the aim of creating what was to become known as the Polar Music Prize. This is also why the prize is administered within the Academy. It is an international music prize and awarded to individuals, groups or institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music. The prize breaks down musical boundaries by bringing together people from all the different worlds of music. It is completely independent of commercial interests, thereby guaranteeing its integrity. Sir Paul McCartney, Dizzy Gillespie, Witold Lutoslawski, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Quincy Jones, Mstislav Rostropovitch, 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 and Karlheinz Stockhausen are the individuals who have 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. The prize is now in its eleventh year and is awarded in the amount of one million Swedish Crowns (approximately equivalent to US$ 100.000 or € 106.000) to each prizewinner. A specially-produced announcement video together with the prizewinner citations in their entirety and publicity photos are available for downloading on our web site www.polarmusicprize.com Citations >> High-resolution images on the Prizewinners >> |
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Polar Music Prize, PO Box 27327, SE-102 54 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN | Phone: +46 8 629 53 38 | E-mail: info@polarmusicprize.com | |
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Copyright © 1992-2008 Polar Music Prize. All rights reserved. The music on this web site has been made available with the due permission of STIM/NCB. Updated: 05/14/2008 | E-mail: webmaster@polarmusicprize.com | |