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Press Release # 2/2005 LED ZEPPELIN & VALERY GERGIEV WINNERS OF THE POLAR MUSIC PRIZE FOR 2006 The winners of the Polar Music Prize Award, for 2006 were unveiled on Monday the 7th of November 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. The Led Zeppelin Citation The 2006 Polar Music Prize is awarded to the British group Led Zeppelin, one of the great pioneers of rock. Their playful and experimental music combined with highly eclectic elements has two essential themes: mysticism and primal energy. These are features that have come to define the genre "hard rock". The Valery Gergiev Citation The 2006 Polar Music Prize is awarded to the Russian conductor Valery Gergiev 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. The prize winners 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 the 22nd of May. The event, which is broadcast on national television (TV4), attracts international media, members of the international music business, celebrities, artists, musicians, government ministers, politicians and leading members of society and industry. On Monday the 22nd of May, Valery Gergiev will, together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, perform a luncheon concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall. The repertoire planned is Shostakovich Symphony No. 11. A whole weekend of activities is being organised under the name of Polar Music Prize Week, encompassing exhibitions, workshops, seminars, film screenings and live performances at various locations in Stockholm. This is an important area of expansion for the prize and it is a means for increasing both local and international awareness of the Polar Music Prize. An announcement video together with the prizewinner citations in their entirety and publicity photos are available for downloading here on our web site www.polarmusicprize.com. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig Anderson, one of the true greats in the music life. As the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, he played a key role in their enormous success. Anderson donated a large sum of money to The Royal Swedish Academy of Music, The Stig Anderson Music Award Foundation in The Royal Swedish Academy of Music, with the aim of creating what was to become known as the Polar Music Prize. Its name stems from Anderson’s legendary record label, Polar Records. 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. The board of the Stig Anderson Music Award 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 prizewinners is undertaken by an Award Committee comprising of experienced members of the music industry. Today, the Polar Music Prize has become one of the most prestigious music prize in the world. The list of prize winners bears witness to this. 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, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sofia Gubaidulina, Miriam Makeba, Keith Jarrett, B.B. King, György Ligeti, Gilberto Gil and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau 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 fifteenth year and is awarded in the amount of one million Swedish Crowns (approximately equivalent to USD 126.000 or EUR 105.000) to each prizewinner.
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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 | |
