The Royal Swedish Academy of Music was founded under the patronage of His Majesty the
King Gustaf III in Stockholm 1771. For most of its career, the Academy’s standing and role
have been at the very centre of Swedish music. 1971, after two hundred years as a state
educational institution and administrative centre of Swedish musical life, the status of the
Academy was changed to that of an independent organisation without direct responsibility for
any other music institution or curricula. Thus a process was set in train, aimed at relieving it
of its centuries-old official functions and indicating new points of departure for a contribution,
as one of many actors, on the congested and heterogeneous stage of Swedish music.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Music is active in an extensive range of fields. By far the
most important aspect of its varied and multifaceted work is the awarding of scholarships.
Every year, the Academy grants scholarships amounting to some Skr 5 million from around
140 different foundations, all of which the Academy has acquired through separate donations.
Among the most well known are the Jenny Lind (from 1848), the Christine Nilsson (from
1924), and the Ernst Johnson (from 1951) foundations.

The Academy publishes phonograms and books on a array of topics. It has also recently
embarked on a project to compile biographies of 20th century Swedish composers. The
Academy arranges seminars and conferences, functions as a specialist body, and conducts and
supports research. Growing demands are being placed on the Academy to exploit its
independent status in the world of music in order to engage itself in current artistic and music
policy issues. An example of its commitment to such matters is its large-scale contemporary
chamber music initiative, Hör upp! Kammarmusik i nutid (16-21 November 2004), of which
it is also one of the major financiers.

Apart from the Polar Music Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music also awards:

The Rolf Schock Prize
Four international prizes in logic and philosophy, mathematics, the visual arts, and the
musical arts, awarded every other year in conjunction with the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences and the Royal Academy of Liberal Arts. The prize money is currently SEK 400,000
per prize, and is awarded to winners nominated by each academy’s awards committee.

The Christ Johnson Prize
The two composers’ prizes of SKr 180,000 and SKr 60,000
are the country’s most prestigious awards for composers.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Music Jazz Prize
The prize of SKr 100,000 was inaugurated in 2001 and is
awarded “for a significant artistic contribution to Swedish jazz”.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Music today has about 175 Swedish members, representing
various walks of musical life, and about 65 foreign members chosen from among the great
musical personalities of our time. The Academy is headed by a Board of Governors with a
President and two vice-presidents. The Secretary General is head of her activities.