Awards Ceremony 2016

On May 2, 2016 the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation honored the Danish composer Per Nørgård with the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.

Michael Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors at the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and President of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, presented the prize to Per Nørgård at a musical ceremony at Munich’s Prinzregententheater.

The laudatory speech was held by Anders Beyer, Director of the Bergen International Festival.

He praised Nørgård as a composer whose "output shows a willingness to experiment, which has always been an integral part of the composer’s working method. One doesn’t find safety-first solutions with Nørgård; no showing off, no unnecessary displays. In a time where mainstream is the norm and box office results are the measure of quality, Per Nørgård resists the homogenized and the superficial.
So, should every work, whether it succeeds on paper or not, be a physical trial for the composer? The work appears to make him run around in circles until he catches hold of a thread of continuity or, ”bridge” as he calls it, that permits a dialogue with the inner will and force within the material."

Milica Djordjević, David Hudry and Gordon Kampe were awarded the 2016 Composer’s Prizes.

Freiburg’s ensemble recherche played Hladan ti dah do grla for mezzosoprano and ensemble – a new piece of work by Milica Djordjević –, Intersections for ensemble (2014) by David Hudry, Gordon Kampe’s Sachlicher Bericht from: Arien / Zitronen for soprano and ensemble (2016) – also a premiere – as well as two works by Per Nørgård: Scintillation for large ensemble (1993) and Seadrift for soprano and ensemble (1978).

Dip into the programme booklet.