The Polar Music Prize 2009 is awarded the Venezuelan conductor, composer and economist José Antonio Abreu. Driven by a vision that the world of classical music can help improve the lives of Venezuela�s children, he created the music network El Sistema, which has given hundreds of thousands the tools to leave poverty. José Antonio Abreu�s successful creation has promoted traditional values, like respect, fellowship and humanity.
His achievement shows us what is possible when music is made the common ground and thereby part of people�s everyday lives. Simultaneously, a new hope for the future has been given children and parents, as well as politicians. The vision of José Antonio Abreu serves as a model to us all.
Peter Gabriel Citation:
Peter Gabriel is being awarded the Polar Music Prize 2009 for his ground-breaking, outward-looking and boundary-busting artistry. As a composer, artist and person, Peter Gabriel has not only had a significant influence on the development of popular music � he has redefined the very concept. Peter Gabriel does more than just intertwine music, voice and images � his music is at once a megaphone for the global society and its most unflinching critic. Peter Gabriel�s artistry presents us with world music in its most meaningful sense.
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 31st 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 which is equivalent to approximately USD 122 000 or EUR 92 000.
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig �Stikkan� Anderson, a true legend in the history of 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 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 laureates is empowered The Polar Music Award Committee comprising of internationally renowned artists and musicians as well as other key figures in the 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 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, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Valery Gergiev, Led Zeppelin, Sonny Rollins, Steve Reich, Renée Fleming and Pink Floyd 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.