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Arvo Pärt Wins the 2023 Polar Music Prize

Apr. 18, 2023

Congratulations to Universal Edition composer, Arvo Pärt, on receiving one of the most important international awards, the Polar Music Prize.

The 2023 Polar Music Prize was awarded to Arvo Pärt, alongside Angélique Kidjo and Chris Blackwell. Pärt's music has played an essential and influential role in contemporary music circles since the early 1960s. The Polar Prize Committee noted: "With his unique compositional technique Tintinnabuli, which Pärt invented in 1976, he has deeply influenced the course of music for several decades. His works have reached large audiences not only through concerts and recordings, but also through films and theatre productions."

The Committee added: "Composer Arvo Pärt has likened his music to white light. It is in the encounter with the prism of the listener’s soul that all colors become visible. Anyone who has heard his laconic, reduced compositions will understand this perfectly. Influenced by sacred music, especially Gregorian chant, Arvo Pärt has created the compositional style tintinnabuli, from the Latin word for 'bell', in which the music moves according to a given structure. In 2006 and 2007, Arvo Pärt dedicated the performances of his works to the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and other dissidents in Russia. Arvo Pärt's courageously beautiful music creates depth in every sense."

The Swedish Polar Music Prize - endowed with one million Swedish kronor (approx. 95,000 USD) - has been awarded annually to a representative of pop music and classical music since 1992 and is one of the most important international awards in the field of music. Previous winners include Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Isaac Stern, Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Anne-Sophie Mutter and most recently the Ensemble intercontemporain.


Watch: The Polar Music Prize 2023 is awarded to Arvo Pärt

To learn more about Arvo Pärt, visit universaledition.com.

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