Peter Eötvös receives Frankfurt Music Prize 2007

Peter Eötvös; photo: Istvan Huszti

Conductor, composer and teacher - Peter Eötvös successfully combines all three in one person. As a conductor he has directed almost all the great European orchestras. Like many of his contemporaries, however, he is also a composer and an interpreter of his own music. And on top of that, he has made a name for himself as a teacher of music.

In awarding the prize to Peter Eötvös, the Trustees of the Frankfurt Music Prize Foundation are honouring an artist who has excelled in his commitment to getting people to appreciate new music and to getting the musicians of tomorrow involved in it.

The prize will be presented by the Mayor of Frankfurt am Main, Petra Roth, on the eve of the Musikmesse (27 March 2007) in Frankfurt's Town Hall, the 'Römer'. In his speech of congratulation Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Sandner from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) will pay tribute to both Peter Eötvös himself and to his work. As part of the celebration, the Ensemble Modern will play some of Peter Eötvös' compositions under the bâton of the composer himself. The award of the prize also marks an anniversary: in Peter Eötvös, the trustees will be honouring their 25th prizewinner.

Peter Eötvös (rechts) after the awarding ceremony in Frankfurt Römer with Editor Wolfgang Sandner from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (very left) and Head of Cultural Affairs Felix Semmelroth. Photo: Musikmesse

The Frankfurt Music Prize was founded in 1980 and is awarded annually by the Trustees of the Frankfurt Music Prize Foundation on the occasion of the international Musikmesse in Frankfurt (Kuratorium Stiftung Frankfurter Musikpreis zur Internationalen Musikmesse Frankfurt) to personalities from the world of music for special achievements in the fields of interpretation, composition, musicology and teaching. Worth € 15,000, the Prize is donated by the Federal Association of German Musical Instrument Manufacturers (Bundesverband der Deutschen Musikinstrumenten-Hersteller e. V. - BDMH) and Messe Frankfurt GmbH. The prize is presented each year on the eve of the International Musikmesse.

Winners of the past years include great musicians and composers from various musical genres, including Alfred Brendel, Heinz Holliger, Chick Corea, Aribert Reimann, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Gabriel, and György Ligeti.



 Peter Eötvös - biography and works
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