For more than 40 years, Anne-Sophie Mutter has thrilled audiences around the world with her virtuosity and astonishing clarity, the jury declared. “The Queen of the Violin” receives the award because she “is not just one passionate and risk-taking musician – she is also a storyteller.” The jury highlighted her commitment to the performance of traditional works and contemporary composers, many of whom have written pieces for her. The comitee also emphasized her numerous benefit projects and her support for future generations of musicians through her two charitable institutions. “With her passionate commitment to justice, Mutter demonstrates the power and key role of music in the world.”
Anne-Sophie Mutter said: ”It is a huge honour to be in this illustrious group of musicians who have received the Polar Music Prize. I’m deeply honoured and humbled and I can’t wait to come to Stockholm and meet the other recipients.”
About the Polar Music Prize
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, a true legend in the history of Swedish popular music. Stig Anderson was the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA. Anderson conceived the prize as a “Nobel Prize for Music”, as an official Nobel Prize for music does not exist. The name of the prize stems from Anderson’s legendary record label, Polar Music.
The Polar Music Prize celebrates the power and importance of music and is awarded to individuals, groups or institutions for international recognition of excellence in the world of music. The roll call of former laureates reads like a Who’s Who of music: Paul McCartney, Dizzy Gillespie, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Renee Fleming, Ray Charles, Youssou N’dour, Mstislav Rostropovich and the Kronos Quartet, to name but a few.