Léonie Sonning Music Prize

Danish music award From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, or Sonning Award, which is recognized as Denmark's highest musical honor, is given annually to an international composer or musician.^[1] It was first awarded in 1959 to composer Igor Stravinsky.^[2] Laureates are now selected by the directors of The Léonie Sonning Music Foundation, which was founded in 1965.^[3]

Awarded for"internationally recognised composer, musician, conductor or singer"

Sponsored byThe Léonie Sonning Music Foundation

LocationCopenhagen

CountryDenmark

Quick facts Awarded for, Sponsored by ...

Léonie Sonning Music Prize
Awarded for	"internationally recognised composer, musician, conductor or singer"
Sponsored by	The Léonie Sonning Music Foundation
Location	Copenhagen
Country	Denmark
Reward	€133,000
First award	1959
Website	www.sonningmusik.dk

The diploma is in Danish, and the prize includes EUR 133,000 (US$146,400) and a monotype by the Danish painter Maja Lisa Engelhardt. Honorees are treated to a concert, typically held in Copenhagen, and are often invited to teach a master class of Danish musicians.

The award is not directly related to the Sonning Prize, which is the Danish award presented by a foundation in memory of Sonning's late husband, Carl Johan Sonning [da].

Laureates

More information Year, Laureate ...

Year	Laureate	Country	Notes
1959	Igor Stravinsky	United States	^[2]
1965	Leonard Bernstein	United States	^[4]^[5]
1966	Birgit Nilsson	Sweden	^[6]^[7]
1967	Witold Lutosławski	Poland	^[8]^[9]
1968	Benjamin Britten	United Kingdom	^[10]
1969	Boris Christoff	Bulgaria
1970	Sergiu Celibidache	Romania
1971	Arthur Rubinstein	Poland/ United States
1972	Yehudi Menuhin	United States
1973	Dmitri Shostakovich	Soviet Union
1974	Andrés Segovia	Spain
1975	Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau	West Germany
1976	Mogens Wöldike	Denmark
1977	Olivier Messiaen	France
1978	Jean-Pierre Rampal	France
1979	Janet Baker	United Kingdom
1980	Marie-Claire Alain	France
1981	Mstislav Rostropovich	Soviet Union
1982	Isaac Stern	United States
1983	Rafael Kubelík	Czechoslovakia
1984	Miles Davis	United States
1985	Pierre Boulez	France
1986	Sviatoslav Richter	Soviet Union
1987	Heinz Holliger	Switzerland
1988	Peter Schreier	East Germany	^[3]
1989	Gidon Kremer	Soviet Union
1990	György Ligeti	Hungary/ Austria
1991	Eric Ericson	Sweden
1992	Georg Solti	Hungary/ United Kingdom
1993	Nikolaus Harnoncourt	Austria
1994	Krystian Zimerman	Poland
1995	Yuri Bashmet	Russia
1996	Per Nørgård	Denmark
1997	Andras Schiff	Hungary/ United Kingdom
1998	Hildegard Behrens	Germany
1999	Sofia Gubaidulina	Russia
2000	Michala Petri	Denmark
2001	Anne-Sophie Mutter	Germany
2002	Alfred Brendel	Austria
2003	György Kurtág	Hungary
2004	Keith Jarrett	United States
2005	John Eliot Gardiner	United Kingdom
2006	Yo-Yo Ma	United States
2007	Lars Ulrik Mortensen	Denmark
2008	Arvo Pärt	Estonia
2009	Daniel Barenboim	Argentina
2010	Cecilia Bartoli	Italy
2011	Kaija Saariaho	Finland
2012	Jordi Savall	Spain
2013	Simon Rattle	United Kingdom
2014	Martin Fröst	Sweden
2015	Thomas Adès	United Kingdom
2016	Herbert Blomstedt	Sweden
2017	Leonidas Kavakos	Greece	^[11]
2018	Mariss Jansons	Latvia	^[12]
2019	Hans Abrahamsen	Denmark	^[13]
2020	Barbara Hannigan	Canada	^[14]
2021	Unsuk Chin	South Korea	^[15]
2022	Pierre-Laurent Aimard	France	^[16]
2023	Evelyn Glennie	Scotland	^[17]
2024	Emmanuel Pahud	Switzerland	^[18]
2025	Danish String Quartet	Denmark	^[19]
2026	Kirill Petrenko	Austria	^[20]

References

[1]
Wasserman, P.; McLean, J.W.; Gale Research Company (1995). Awards, Honors, and Prizes. Gale Research Company. p. 121. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
[2]
Britten, B.; Kildea, P.F. (2003). On Music. Oxford University Press. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-19-816714-3. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
[3]
NOMUS (Organization) (1990). Nordic Sounds. NOMUS. p. 9. Retrieved 29 April 2018. Schreier marked the twenty-fifth presentation of the prize, but actually more than 25 years of its existence inasmuch as an extraordinary award was made to Igor Stravinsky in 1959, before the Sonning Trust had been formally established. This happened in 1965, ... Since 1965 the prize has been presented every year on a date as near as possible to May 30, which was the wedding anniversary of Léonie Sonning and her husband Carl JohanSonning. The statutes stipulate that the ...
[4]
Reed, P.H. (1965). The American Record Guide. Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation. p. 18. Retrieved 29 April 2018. On the evening of May 17th Leonard Bernstein was awarded the Leonie Sonning Music Prize in recognition of his efforts on behalf of Carl Nielsen. The ceremony took place during a concert I attended at the 18th-century Odd Fellow Palace in Copenhagen, in whose wonderful old concert hall Nielsen himself had conducted many a premiere of his works. It had been agreed that, in coming to Copenhagen to accept the prize, ...
[5]
Theatre in Denmark. Danish Centre of the I.T.I. 1966. Retrieved 29 April 2018. ... the Royal Danish Ballet and Music Festival at the end of May, and besides the Royal Theatre's production of his opera "Maskerade", which had not been performed for 15 years, the main event was a concert, including Carl Nielsen's 3rd Symphony, performed by the Royal Orchester, conducted for the first time by Leonard Bernstein and recorded during his stay in Copenhagen. The formal object of Mr. Bernstein's visit to Copenhagen was to receive the Leonie Sonning Musical Prize.
[6]
Leach, H.G.; American-Scandinavian Foundation (1966). The American-Scandinavian Review. American-Scandinavian Foundation. p. 203. Retrieved 29 April 2018. The Leonie Sonning Prize for 1966 was recently awarded the Swedish singer Birgit Nilsson. The amount of the Prize is 50,000 Danish kroner. The Leonie Sonning Prize was awarded for the first time in 1959, with Igor Stravinsky being the recipient. The 1965 winner was conductor Leonard Bernstein.
[7]
Theatre in Denmark. Danish Centre of the I.T.I. 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2018. This year's Leonie Sonning Music Prize was given to Birgit Nilsson, who visited The Royal Theatre on May 17th, 1966, for a guest performance in "Fidelio". Birgit Nilsson honoured yong Danish singers by donating her salary for this performance to be used as a scholarship for two young female singers.
[8]
Stucky, S. (1981). Lutoslawski and His Music. Cambridge University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-521-22799-5. Retrieved 29 April 2018. In 1967 he received the Gottfried von Herder Prize from the University of Vienna, and in August of that year he was given the Leonie Sonning Prize in Copenhagen 'in recognition and admiration of his mastery as a composer, which is a source of inspiration to the musical life of our age'. The award was presented at an all- Lutoslawski concert as part of the Royal Danish Festival of Music and Ballet celebrating the 800th anniversary of Copenhagen's founding.
[9]
Erhardt, L. (1975). Music in Poland. Interpress Publishers. p. 139. Retrieved 29 April 2018. The year 1967 again put Witold Lutoslawski in the news when he received the coveted Leonie Sonning Award "in recognition and admiration of his masterly compositional virtuosity which is a source of inspiration to the musical life of our times".
[10]
Avis-Årbogen (in Danish). J.H. Schultz. 1968. p. 93. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
[11]
"Violinist Leonidas Kavakos wins Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2017". The Strad. London. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
[12]
"Conductor Mariss Jansons Awarded Prestigious €100,000 Danish Bursary". The World's Leading Classical Music News Source. Est 2009. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
[13]
Pedersen, Karen Lerbech (30 January 2018). "Dansk kunstner modtager kæmpepris: Jeg er beæret og rystet i min grundvold!". DR (in Danish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
[14]
Vincent, Michael (1 February 2019). "Barbara Hannigan Awarded Denmark's Highest Classical Music Honour". ludwig van. Toronto. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
[15]
Seung-hyun, Song (30 January 2020). "Chin Un-suk wins Leonie Sonning Music Prize 2021". The Korea Herald. Seoul. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
[16]
"Pierre-Laurent Aimard receives the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2022". Pizzicato (in Italian). 26 January 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
[17]
"Evelyn Glennie receives Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2023". Gramophone. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
[18]
"Flutist Emmanuel Pahud will receive the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2024". Pizzicato. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
[19]
"Danish String Quartet Wins 2025 Léonie Sonning Music Prize". The Violin Channel. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
[20]
"Kirill Petrenko Receives Denmark's Léonie Sonning Music Prize for 2026". The Violin Channel. 25 August 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2026.

Léonie Sonning Music Prize

Laureates

References

External links

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