Esa-Pekka Salonen
(c) Andrew Eccles
San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen has been announced as a recipient of the 2024 Polar Music Prize; he will receive Prize money of one million Swedish Kroner (approximately € 89,000). The 2024 Polar Music Prize will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm in the presence of the Swedish Royal Family, taking place on Tuesday, May 21 in Stockholm.
« I’m honored and excited to be one of the recipients of this year’s Polar Music Prize,” says Salonen. “Sweden has long been a musical home to me. Many of my fondest experiences—my years with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Baltic Sea Festival, and the Stockholm International Composer Festival—have taken place here. But it’s the people and culture of Sweden who deserve so much of my gratitude. Without the support of some of the leading cultural institutions of this country, especially the Swedish National Radio, my musical biography would be missing several key details. I’m very much looking forward to joining Nile Rodgers in Stockholm this spring to receive this illustrious prize.”
“Esa-Pekka Salonen is an innovator,” says Marie Ledin, managing director of the Polar Music Prize. “His artistic curiosity, creativity, and forward-thinking approach to composing and conducting paves the way in classical music. He is a master of tone, perfectly balancing sound and emotion to produce and lead music that deeply moves the listener.”
