Kaija Saariaho awarded 2008 Nemmer Composition Prize

The Northwestern University School of Music announced on Wednesday that Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho is to receive the USD 100,000 (EUR 64,000) Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition.
      The statement from the university notes that the biennial award honours classical modern composers of outstanding achievement who have significantly influenced the field of composition. Past winners include John Adams (2004) and Oliver Knussen (2006).
     
Saariaho was cited by the selection committee for “transforming avant-garde techniques into a world of luminous, shifting colour and emotional depth, mirroring the human experience.”
      In addition to the cash award, the prize includes a performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the 2009-10 season of one of Saariaho's works.
      The Paris-based composer will also be in residence at Northwestern University’s School of Music during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years.
     
Kaija Saariaho commented that she felt "very honoured to have received the Nemmers Prize. Awards of this rank are important because they recognize a composer’s life work and the great effort required to develop and deepen a musical style. I was especially happy to read the prize citation because it indicates that I have been successful in reaching some of my musical goals.”
      In 2002, Saariaho was the recipient of the prestigious Grawemeyer Award, the largest US composition prize, worth around EUR 200,000 at the time.
      In November of last year, Musical America, the U.S. publishing company for performing arts, named Kaija Saariaho as its Composer of the Year for 2008.
     


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Musical America names Kaija Saariaho Composer of the Year (14.11.2007)

Links:
  Kaija Saariaho at Chester Novello
  Finnish Music Information Centre: Kaija Saariaho
  Kaija Saariaho (Wikipedia)
  Kaija Saariaho homepage