Austrian composer lands $1/4 million prize

Austrian composer lands $1/4 million prize

News

norman lebrecht

March 08, 2022

The 2022 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize has been awarded to the Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth.

It is worth 250,000 euros, to do with as she pleases.

Neuwirth, 53, has also landed this year’s $150,000 Grawemeyer Award for her Vienna transgender opera, Orlando.

She’ll be in need of investment advice.

Comments

  • Altwirth says:

    Most of these awarding bodies are on automatic pilot.

    • La plus belle voix says:

      Quite. These bodies have a deep-seated fear that they might be backing the wrong horse, or perceived to be going in a different direction. Get one gong, you get ’em all. Does not make the music any better, just creates an elephants’ graveyard, so there is a positive takeaway at least.

  • John Borstlap says:

    I’m so happy we’re winning on that front as well! When I can’t sleep, I play Olga, which restores my balance & identity:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oruT3kwlEIw

  • Frank says:

    Investment advice: give at least one of those prizes to a Ukrainian relief fund. Anything else for personal gain is just selfish at the present time.

    • PianistW says:

      I suggest you do the same: Donate half of your salary. Doesn’t sound good, right?

      Some people just love to tell others what to do with their money.

  • John Borstlap says:

    “……The relative absence of female composers in this list – which, by the way, does not claim to be comprehensive – does not mean that there is a lack of composing women. In contrary, due to 20C emancipation movements, a mainly male-dominated art form has opened its ranks to the gender which had been discouraged, suppressed, ignored for ages. But it seems that a majority of female composers are attracted to sonic art, especially of the hardcore type, and much less so to the new tonal and / or classical variety where this book is about. This can be explained by the emancipatory position in which many female composers find themselves: male prejudices tend to undermine female creativity by consigning it to the nice but insignificant corner of homely pleasures like embroiderie and child care, preparing afternoon tea and offering a place of warm recovery from the husband’s hard fight with the realities of the world at the workplace. So, to avoid any invitation to label their work as nicely feminine, they choose the cutting edge of aural aggression, to outdo their male peers in the field. As male composers can be feminine in their work, females can play the male role as well, and this underlying gender struggle may define the nature of ‘female new music’ for quite a while.”

    Quoted from some expert source:

    https://www.amazon.com/Classical-Revolution-Thoughts-Century-Expanded/dp/0486814483

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      Looks like a very good read.

    • Bone says:

      I shouldn’t trust that guy’s opinion too much – I hear he’s a bit of a crackpot: he listens to the most discordant music you have ever heard to gain restful sleep. Who does that?!?!$

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    I’ve heard this composer’s work; over a decade ago in Vienna. Pass.

  • Fernandel says:

    As laughable and conformist choice as Elfriede Jelinek’s Nobel Prize…

  • FrauGeigerin says:

    She is a terrific composer. I think she deserves it.

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