Around the Music Festival

The Praemium Imperiale, which honors outstanding artists from around the world, announced the winners of the 35th Praemium Imperiale on 10th. The winners in five categories are Sophie Calle (France) for painting, Doris Salcedo (Colombia) for sculpture, Shigeru Ban (Japan) for architecture, Ang Lee (Taiwan) for theater and film, and Maria João Pires (Portugal) for music.

The Praemium Imperiale was established in 1988 by the Japan Art Association to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its founding. The prize was established to carry on the legacy of the former president, His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu, who wished to “contribute broadly to the spread and improvement of culture and the arts throughout the world. The winner will receive a gold medal and 15 million yen in prize money.

Pires is 80 years old and was born in the capital city of Lisbon. After studying composition and music theory at the local National Conservatory of Music, she went to Germany at the age of 17. He won the Beethoven Bicentennial Competition in 1970 and began her international career in 1986, when he gave her first recital at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

In 1999, she founded the “Bergaix Arts Center” in eastern Portugal as a base for choir activities and workshops for children from rural areas; in 2012, she was active in social activities in Belgium, where she founded a choir for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. At the end of 2017, she announced that she would retire from the active stage in 2018, but has since continued to perform internationally based in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where she has moved.

PHOTO： Mozarteumorchester Salzburg


　　　　Click here for details　▷