The Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, has received the prestigious Praemium Imperiale for Music award from the Japan Art Association.
The winners of the 2014 Praemium Imperiale were simultaneously announced in New York, Paris, Rome, London, Berlin and Tokyo and the award ceremony takes place on 15 October 2014 in Tokyo. Alongside Pärt, the acclaimed prize has been awarded to the architect, Steven Holl, from the United States, the French painter, Martial Raysse, the Italian sculptor, Giuseppe Penone, and the director, Athol Fugard, from South Africa. The award and honorary certificate will be presented by the patron of the Japan Art Association, Prince Hitachi.
The Imperiale prize has been presented since 1989 by the Japanese imperial family through the Japan Art Association. Five laureates are selected in the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theatre/film, based on their remarkable achievements in developing their field at an international level and the contributions they have made to enrich society worldwide.
This year, the Imperiale prize will be presented for the 26th time and has been awarded to 129 renowned international artists. Arvo Pärt joins the likes of Claudio Abbado, Ingmar Bergman, Luciano Berio, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Peter Brook, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau, Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, Philip Glass, Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Krzysztof Penderecki, Renzo Piano, Steve Reich, Gerhard Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Alfred Schnittke and Ravi Shankar.
Pärt is the first Estonian to receive the Praemium Imperiale.
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Cover photo: Arvo Pärt.
Palju õnne!