Renowned Musician to be Awarded 250,000 Euros in Munich Ceremony

Courtesy of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

In a groundbreaking achievement, Korean composer Chin Un-suk has been awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of classical music. The announcement was jointly made by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, designating the 62-year-old composer as the recipient of this prestigious accolade for the current year.

Chin Un-suk is set to receive the award along with a monetary prize of 250,000 euros ($271,925) during the ceremony scheduled for May 18 in Munich, Germany, as outlined on the foundation's official website. 

▲ Courtesy of Ernst von Siemens Music FoundationNotably, Chin Un-suk is the first Asian to receive this distinguished award, joining the ranks of past laureates that include renowned composers such as Benjamin Britten and Olivier Messiaen, as well as acclaimed conductors like Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.

Born in Seoul in 1961, Chin moved to Germany in 1985 to pursue studies in contemporary classical music at the University of Music and Theatre Hamburg under the guidance of master composer Gyorgy Ligeti.

The composer achieved international recognition in 2004 when she won the Grawemeyer Award for her violin concerto. Over the years, she has garnered several other prestigious awards, including the Wihuri Sibelius Prize in 2017, the Marie-Josee Kravis Prize in 2018, the Bach Prize in 2019, and the Leonie Sonning Music Prize in 2021.

Chin Un-suk has held various significant roles in the music world, serving as the resident composer of the Berlin Deutsche Symphony Orchestra (2001), the resident composer of the Tongyeong International Music Festival (2005), the principal composer of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (2006), and the artistic director of the British Philharmonic Orchestra (2010). Since 2022, she has been the artistic director of the Tongyeong International Music Festival.

Her compositions have been performed by world-class orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, and Radio France Philharmonic, as well as contemporary music ensembles such as Ensemble Intercontemporain and Ensemble Modern.

In November, the Berlin Philharmonic released a three-CD album set featuring Chin Un-suk's orchestral works and concertos recorded over the past 17 years.

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Joy, nunimbos@gmail.com