Honours for Meredith Monk and András Schiff

On Wednesday 22 October, Sir András Schiff was awarded the prestigious Japanese „Praemium Imperiale“ prize in Tokyo. The Praemium Imperiale is considered one of the world’s most prestigious awards for lifetime achievement in the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and theater/film. Schiff is being honoured for his outstanding contribution to classical music and his international achievements.

From his acceptance speech: “It is a joy and a great honour to receive this year’s Praemium Imperiale. Sciences and the arts, these are what distinguishes humans from other species – and they’re all interrelated. Great art is also intellectual and great science also has its own poetry. Unlike in science, the quality and value of a work of art is not measurable. Much of it is a matter of taste. Some people have better taste than others. And here I have to give my compliments – Japan epitomizes to me what good taste means.”

Congratulations Sir András Schiff!

Two days prior, on Monday 20 October, Meredith Monk received The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 69^th Biennale festival in Venice. From Artistic Director Caterina Barbieri: “Meredith Monk has revolutionized music and the performing arts with an approach that has expanded the potential of the human voice, transforming it into a vehicle for unprecedented sonic exploration. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Music acknowledges her remarkable and enduring impact on the contemporary music scene, Meredith’s unique artistic vision and constant commitment to research into sound.” The wake of this event, Meredith Monk performed at the Teatro Malibran alongside Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin, while the festival also showcased Meredith’s multifaceted oeuvre through film, installation, and discourse. Our congratulations go out to Meredith Monk for her visionary work!

Meredith Monk’s new album Cellular Songs was just released, coinciding with her receiving the Golden Lion. “Cooperation, interdependence and kindness” are the qualities that Meredith Monk emphasizes in Cellular Songs, “as an antidote to the values that are being propagated right now.” Of the work’s premiere performance the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Monk spun together divergent elements so fluidly that it created an unmistakable sense of hope. It’s much easier to conceive of bridging public divides — or even containing multitudes, as an individual — when you witness a synthesis like the one created in Cellular Songs.”