Recipients of Leonie Sonning’s Music Prize, 1959-2010

The prize amount has increased from 50,000 DKK i 1959 to 600,000 DKK (corresponding to 80.624 euro as of November 2009) in 2010. In addition to the music prize the award recipient also receives an honorarium for the concert. Some of the award recipients have donated this honorarium to young musicians or instruments for young talents.

The following artists have received the award:

1959 Igor Stravinsky, composer
1965 Leonard Bernstein, conductor and composer
1966 Birgit Nilsson, soprano
1967 Witold Lutoslawski, composer
1968 Benjamin Britten, composer
1969 Boris Christoff, bass
1970 Sergiu Celibidache, conductor
1971 Arthur Rubinstein, pianist
1972 Lord Yehudi Menuhin, violinist
1973 Dmitri Shostakovich, composer
1974 Andrés Segovia, guitarist
1975 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
1976 Mogens Wöldike, conductor
1977 Olivier Messiaen, composer
1978 Jean-Pierre Rampal, flutist
1979 Dame Janet Baker, mezzo soprano
1980 Marie-Claire Alain, organist
1981 Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist
1982 Isaac Stern, violinist
1983 Rafael Kubelik, conductor
1984 Miles Davis, composer and jazz musician
1985 Pierre Boulez, composer and conductor
1986 Svjatoslav Richter, pianist
1987 Heinz Holliger, oboist and composer
1988 Peter Schreier, tenor
1989 Gidon Kremer, violinist
1990 György Ligeti, composer
1991 Eric Ericson, conductor
1992 Sir Georg Solti, conductor
1993 Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor
1994 Krystian Zimerman, pianist
1995 Yuri Bashmet, violist
1996 Per Nørgård, composer
1997 András Schiff, pianist
1998 Hildegard Behrens, soprano
1999 Sofia Gubaidulina, composer
2000 Michala Petri, recorder player
2001 Anne-Sophie Mutter, violinist
2002 Alfred Brendel, pianist
2003 György Kurtág, composer
2004 Keith Jarrett, jazz pianist
2005 Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
2006 Yo-Yo Ma, cellist
2007 Lars-Ulrik Mortensen, harpsichordist
2008 Arvo Pärt, composer
2009 Daniel Barenboim, pianist og conductor
2010 Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo soprano