Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan has been awarded the 2020 Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Denmark’s highest musical honour
The award is bestowed to an international composer or musician annually. Past recipients include Igor Stravinsky (1959), Leonard Bernstein (1965), Benjamin Britten (1968), Dmitri Shostakovich (1973), Miles Davis (1984), Pierre Boulez (1985), Daniel Barenboim (2009), Cecilia Bartoli (2010) and Sir Simon Rattle (2013).
The award will be presented to Hannigan at a concert on April 23, 2020, in Copenhagen’s DR Concert House. Hannigan will also conduct the Danish National Symphony Orchestra at the event.
Announced last year, the 2019 Léonie Sonning Music Prize was awarded to the Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen. Hannigan is scheduled to performing Abrahamsen’s Song cycle, Let Me Tell You at the award gala concert this April.
The prize includes a monetary award of €100,000 ($150,000 CAD).
