Jordi Savall has been awarded with the recognized Ernst von Siemens Prize for Music 2026 for a track record of exceptional contributions to music. According to the Foundation which grants this recognition, the Catalan musician has made fundamental contributions to early music as a performer, scholar and musical ambassador, and his concerts and recordings are considered benchmarks in his field. He also points out that as a teacher and training director, he has trained generations of musicians from all over the world and that his music for the historical film Tous les matins du monde (1991) gave him international recognition and introduced his work to audiences around the world.
Endowed with 250,000 euros, the award will be presented in a ceremony on May 23 at the Prinzregententheater in Munich. There will be a concert with Hespèrion XXI and The Royal Chapel of Cataloniadirected by Savall. The laudatory speech will be given by the violinist Edouard Matzener.
The Ernst von Siemens Foundation, based in Switzerland, supports festivals, concerts, academies, new compositions, symposia and musicological publications. It has been awarding these prizes since 1973 and, in this edition, the total endowment reaches 4.3 million euros.
This award is in addition to the tribute given to him by the Berlin Philharmonic, one of the most prestigious orchestras in the world, which recognizes his essential contribution to the recovery of musical heritage and his career as a performer, conductor and publicist. The tribute marked Savall’s debut as guest conductor of the Philharmonic, which has dedicated a cycle of six concerts to him
The concerts, five of which have already taken place, have combined its three exceptional facets: solo performer of viola de gamba, director at the head of the Berlin orchestra and mentor of young musicians with the Karajan-Akademie.
The March 16, one extraordinary concert in the Main Hall will close the tribute. This evening will be dedicated entirely to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and will be interpreted by The Concert of Nationswith original instruments, i The National Chapel of Catalonia. It will be a unique occasion to rediscover the beauty and depth of Mozart through the historical interpretation and with instruments specific to his time.
