The 2024 Polar Music Prize is awarded to composer and producer Nile Rodgers and composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The award ceremony takes place in the Winter Garden at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm on May 21.
Nile Rodgers, co-founder of the iconic disco group Chic and has created immortal hits such as Le Freak and Diana Ross Upside Down. Other successful collaborations include David Bowie’s Let’s Dance and Madonnas Like a Virgin, album that defined the 1980s music scene. As recently as 2013, he received a Grammy along with Daft Punk for Get Lucky.
– This is a huge honor for me. I have had a love for the Swedish people for as long as I can remember. The Swedes’ early recognition of black musicians, from Eric Dolphy till Jimi Hendrix, is very important to me. It’s especially meaningful that so many of my favorite songwriters, from Björn & Benny till Max Martin and my dear departed friend Tim “Avicii” Bergling, are Swedes who have changed music all over the world. I am so looking forward to coming to Stockholm and receiving this fantastic award, says Nile Rodgers
The Finnish conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen is considered to have redefined classical music, among other things through his work with Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra. His interpretations and works have been awarded the Grawemeyer Award, the Léonie Sonning Music Prize and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal. The salon has also used new technology to broaden the scope of classical music and has become a central figure in the genre’s development into the 21st century.
Nile Rodgers and Esa-Pekka Salonen will both be interviewed during Polar Music Talks on May 20. On May 21, the award ceremony takes place in the Winter Garden at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm. It is broadcast live on TV4 at 8 p.m. The entire award ceremony can be seen via TV4 Play from 18.
Christel Valsinger
Nile Rodgers Photo: Walter Chin
Photo by Esa-Pekka Salonen: Cody Pickens
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