(openPR) - Distinction for an extraordinary voice and a multi-faceted repertoire

Presentation on the eve of Musikmesse 2011

Anne Sofie von Otter is to receive the coveted Frankfurt Music Prize for 2011. The versatile mezzosoprano will be presented with the award and the € 15,000 prize money on the eve of Musikmesse. With it, the jury has not only acknowledged an outstanding voice, but also the artist's varied repertoire, which ranges from Baroque to jazz.
The prize will be presented on the eve of Musikmesse 2011, 5 April 2011, during the PRG LEA Awards ceremony in the Festhalle Frankfurt. The trustees of the Frankfurt Music Prize selected Anne Sofie von Otter for her extraordinary voice, her extremely varied, cross-genre repertoire and her bold interpretations.
The Frankfurt Music Prize is worth € 15,000 Euro and is sponsored by the Federal Association of German Musical Instrument Manufacturers (Bundesverband der Deutschen Musikinstrumenten-Hersteller e.V.) and Messe Frankfurt. The presentation of the Prize will be made by Petra Roth, Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main. The speech in honour of Anne Sofie von Otter will be given by Petra Roth. Musician Elvis Costello will also speak. After the awards ceremony, the prize winner will give a brief recital in the Festhalle.
Anne Sofie von Otter
Anne Sofie von Otter was born in Stockholm in 1955 and studied in Stockholm and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. There she was taught singing by Vera Rozsa. Between 1983 -1985 she was a member of the Basel Opera ensemble and it was from there that she launched her international career.
Her position as a leading modern opera singer is due, inter alia, to her multi-faceted repertoire. Anne Sofie von Otter ranks among the world’s foremost mezzo-sopranos and is much-admired for her versatility in operatic roles, her broad-ranging repertoire and the boldness of the vocal risks she takes in the songs she sings. She has appeared in a wide variety of roles in all major opera houses, including operas as different as the Rosenkavalier, Gluck’s Orfeo, Carmen, Götterdämmerung and Tristan and Isolde. A long working relationship with James Levine is reflected by numerous appearances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Anne Sofie von Otter also appears as a lied singer throughout the world and, accompanied by Bengt Forsberg, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic programmes that are frequently very challenging in vocal terms.
Anne Sofie von Otter has expanded the stylistic scope of her repertoire in recent years to embrace pop and jazz. For example, she joined forces with Elvis Costello to record a highly acclaimed CD of well-known pop songs entitled ‘For the Stars’. Another indication of her love of pop music is ‘I Let The Music Speak’, an album of ABBA songs with ABBA member Benny Andersson playing the piano parts, which was released in 2006.
Her latest recording was made last autumn with legendary jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. With ‘Love Songs’, Anne Sofie von Otter began a new working relationship with the French Naïve music label and has shown yet again how much she enjoys collaborating with extraordinary musicians from the most diverse musical genres.
Today, Anne Sofie von Otter can look back over a large repertoire of recordings that, ranging from Baroque pieces to 20th century music or folk songs, as well as from pop to jazz, includes over 60 CDs released by the Deutsche Grammophon label, many of which have been awarded a Grammy.
Frankfurt Music Prize
The Frankfurt Music Prize was founded in 1980 and is awarded annually on the occasion of the international Musikmesse in Frankfurt by the Trustees of the Frankfurt Music Prize Foundation (Kuratorium Stiftung Frankfurter Musikpreis zur Internationalen Musikmesse Frankfurt) to personalities from the world of music for special achievements in the fields of interpretation, composition, musicology and teaching. The Frankfurt Music Prize is donated by the Federal Association of German Musical Instrument Manufacturers (Bundesverband der Deutschen Musikinstrumenten-Hersteller e. V. - BDMH) and Messe Frankfurt GmbH. The prize is presented each year on the eve of the International Musikmesse.
The Frankfurt Music Prize is awarded annually in alternate years in the fields of classical and popular music (jazz, rock, pop). In 2012, it will once again be given for achievements in the field of popular music. The Board of Trustees of the Frankfurt Music Prize Foundation consists of three permanent members and up to four elected members:
• The Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main as Chairperson
• The Chairperson of the Federal Association of German Musical Instrument Manufacturers (Bundesverband der Deutschen Musikinstrumenten-Hersteller e.V. - BDMH) as Deputy Chairperson
• The Chairperson of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt GmbH as Deputy Chairperson
• Two representatives of the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat) and
• Two representatives from German music academies.
Winners of the Frankfurter Music Prize:
1982 Gidon Kremer (violinist)
1983 Edgar Krapp (organist)
1984 Alfred Brendel (pianist)
1985 Brigitte Fassbaender (opera singer)
1986 Albert Mangelsdorff (jazz trombonist)
1987 Carl Dahlhaus (musicologist)
1988 Heinz Holliger (oboist
1989 Ludwig Güttler (trumpeter)
1990 Chick Corea (jazz pianist)
1991 Aribert Reimann (composer)
1992 Georg Solti (conductor)
1993 Harry Kupfer (director)
1994 Brian Eno (musician and sound artist)
1995 Tabea Zimmermann (violist)
1996 Wolfgang Niedecken (singer and songwriter)
1997 Prof. Hans Zender (composer and conductor)
1998 Peter Herbolzheimer (arranger, interpreter and composer)
1999 Prof. Michael Gielen (conductor and composer)
2000 Klaus Doldinger (saxophonist)
2001 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (singer)
2002 No Prize awarded
2003 Walter Levin (violinist & professor of chamber music)
2004 Udo Lindenberg (rock musician)
2005 György Ligeti (composer)
2006 Peter Gabriel (pop / rock musician)
2007 Peter Eötvös (conductor and composer), 25th Music Prize
2008 Paquito D’Rivera (saxophonist, clarinettist, composer)
2009 Dr. José Antonio Abreu (conductor, composer, mentor)
2010 Keith Emerson (musician, composer)
2011 Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano)

We will be pleased to send you a detailed biography, photographs and further information on request.
You will also find further information on the internet at: www.musikmesse.com

Musikmesse is the world's biggest international trade fair for musical instruments, music software & computer hardware, sheet music, music production and marketing. Around 75,000 trade visitors from the musical-instrument sector – manufacturers, dealers, professional and amateur musicians – made their way to Frankfurt for the last event in March 2010. The Musikmesse is complemented perfectly by the Prolight + Sound trade fair, which is held at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre at the same time. Additionally, Musikmesse visitors have free entry to Prolight + Sound, International Fair of Technologies and Services for Events and Entertainment.

Andreas Höflich
EBU 92 Marketingkommunikation
Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1
60327 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel. +49 (0)69 7575-6866
Fax +49 (0)69 7575-6099
andreas.hoeflich@messefrankfurt.com
www.messefrankfurt.com