About the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
The foundation was established in 1972 by Ernst von Siemens, grandson of the company founder Werner von Siemens. It began its work at the beginning of 1973 and in the same year the first Ernst von Siemens Music Prize was awarded – to Benjamin Britten.
Since then, the foundation has awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize every year to a composer, performer or musicologist who has made outstanding contributions to international musical life. Previous winners include Olivier Messiaen, Mstislav Rostropovich, Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Claudio Abbado, Helmut Lachenmann, György Kurtág, Wolfgang Rihm, Mariss Jansons, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Rebecca Saunders, Tabea Zimmermann and Olga Neuwirth.
Prizes
The Ernst von Siemens Music Prize 2025, endowed with 250,000 euros, goes to the British-German conductor Sir Simon Rattle. The 2025 Composer Prizes, each endowed with 35,000 euros, go to Ashkan Behzadi (Iranian-Canadian), Bastien David (France), and Kristine Tjøgersen (Norway). The Prize Ceremony will take place on May 17, 2025 in the Hercules Hall of the Munich Residence.
The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation also awards two Ensemble Prizes. With 75,000 euros each, two young ensembles are supported as individually and sustainably as possible in their artistic and structural development. For the Ensemble Prize 2025, the Board of Trustees chose the ensembles Collective lovemusic and Tacet(i). The ensembles stood out from the many applications submitted due to their technical precision, their innovative programmes and, last but not least, their openness towards young composers and their work.
Initiatives
In 2017, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation initiated the PROGETTO POSITANO scholarship for young composers in collaboration with the Berlin-based ensemble mosaik. Each year, the programme enables two scholarship holders to spend four weeks working at the Casa Orfeo of the Wilhelm Kempff Cultural Foundation on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Following their stay, the works of the composers are presented by ensemble mosaik in a concert portrait in Berlin. Works by this year’s scholarship holders Ricardo Eizirik and Jack Sheen will be performed on October 23, 2024 in the Betonhalle at Silent Green in Berlin.
Another initiative of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation are the räsonanz donor concerts. Together with Lucerne Festival and musica viva of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Foundation makes possible annual concerts with top international orchestras and renowned soloists performing works by contemporary composers in Munich and Lucerne. The concerts took place on January 9, 2025 in Munich and in summer 2025 at the KKL Lucerne.
Funding Projects
The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation will award a total of four million euros in project funding in 2025. Of this amount, the largest share of 3.3 million euros will support contemporary music projects worldwide. This includes funding for commissions for small ensembles, choral and orchestral works, spanning from Denmark to Turkey, Ireland and Peru. The Foundation also funds commissions for music theatre, including a notable commission for Olga Neuwirth from the Hamburg State Opera this year. In addition, concerts and festivals from Yerevan to A Coruña and Paris to Chicago will receive support. A key focus of the Foundation is also the funding of academies for young musicians and composers, such as the Impuls Academy in Graz, Austria. One example of the Foundation’s investment in children’s and youth projects is Hörminute, a Swiss sound app designed to teach contemporary music.
Board of Trustees and Foundation Board
The Foundation’s Board of Trustees is responsible for selecting the prizewinners and the projects to be supported. Its members are Ilona Schmiel as chairwoman, Tamara Stefanovich as vice chairwoman, Winrich Hopp, Clara Iannotta, Frank Madlener, Ulrich Mosch, and Enno Poppe.
More about the Board of Trustees
Responsibility for the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation lies with the Foundation Board. It is chaired by Tabea Zimmermann, member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. Other members are Ferdinand von Siemens as Vice Chairman, Elisabeth Bourqui, Eric Fellhauer, Elisabeth Oltramare, Herbert Scheidt, Christoph von Seidel and Christian Wildmoser.
More about the Foundation Board
