The International Arnold Schönberg Prize commemorates the eponymous Austrian composer. It was established in 2001 on the initiative of

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

, the former principal conductor and musical director of the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families ...

, together with

Deutschlandradio Deutschlandradio (DLR; ) is a national German public radio broadcaster. History ''Deutschlandfunk'' was originally a West German news radio targeting listeners within West Germany as well as in neighbouring countries, ''Deutschlandfunk Kultur'' ...

. The prize is awarded by the

Arnold Schönberg Center The Arnold Schönberg Center, established in 1998 in Vienna, is a repository of Arnold Schönberg's archival legacy and a cultural center that is open to the public. Activities Archive and library, exhibitions, concerts, lectures, workshops and ...

(Vienna, Austria) to international composers. When the prize was instituted, the amount of money awarded was €12,500.

Winners

* 2001 George Benjamin * 2004

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (; born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2023, Widmann was the third most performed living contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of ...

* 2005

Unsuk Chin Unsuk Chin ( ; born July 14, 1961) is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was a self-taught pianist from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as well as with ...

* 2006

Aribert Reimann Aribert Reimann (, 4 March 1936 – 13 March 2024) was a German composer, pianist, and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', the opera '' Lear'', was written at the suggestion of Dietr ...

* 2008 Helmut Oehring

References

Awards established in 2001 Classical music awards International music awards {{music-event-stub