Bjork Wins Sweden's Polar Music Prize

Posted on Aug 31st 2010 6:15AM by Matt Glazebrook
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Marco Prosch, Getty Images

Bjork has joined Bruce Springsteen, Burt Bacharach and the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the eclectic pantheon of Polar Music Prize winners. The Icelandic singer was presented with the honour and nearly £80,000 ($123,000) in prize money by the King of Sweden on Monday night.

The televised ceremony was held at Stockholm Concert Hall and was attended by various members of the Swedish royal family, along with other celebrities and artists. Also lauded with a Polar Music Prize was Italian composer Ennio Morricone -- most famous for his great Spaghetti Western film scores -- with 'Good Will Hunting' actor Stellan Skarsgård and Bjork's father Gudmundur Gunnarsson reading tributes to the two honorees.

Bjork and Morricone received specially commissioned artworks from Karin Mamma Andersson and Jockum Nordström as part of their award.

The Polar Music Prize was created in 1989 by former Abba manager and lyricist Stig Anderson and has been presented to a variety of individuals and groups from across the musical spectrum. Last year's winners were Venezuelan pianist José Antonio Abreu and his El Sistema state-run youth orchestra foundation, along with Peter Gabriel. Previous Polar Prize holders have included Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles and synthesiser pioneer Robert Moog.

Images and video highlights from the 2010 ceremony can be viewed here.