Barbara Hannigan wins the Polar Prize
The Canadian conductor and soprano Barbara Hannigan receives this year's Polar Prize. In Gothenburg, she is the principal guest conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and has also been a guest teacher at the Academy of Music and Drama. Barbara Hannigan shares the 2025 Polar Prize with jazz musician Herbie Hancock and rock group Queen.
The 2025 Polar Music Prize is awarded to Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan. Her exceptional musicality and courage make her one of the world's foremost interpreters of contemporary classical music. She has worked with and earned the praise of former Polar Prize Laureates such as Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti and Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as an array of the world's most eminent directors, conductors, orchestras, composers and choreographers. Always prepared to push the boundaries, she has a unique talent for broadening the listener's horizons with the music she chooses to program, perform and record.
Barbara Hannigan shares the 2025 Polar Prize with Herbie Hancock and the group Queen.