This year marks the 15th anniversary of the international prize, which recognizes exceptional achievements in music. For the first time it is being awarded to a group — and a rock group at that — something of a departure for the normally sedate selection committee.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Music administers the prize and its chairman, Åke Holmquist, says he’s used to the controversy that comes with the announcement of the winners. “We’ve come to expect a certain amount of grumbling from the press and others, but when we announced the prize this year, there was just thunderous applause,” he says.

Shades of ABBA

There are two winners selected each year, representing different musical genres, including classical, popular, jazz or world music. Holmquist acknowledges that prize winners are generally in, or even past, their prime: “We choose people or institutions that have made a mark on the musical world and because it takes time to pave the way and achieve something special, the musicians who win the prize are often a little older,” he says.

Stig “Stikkan” Anderson, the colorful publisher, lyricist and manager of Swedish pop group ABBA, founded the Polar Music Prize in 1989, naming it after his record label Polar Records.

Anderson passed away in 1997, but not before establishing a prize that was dignified yet had the right combination of the Swedish expression: “Festive, Folksy and Fully booked”.

The prize ceremony in May is always followed by an evening banquet with traditional Swedish food. Project Coordinator Kim Pettersson says: “Herring, game, strawberries and ice cream are standard items on the menu. .And of course there is plenty of schnapps and Swedish drinking songs to accompany the meal.”

Musical chairs

Being the recipient of the most generous music prize in the world — SEK 1 million (approximately USD 135,000) — puts a certain degree of pressure on the winners to show up, and a number of them have gone out of their way to re-arrange performance schedules to attend the awards ceremony.

Only death or illness has kept winners from attending the prestigious event, says Holmquist. although 2000 winner Bob Dylan’s reticence caused some nail biting among the organizers. “Dylan generally feels uncomfortable attending such events and we didn’t know until the very last minute if he would show up,” Holmquist says.

The camera-shy Dylan did show up to receive his prize as have winners Joni Mitchell, Gilbert Gil, B. B. King and many others. Pettersson says Sir Elton John made an extra effort to attend the ceremony so he could add the Swedish king to his long list of royal acquaintances.

This year, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant will all be on hand to receive the prize. Jones, who gave a warm thank you to the nomination committee in a televised speech, says: “It’s a great honor and a privilege to be joining the ranks of so many great names in the music world. I am really looking forward to being in Sweden on May 22 to accept the award.”

Valery Gergiev will be heading to town early to squeeze in a lunchtime concert with the Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, before the prize ceremony heats up at Stockholm’s Concert Hall. A number of other activities, including art exhibits, concerts, seminars and more, are already underway.

Creating sound fusion

By awarding his prize to more than one person or institution at a time, founder Anderson hoped to bring musicians from different disciplines together. Burt Bacharach, Robert Moog and Karlheinz Stockhausen, who all won in 2001, hit it off at the awards ceremony. “The three of them met and began discussing a new sound, eventually participating in a seminar on the topic at the Stockholm music school,” Holmquist says.

The Polar Music Prize is gradually gaining recognition outside the Nordic countries, with prizewinners as its best ambassadors. Paul McCartney, who had the honor of winning the first prize, commented on it following Anderson’s death: “It is fitting that this wonderful prize continues to be handed out, not only to honor those who work with music, but to honor the memory of Stikkan Anderson.”

If organizers have their way, the prize will continue well into the next generations. The nomination process for the 2007 winners has started already, but Pettersson and Holmquist are not revealing any names. We'll all have to wait until October or November for the awards committee to make their announcement.

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Cari Simmons is a freelance writer from Canada living in Stockholm. More than half of the Polar Music Prize winners are represented in her home music collection.

The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.

Classification: A145EN