Bethan Morgan Williams awarded Ernst von Siemens Music Prize

Bethan Morgan Williams has become the first Welsh recipient of an Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. She will join fellow award winners Jordi Savall, Hovik Sardaryan, Kitty Xiao and the ensembles NO HAY BANDA and Ensemble for New Music Tallinn at the Prize Ceremony will take place on 23 May at the Prinzregententheater in Munich.

The Ernst von Siemens Music 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.