Tabea Zimmermann Receives the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize
Prof. Tabea Zimmermann has been awarded the renowned international Ernst von Siemens Music Prize for 2020. This honor, in recognition of a lifetime of service to music, is endowed with €250,000. Since 2002, Zimmermann has trained numerous violists at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, many of them now successful soloists or members of prestigious orchestras.
In explaining his decision, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation stated:
“In giving the award to Tabea Zimmermann, the board of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation has decided to highlight the work of an artist who has put all of her energy into the very core of musical life, sharing this with her audience. Through her deep musical understanding and her unconditional love of music, which she expresses with indescribable enthusiasm, she has used her viola to help shape the musical landscape in a most impressive manner. This prize thus honours her incorruptible musicianship, her authentic and personal approach as well as her artistic integrity, in addition to her uncompromising standards of quality, the new life she has breathed into the viola as an instrument, her dedication to contemporary music and, last but not least, her incredible contribution to education.”
The award ceremony will take place on May 11, 2020 at the Prinzregententheater in Munich. The eulogy will be delivered by Norbert Lammert, Former President of the German Bundestag. Altogether, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation distributes more than €3.6 million in prize money and financial assistance.