# Léonie Sonning Music Prize

The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, or Sonning Award, which is recognized as Denmark's highest musical honor, is given annually to an international composer or musician. It was first awarded in 1959 to composer Igor Stravinsky. Laureates are now selected by the directors of The Léonie Sonning Music Foundation, which was founded in 1965.
The diploma is in Danish, and the prize includes EUR 133,000 (US$ 146,400) and a monotype by the Danish painter Maja Lisa Engelhardt. Honorees are treated to a concert, typically held in Copenhagen, and are often invited to teach a master class of Danish musicians.
The award is not directly related to the Sonning Prize, which is the Danish award presented by a foundation in memory of Sonning's late husband, Carl Johan Sonning [da].

## Laureates

| Year | Laureate | Country |
| 1959 | Igor Stravinsky | Soviet Union |
| 1965 | Leonard Bernstein | United States |
| 1966 | Birgit Nilsson | Sweden |
| 1967 | Witold Lutosławski | Poland |
| 1968 | Benjamin Britten | United Kingdom |
| 1969 | Boris Christoff | Bulgaria |
| 1970 | Sergiu Celibidache | Romania |
| 1971 | Arthur Rubinstein | Poland/ United States |
| 1972 | Yehudi Menuhin | United States |
| 1973 | Dmitri Shostakovich | Soviet Union |
| 1974 | Andrés Segovia | Spain |
| 1975 | Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau | West Germany |
| 1976 | Mogens Wöldike | Denmark |
| 1977 | Olivier Messiaen | France |
| 1978 | Jean-Pierre Rampal | France |
| 1979 | Janet Baker | United Kingdom |
| 1980 | Marie-Claire Alain | France |
| 1981 | Mstislav Rostropovich | Soviet Union |
| 1982 | Isaac Stern | United States |
| 1983 | Rafael Kubelík | Czechoslovakia |
| 1984 | Miles Davis | United States |
| 1985 | Pierre Boulez | France |
| 1986 | Sviatoslav Richter | Soviet Union |
| 1987 | Heinz Holliger | Switzerland |
| 1988 | Peter Schreier | East Germany |
| 1989 | Gidon Kremer | Soviet Union |
| 1990 | György Ligeti | Hungary/ Austria |
| 1991 | Eric Ericson | Sweden |
| 1992 | Georg Solti | Hungary/ United Kingdom |
| 1993 | Nikolaus Harnoncourt | Austria |
| 1994 | Krystian Zimerman | Poland |
| 1995 | Yuri Bashmet | Russia |
| 1996 | Per Nørgård | Denmark |
| 1997 | Andras Schiff | Hungary/ United Kingdom |
| 1998 | Hildegard Behrens | Germany |
| 1999 | Sofia Gubaidulina | Russia |
| 2000 | Michala Petri | Denmark |
| 2001 | Anne-Sophie Mutter | Germany |
| 2002 | Alfred Brendel | Austria |
| 2003 | György Kurtág | Hungary |
| 2004 | Keith Jarrett | United States |
| 2005 | John Eliot Gardiner | United Kingdom |
| 2006 | Yo-Yo Ma | United States |
| 2007 | Lars Ulrik Mortensen | Denmark |
| 2008 | Arvo Pärt | Estonia |
| 2009 | Daniel Barenboim | Argentina |
| 2010 | Cecilia Bartoli | Italy |
| 2011 | Kaija Saariaho | Finland |
| 2012 | Jordi Savall | Spain |
| 2013 | Simon Rattle | United Kingdom |
| 2014 | Martin Fröst | Sweden |
| 2015 | Thomas Adès | United Kingdom |
| 2016 | Herbert Blomstedt | Sweden |
| 2017 | Leonidas Kavakos | Greece |
| 2018 | Mariss Jansons | Latvia |
| 2019 | Hans Abrahamsen | Denmark |
| 2020 | Barbara Hannigan | Canada |
| 2021 | Unsuk Chin | South Korea |
| 2022 | Pierre-Laurent Aimard | France |
| 2023 | Evelyn Glennie | Scotland |
| 2024 | Emmanuel Pahud | Switzerland |