Here are the nominees for the 2024 Nordic Council Music Prize

This year’s nominations give us the opportunity to delve into a broad thematic palette of Nordic music, including a 20-minute orchestral work that highlights approximately the last 600 million years of biodiversity and extinction, a Grammy-winning album by Iceland’s most streamed artist, and a work which is an ever-evolving artistic system, along with many other equally valuable nominations. 

Here are the nominees:

These twelve works have been nominated by the members of the adjudication committee for the Nordic Council Music Prize.
 

The winner of the 2024 Nordic Council Music Prize will be announced on 22 October during a television broadcast produced by the Icelandic public service broadcaster RÚV, which will be available to watch in all the Nordic countries. During the Session of the Nordic Council in Reykjavik, which takes place in the last week of October, the winner will receive the “Nordlys” prize statuette at a special award ceremony. The prize is worth DKK 300,000. 

The Nordic Council Music Prize was first awarded in 1965 and recognises the creation and performance of music of a high artistic standard. The prize is awarded on alternate years to a work by a living composer in one year, and an individual performer or group the next. This year the music prize will go to a work by a composer.

The Nordic Council awards five prizes each year – for literature, film, music, the environment, and children’s and young people’s literature. The purpose of the Nordic Council prizes is to draw attention to outstanding artistic and environmental contributions, as well as to raise interest in the Nordic cultural community and Nordic co-operation on the environment.

Text updated on 28 August with information about the announcement of the winner under the heading “Winner to be announced on 22 October”.