In Friday’s (6/19) New York Times, Dave Itzkoff reports, “The French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez will be among the winners of the Kyoto Prize, awarded annually by the Inamori Foundation in Japan to recognize ‘contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind,’ the foundation said in a news release. Mr. Boulez, 84, will be the prize’s laureate in its arts and philosophy category. (Awards are also given in the disciplines of basic sciences and advanced technology.) The foundation recognized Mr. Boulez for his contributions to the musical field of serialism, and for his ‘controlled chance’ compositions and his work as director of the Institute for Research and Coordination Acoustic/Music at the Pompidou Center in Paris. Mr. Boulez and his fellow laureates will be honored in a week of ceremonies that start on Nov. 9 and will receive gold medals and cash prizes of about $500,000 each.”
Photo credit: Todd Rosenberg
