Early Music titan Jordi Savall Wins 2026 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize
The Catalan viol player, conductor and scholar Jordi Savall has been awarded the 2026 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, one of the most prestigious international awards for lifetime achievement in music. Endowed with €250,000, the prize will be presented on May 23rd 2026 at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, where Savall will conduct Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya in a celebratory concert.
In making the award, the jury cites Savall’s “outstanding lifetime achievement” as a performer, researcher and musical ambassador. For more than five decades he has been a central figure in the development of historically informed performance, shaping how early music is studied, performed and heard. His recordings and concerts are widely regarded as reference points, while his work as a teacher and ensemble director has influenced generations of musicians.
Social engagement and the moral obligations of being a musician, harnessing music's power as a force for good, has long been part of Savall's mission. In 2018 he founded Orpheus XXI, an ensemble bringing together refugee musicians from North Africa and the Arab world. His research has traced the circulation of musical traditions along historical migration and trade routes, including those shaped by the slave trade, highlighting the shared roots of African and European musics. Savall continues to champion music's role as a vital force in cultural and political dialogue and reconciliation.
In recent years, Savall has placed increasing emphasis on education and professional training. Through the Youth Orchestra and Choir Professional Academies (YOCPA), run by the Fundació Centre Internacional de Música Antica (CIMA) with EU support, young musicians work intensively with established performers on demanding repertoire, culminating in public concerts and professional recordings under Savall’s artistic direction.
Central to Savall’s impact has been the ensemble infrastructure he built, largely in collaboration with his late wife, the soprano Montserrat Figueras. Hespèrion XX (now XXI), founded in 1974, focused initially on Iberian repertoire; La Capella Reial de Catalunya followed in 1987, devoted to medieval sacred music; and Le Concert des Nations, founded in 1989, extended historically informed performance into Baroque, Classical and early Romantic orchestral repertoire. In 1998 Savall established the Alia Vox record label, which has since released more than 230 recordings and sold over two million CDs worldwide.
Savall began his training as a cellist in Barcelona before turning to the viola da gamba, an instrument he would help return to international prominence. After studying at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel—where he later taught—he embarked on a career that combined performance with archival research into medieval and Renaissance sources. International recognition followed in 1991 with the soundtrack to Tous les matins du monde, which brought the sound world of the viol to a huge global audience.
Alongside Savall’s award, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation has also announced its 2026 Composer and Ensemble Prize recipients, while confirming an increase in its total annual funding to €4.3 million.
Prize ceremony details
The Ernst von Siemens Music Prize ceremony will take place on May 23rd 2026 at the Prinzregententheater, Munich. The programme will feature Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya, conducted by Jordi Savall, with a laudatory address by Edouard Mätzener. Further information is available at https://evs-musikstiftung.ch/en/.
To learn more about Jordi Savall's influential life and career, read our exclusive Continuo Connect interview.