Zurich Festival Prize 2017 goes to von Matt
The German scholar Peter von Matt, who turns 80 this year, will receive the 2017 Zurich Festival Prize, endowed with 50,000 Swiss francs, in recognition of "his services as a cultural mediator and for his outstanding literary work".
The Artistic Committee of the Zurich Festival, consisting of the directors of the Schauspielhaus, Opernhaus, Kunsthaus and Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, has decided to award the 2017 Zurich Festival Prize to the Germanist and writer Peter von Matt. The interdisciplinary prize, endowed with CHF 50,000 and made possible by the Bär-Kaelin Fund of the Zurich Festival Foundation, recognizes outstanding achievements in Zurich's cultural life.
The Zurich Festival Prize is made possible by the Bär-Kaelin Fund of the Zurich Festival Foundation and recognizes outstanding achievements in Zurich's cultural life. It will be awarded for the eleventh time in 2017. The Zurich Festival Artistic Commission acts as the jury. While the prize was previously awarded during the Zurich Festival, the 2017 award ceremony will take place for the first time in the preparatory year between two editions of the Festival.
Previous winners: 2007 Heinz Holliger, 2008 Luc Bondy, 2009 Peter Stein, 2010 György Kurtág, 2011 Matti Salminen, 2012 Heinz Spoerli, 2013 Pipilotti Rist, 2014 Fritz Senn, 2015 Anna Viebrock, 2016 Sophie Hunger.
