Sonorous award: One of the five Bavarian State Prizes for Music goes to Gräfelfing this year. Manfred Eicher, co-founder and producer of the record label ECM Records based in the Würmtal municipality, receives the special award for his outstanding life’s work. Born in Lindau, he is regarded as a style-defining producer who “actively helps shape the musical events in the studio”, as they say. The label ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music), founded in 1969, has enjoyed a high reputation for many decades, primarily in the field of contemporary jazz and contemporary classical music. “With visionary energy, tireless creativity and a sure feeling for individual sound aesthetics” he helped shape the course of jazz worldwide for over 50 years, the expert jury justified their choice.
The State Prize for Music is awarded by the Bavarian Minister of State for Science and Art and covers all areas of music, from professionals to amateur music. “The award winners are cultural ambassadors who, with dedication and talent, carry the diversity of Bavarian music to all regions of the Free State, Germany and the whole world,” said Minister of the Arts Markus Blume (CSU).
In addition to Eicher, who has already received the Grammy Award (“Best Classical Producer of the Year”) and the Music Prize of the City of Munich, the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the mobile concert stage “Der blaue Eumel” from Würzburg (professional area) as well as the Oberammergau conductor and choir director Markus Zwink and the Munich Via Nova Choir (amateurs). The awards are being presented for the fifth time this year, and the ceremony is to take place at a ceremony on July 5 in the Cuvilliéstheater in Munich.