Distinctive and influential, Sir Elton John has left a particular mark on the music trade on a worldwide scale. These are the qualities that led to his being named the fifteenth Glenn Gould Prize Laureate in an announcement that was made by The Glenn Gould Basis earlier in the present day.
The excellence is given out after a system of public nominations that are thought of by a various worldwide jury drawn from a broad vary of backgrounds within the arts, tradition, politics, regulation and human rights.
The Glenn Gould Prize is given to an artist who has not solely created an acclaimed physique of labor which has contributed to humanity by way of their artwork, however whose work reaches past their very own apply. That will come within the type of innovation that evokes others, social contributions, humanitarian work, and their bigger affect within the arts world, amongst different elements.
Sir Elton John
“After spending a long time admiring the virtuosity of Glenn Gould’s work, I’m awestruck and honoured to obtain this award,” stated Sir Elton John in a press release.
Sir Elton John has had a profession within the highlight for greater than a half century. His piano-driven fashion, an anomaly within the guitar-heavy pop rock world that he started his musical life in, went on to encourage many different artists, and redefine the artistry of pop music itself. His songs are immediately recognizable to hundreds of thousands throughout the globe.
His storied profession consists of:
- Greater than 300 million albums offered;
- Over 50 Prime 40 hits;
- 5 Grammy Awards;
- Two Academy Awards;
- One Emmy Award;
- A Tony Award.
“Candle within the Wind”, written with lyricist Bernie Taupin, has the excellence of being the best-selling bodily single of all time.
Alongside together with his excessive profile performing profession, Sir Elton has been a robust advocate for equality and particularly, HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ2A+ rights. He created the Elton John AIDS Basis in 1992, and thus far, it has raised greater than $600 million USD for prevention, remedy, and extra for these affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide.
He has usually supported new and rising artists, and advocated for causes that embrace psychological well being consciousness.
The Glenn Gould Prize
The Glenn Gould Prize was established in 1987 by The Glenn Gould Basis with a view to honouring and increasing the legacy of the long-lasting Canadian pianist.
Awarded biennially, the Prize features a money award of $100K CAD. The Laureate additionally selects a younger artist to obtain a Glenn Gould Protégé Prize, and $25K CAD.
Previous Laureates have included R. Murray Shafer (1987), Yehudi Menuhin (1990), Oscar Peterson (1993), André Previn (2005), Leonard Cohen (2011), Philip Glass (2015), Jessye Norman (2018), and Alanis Obomsawin (2020), amongst others.
The Proper Hon. Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada, was the Jury Chair. Different members of the Jury included: Academy, Emmy and Tony award successful actor Jeremy Irons, creator and lawyer Bernhard Schlink (The Reader), producer Martin Katz (Resort Rwanda), Alexander Neef, Normal Director of the Paris Opera, screenwriter Lee Corridor (Billy Elliot, Struggle Horse, Rocketman), Canadian-born British artist Chris Levine, Sam Jackson, Controller of BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, and Nyla Innuksuk, an Inuk filmmaker, media artist, and digital actuality content material creator.
“In choosing our Laureate, Elton John, we selected to honour somebody who has nice inventive accomplishments however whose life and whose artwork has been translated into one thing a lot better than simply efficiency or the consumption of music and issues they’ve created,” stated the fifteenth Glenn Gould Prize Jury Chair, the Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada.
“Elton John has used his monumental expertise and his nice success to vary lives. He’s been brave in taking up causes, whether or not AIDS, LGBTQ+ rights, habit and all types of points that weren’t fashionable when he engaged with them and he was ready to take the great success that his musical expertise had given him to make a distinction on the planet. And from our perspective that represents the very best degree of feat for an artist and celebrates the reminiscence of Glenn Gould in one of the best ways.”
The announcement passed off throughout a public occasion at Kings Place in London, and the Prize can be awarded at a particular gala celebration in Toronto this fall.
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.
