Overview

• The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is the 2025 recipient of the Birgit-Nilsson-Preis, the world’s richest classical music award.
• This marks the first time the $1 million prize has been awarded to a music festival since its inception in 2009.
• The award recognizes the festival's artistic excellence and innovation, highlighting the 2021 premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s opera 'Innocence.'
• The prize will be formally presented by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on October 21, 2025, at the Konzerthaus in Stockholm.
• This announcement comes shortly after the sudden death of the festival’s director, Pierre Audi, earlier this month at the age of 67.