Youssou Ndour
The winners of the one million Swedish crown (€117,000) Polar Music Prize: Singer Youssou Ndour from Senegal in West Africa and Kaija Saariaho from Finland. Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf gave them their awards in Stockholm in August 2013.
The winners were chosen by the Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The academy said that Ndour is "not just a singer, but a storyteller, poet, singer of praise, entertainer and verbal historian".
"With his exceptionally exuberant strålande band... and his musically ground breaking and political solo albums, Youssou Ndour has worked to reduce animosities (hat) between his own religion, Islam, and other religions."
"His voice encompasses (has) an entire continent's history and future, blood and love, dreams and power."
Saariaho has written chamber music kammarmusik, orchestral works, and operas. The Royal Academy called her "a modern maestro who opens up our ears öron and causes their anvils and stirrups hammaren och stigbygeln (små ben i örat) to fall in love".
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