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The Mozarteum University congratulates its alumna Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin on receiving the Grand Art Prize of the State of Salzburg 2024! With this award, which is being presented to a female composer for the first time this year, the State of Salzburg is sending a strong signal in favour of the importance and creativity of women in music. The Grand Art Prize is endowed with 20,000 euros and is awarded annually alternately in the fields of visual arts, literature, music and performing arts.
Deputy Governor Stefan Schnöll honoured the prizewinner as a pioneering artist: ‘This is the first time a female composer has received this recognition award and the first time a woman has ever received it in the field of music. This is a strong sign of the quality, creativity and importance of women in music. With her multi-faceted and differentiated work, she is highly deserving of the prize.’
Born in Moscow, the composer and pianist began her musical education in Russia and Bulgaria before starting her studies at the Mozarteum Salzburg in 1994. There she studied composition with Boguslaw Schaeffer and piano with Alfons Kontarsky. Since then, Karastoyanova-Hermentin has maintained a close artistic relationship with the city of Salzburg. Many of her works have been premiered at major Salzburg music festivals such as ‘Aspekte’ and ‘Dialoge’. Particularly outstanding is her orchestral work ‘Annäherung’, which she composed on behalf of the State of Salzburg for the Mozart Year 2006.
The prizewinner was deeply moved by the award and the recognition of her work: ‘I am delighted to receive this honour from the State of Salzburg. Deeply rooted in the Salzburg music scene for three decades now, numerous of my commissioned compositions have been realised in first and world premieres. My thanks go above all to the great performers, the indomitable organisers and a curious, unbiased audience’
The jury, consisting of renowned personalities such as Sabine Reiter (mica - music information centre austria), Ludwig Nussbichler (Director of Musikum Salzburg) and musician Thomas Heißbauer, praised the composer for the complexity of her works, which balance rationality and intuition and enrich musical life enormously. She draws on influences from Russian-Bulgarian folk music, jazz and various eras without quoting them directly. Instead, she develops her own individual musical logic for each piece.
The Grand Art Prize of the State of Salzburg will be awarded at a ceremony on 12 November 2024. The Mozarteum University is proud to have such an exceptional artist among its graduates and congratulates her on this well-deserved honour!
