Kirill Petrenko has been named the recipient of will receive the 2026 Léonie Sonning Music Prize.

The historic honor comes with 1 million DKK, and Petrenko will join such recipients as Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, and Miles Davis, who have previously been awarded the prize.

The Russian conductor will receive the prize next year in a gala concert at DR Koncerthuset on June 13, 2026. The event will mark Petrenko’s first collaboration with the DR Symphony Orchestra as well as a rare chance to experience the sought-after conductor on Danish soil. He will perform music by Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Richard Strauss.

In a statement, Petrenko said, “Just as I was completely surprised to receive this prestigious award, I was equally honored when I learned about it. Seeing the list of the greatest musicians of past decades with whom I have been placed—this is truly humbling. I thank the Léonie Sonning Music Foundation for this recognition, and I look forward to performing next June in Copenhagen together with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of the award ceremony.”

From 1997 to 2018, Kirill Petrenko primarily conducted opera at a number of the world’s leading opera houses. He began his career at the Vienna Volksoper 1997, and was later appointed Music Director of the Theater Meiningen. From 2002 to 2007, Petrenko served as Music Director of the Komische Oper Berlin, and from 2013 to 2020, he held the position of General Music Director at the Bayerische Staatsoper.

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