South Korean composer Unsuk Chin has been awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize presented by the Swiss-based Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

The award is given to a composer, performer, or musicologist, who has made exceptional contributions to the music industry. Chin will be awarded the prize on May 18, 2024 at Munich’s Herkules Hall, where her works will be performed by Ensemble intercontemporain and conductor Pierre Bleuse.

The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation said, “With Unsuk Chin, [we are] honoring an internationally renowned composer. Her works are characterized by lucid, dreamlike sounds and a humorous lightness. The result is music that is easily accessible to the audience, but at the same time remains complex and challenging. Chin sees herself as an international composer who is familiar with both Asian and Western culture.”

Chin is a graduate of Seoul National University and a recipient of the Gaudeamus Foundation grant. She has seen her music performed by such orchestras as the Bavarian State Opera, Berlin Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Radio France Philharmonic, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, among others.

Her music is published exclusively by Boosey & Hawkes.

Additionally, the Foundation announced that the 2024 composer prizes of €35,000 each will go to Bára Gísladóttir, Daniele Ghisi, and Yiqing Zhu.