Emperor Otto Prize 2025 honors Lisa Batiashvili and Igor Levit for their commitment against war and anti-Semitism
Violinist Lisa Batiashvili and pianist Igor Levit will be honored with the Emperor Otto Prize 2025. The prize committee and the Emperor Otto Cultural Foundation are thus honoring the many years of commitment of two internationally popular artists against war and anti-Semitism. Mayor Simone Borris will present the award at a ceremony in Magdeburg Cathedral exactly one year from now, on July 2, 2025.
Igor Levit, the exceptional pianist and professor of piano at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, who is dedicated to the topic of anti-Semitism, campaigns against the exclusion of refugees – loudly and unconventionally if necessary, but in any case directly and unmistakably.
Lisa Batiashvili, the Georgian-born violinist, has repeatedly and clearly positioned herself against the Russian war of aggression since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, organizing benefit concerts and collecting donations to support Ukrainian musicians as much as possible. With her own foundation, the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation, she supports young, up-and-coming Georgian musical talent.
“With Lisa Batiashvili and Igor Levit, the selection committee opted for an artist who not only presents her masterful skills as a celebrated soloist on the major international stages, but also uses her popularity to take on political and social responsibility,” says Mayor Simone Borris, explaining the reasons for the selection. “They give a voice to people who cannot speak for themselves or are not sufficiently heard. They support young artists and use their art to motivate people to get politically involved. Their determination, their actions and their courageous language in music are closely linked to the values that the Emperor Otto Prize stands for.”
2025 is a special anniversary year for the Emperor Otto Cultural Foundation. Every two years, the Board of Trustees, together with the Foundation’s Board of Directors and other appointed personalities from the worlds of art, culture, society, politics, business and science, selects the winner of the Emperor Otto Prize. In 2025, the Emperor Otto Cultural Foundation will be celebrating the 10th award ceremony and the 20th anniversary of the prestigious prize. This special anniversary was the reason why the prize committee agreed in February of this year to nominate two personalities for the most important prize of the City of Magdeburg.
High-ranking guests from Germany and abroad are once again expected to attend the award ceremony on July 2, 2025. Organizational planning for the ceremony has already begun. More information on the work of the Emperor Otto Cultural Foundation is available online at www.kulturstiftung-kaiser-otto.de.
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Picture credits: Photographer Chris Singer
