"I am extremely grateful for this prize and for all the appreciation I have received from the industry in recent times – not least in connection with my 80th birthday last year. It feels both overwhelming and fantastic at the same time", says the 81-year-old prize winner in a press release.
Daniel Börtz broke through as a composer already in the 1970s, but got his absolute breakthrough with Ingmar Bergman's "The Bacchae" in 1991. The opera "Marie Antoinette" from 1998 also became a success and is often, after Karl-Birger Blomdahl's "Aniara", seen as the most performed modern Swedish opera.
The music publishers highlight Börtz's ability to "unite deep musical complexity with strong emotional resonance". Previous years, among others, Karin Rehnqvist, Mauro Scocco, Björn & Benny, and Robyn have received the prize.