Liza Lim wins Mauricio Kagel Music Prize

The Australian composer receives the Kunststiftung NRW’s 2026 award, with an €80,000 package that includes funding for a new work.

Australian composer Liza Lim has been named the recipient of the 2026 Music Prize of the Kunststiftung NRW – Mauricio Kagel Music Prize, recognising her experimental approach and distinctive artistic voice.

The award carries a total value of €80,000, including €50,000 earmarked for the performance of a newly created work with an ensemble from North Rhine-Westphalia. The performance is intended to take place in the German state within three years.

The jury praised Lim’s ability to extend composition beyond purely musical expression, identifying an affinity with Mauricio Kagel’s artistic thinking while recognising her independent approach.

An international career

Lim’s output encompasses chamber and orchestral music as well as five operas. Ritual, the physical properties of sound and instruments, and ecological questions are recurring concerns in her work.

Her international standing is reflected in commissions from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, alongside leading contemporary music groups including Ensemble intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern and Klangforum Wien. She holds the Sculthorpe Chair of Australian Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Recognition rooted in artistic experimentation

The prize continues an initiative established in 2011 in the name of Mauricio Kagel, whose work brought music into close dialogue with theatre, film and performance. It combines recognition of an established artistic career with practical support for a new production.

Previous recipients include Georges Aperghis, Michel van der Aa, Rebecca Saunders and Simon Steen-Andersen. Manos Tsangaris received the award in 2024.

The award ceremony will take place on 16 November 2026 at Kolumba in Cologne.