Polish composer Elzbieta Sikora (*1943) will be awarded the Prize of the President of the French Republic for her entire work. The award ceremony will take place on March 21, at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Paris, under the patronage of Emmanuel Macron, the President of France.
Sikora’s catalogue currently includes approximately 110 works, ranging from electroacoustic to instrumental and vocal music. The composer continues to take on new commissions with the same energy. Her latest monographic album, which includes three concertos (for piano, organ, and violin), is a testament to her talent, the jury statement says.
In 2023 and 2024, on the occasion of Elżbieta Sikora’s 80th birthday, numerous performances of the composer’s works are taking place worldwide. Nearly 30 concerts have been planned, including performances in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, Stockholm, Tallinn, Ljubljana, Oslo, Montreal, São Paulo… Premieres of works such as Tenebrae at the National Opera in Warsaw, and a new Overture at the Zielona Góra Philharmonic, as well as several jubilee concerts took place in Poland.
Elzbieta Sikora studied electroacoustic music in Paris at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer and François Bayle, and composition in Warsaw, under the guidance of Tadeusz Baird and Zbigniew Rudzinski. She was also associated with IRCAM in Paris and CCRMA at Stanford University. She directed the Musica Electronica Nova Festival in Wroclaw.
