Tyrolean State Prize for Art 2025 awarded to Johannes Maria Staud
The Tyrolean State Prize for Art, worth €14,000, goes to Johannes Maria Staud, a composer born in Innsbruck and professor of composition at the Mozarteum University. The jury unanimously agreed that Staud is one of Austria's most important contemporary composers. We send our warmest congratulations!
The Tyrolean State Prize for Art has been awarded annually since 1984 as the most highly endowed award in the field of art and culture, in recognition of outstanding artistic achievements and in appreciation of an entire body of work or exceptional individual achievements. It is the highest award of the State of Tyrol in the field of culture.
Composer with radiance
Johannes Maria Staud studied composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. He also studied musicology and philosophy in Vienna.
He has received numerous awards for his compositional work, including the International Rostrum of Composers Prize (2003), the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Prize (2004), the Paul Hindemith Prize of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (2009), the Music Prize of the City of Vienna (2012) and the Austrian Art Prize for Music (2022).
His catalogue of works includes commissions from renowned institutions such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Ensemble Modern, the Klangforum Wien and the Ensemble Intercontemporain. His works have been premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle and the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, among others.
After a visiting professorship in composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in the 2015/16 academic year, Johannes Maria Staud has been a university professor of composition at the Mozarteum University Salzburg since the 2018/19 winter semester.
The jury's reasoning:
‘Johannes Maria Staud is one of Austria's most important contemporary composers. His artistic work is characterised by an extraordinary sound aesthetic and intellectual depth. In addition, Staud passes on his artistic vision to the next generation as a teacher and mentor. The composer stands for music that is not only meant to be heard, but also experienced and reflected upon.’
‘Johannes Maria Staud's compositions are performed worldwide by the most renowned ensembles. With his compositional work, he has had a formative influence on contemporary music and passionately imparts his expertise to young musicians,’ said Governor Anton Mattle, thanking and congratulating the award winner.
The award ceremony for the 2025 Tyrolean State Prize for Art to Johannes Maria Staud will take place on 23 September 2025 at the Festival of Culture in the House of Music in Innsbruck.