The 2014 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the category of contemporary music was awarded to György Kurtág on February 10th, 2015. The renowned Hungarian composer was nominated by both the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music and the Széchenyi Academy of Arts. The award is funded by the Spanish BBVA Foundation in order to promote and disseminate world-class scientific research and artistic creation. This honorable prize (worth 400,000€) was presented to Kurtág by the BBVA on June 23th, 2015. As the part of the celebrations (beside the orchestral works by Ravel and Berlioz) Kurtág's juvenile work Movement for viola and orchestra was performed by Philip Dukes and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi conducted by Jun Märkl. 

The jury in the contemporary music category stated that, "The novel dimension of Kurtág’s music lies not in the material he uses but in its spirit, the authenticity of its language, and the way it crosses borders between spontaneity and reflection, between formalism and expression." Additionally they are quoted as saying that Kurtág’s music, "…defies any system, accepts no compromise, and has traced a path independent from the mainstream. Today it stands as an alternative to a vision of history apparently confined to the opposition between innovation and a return to old models, between a music withdrawn into itself and a music that aims to communicate as broadly as possible." 

The Foundation implements its programs in partnership with leading scientific and cultural organizations in Spain and abroad. It strives to prioritize those projects with the power to advance knowledge frontiers across the world. The BBVA Foundation established its Frontiers of Knowledge Awards in 2008 to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions in a broad range of scientific and technological fields while also representing cultural creativity at its expressive height in the area of music.

For more information, please visit the website of the Foundation.