The Kohn Bach Prize has been awarded regularly since 2007 as the brainchild of Sir Ralph Kohn to celebrate major performers, scholars and advocates for Bach. Over those years it has been given to artists including Andras Schiff, Masaaki Suzuki, the Thomanerchor, Rachel Podger, John Butt and Iain Ledingham.
As John Butt said when presenting the award:
‘Jonathan’s work since his appointment as Principal in 2008 has resulted in the Academy becoming a world centre for the cultivation of Bach’s music. We’ve all been lucky beneficiaries of a 15-year Bach banquet served up to us by Jonathan’s indefatigable championing of this seminal repertoire. He demands the very best and stretches the capabilities of his collaborators in their artistic endeavours, bringing immense sophistication and vivid imagination to realizing vast projects that leave a rich and long-lasting legacy’.
The final Bach in Leipzig concert will take place on Sunday 3 December. In 2024 the Academy will present Resounding Shores, a new programme exploring the music and legacy of Purcell, his forebears and contemporaries.
Images © Frances Marshall