Artsakh-born Armenian composer Hovik Sardaryan has been awarded the 2026 Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize, one of the most prestigious international honors in classical music.
Often described as the “Nobel Prize of Music,” the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize was established in 1972 by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and is granted to composers and musical figures whose work has made an outstanding contribution to contemporary music. Alongside the main prize, the Foundation also supports young composers and innovative music projects worldwide.
Sardaryan, 32, is originally from Hadrut, Artsakh, and becomes the first Armenian to receive this distinction. He was recognized for his significant contributions to contemporary composition and for developing a distinctive musical language known as polymonody, characterized by microtonality and complex melodic structures.
Born in Hadrut, Sardaryan received his early musical education at the Stepanakert Sayat-Nova Music College before continuing his studies at the Yerevan State Conservatory. He later pursued advanced training in Germany, where he has lived, studied, and worked for the past decade.
Among his career highlights, Sardaryan was a recipient of the Roche Young Commissions (2021–2023), and his work Ikone was premiered by the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. His compositions span orchestral and chamber music and are regularly performed at leading contemporary music festivals.
