The people's minimalist, Steve Reich has won the 2013 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for contemporary composition. The news came from Reich's publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, on Tuesday.
The award, in association with a Spanish financial services group, carries a cash prize of 400,000 euros (which roughly equates to $550,000) and will be presented at a ceremony in June.
According to the New York Times' ArtsBeat blog, Reich received the award because he has "carved out new paths, fostering a dialogue between popular and high culture and between Western modernity and non-European traditions, achieving a rich combination of complexity and transparency."
ArtsBeat further noted that the jury praised Reich's engagement "with thorny global issues, including the Sept. 11 attacks, and philosophical ones, like the relationship between faith, science and technology."
Last year, Pierre Boulez received the award--one of eight that the foundation deals out annually.
Until he sees the money, here's Reich's Mallet Quartet performed by Amandida Percussion.
