Swiss Grand Prix Music to Sol Gabetta

Cellist Sol Gabetta is to receive the Swiss Grand Prix Music 2024, which honors a musician of many talents who enjoys international recognition as a soloist, the Federal Office of Culture announced on Thursday. Gabetta is currently one of the best-known and most popular cellists in the world. The prize, endowed with 100,000 Swiss francs (around 85,900 Pounds), will be awarded to the artist on 12 September in Lausanne.

“I feel very honored,” explained Gabetta. “It gives me more energy to realize projects in Switzerland. Projects that can help the younger generation and that offer different perspectives for our culture and our musical life.”

Born in Argentina in 1981, Gabetta studied at the Basel Music Academy, where she has been teaching since 2005, and at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. Since 2006, she has lived in the municipality of Olsberg in the canton of Aargau, where she directs the Solsberg Chamber Music Festival, which she founded. She was granted Swiss citizenship in 2018.

Gabetta gained international fame in 2004 with her debut at the Lucerne Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic. Since then, she has performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras and artists. In addition to the classical repertoire, the cellist also interprets contemporary compositions. From 2010 to 2023, she hosted the music program “KlickKlack” on Bavarian television.