Conductor Joana Mallwitz Wins Germany's Markgräfler Gutedel Prize for 2025

Mallwitz, who has been honored for her creative contribution to public life, will receive the distinction at a ceremony in September

Germany's Markgräfler Gutedel Prize is administered by the Markgräfler Gutegesellschaft, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to cultural promotion in the Markgräflerland region of Germany.

It recognizes outstanding creative work in the public sphere across all disciplines, and has previously been awarded to visual artists, a singer-songwriter, a politician, and a Nobel Prize-winner.

The German conductor Joana Mallwitz has been named as the recipient of this year's prize.

Mallwitz will receive the honor at a ceremony on Saturday, September 27, 2025, in Neuenburg am Rhein.

The first woman to lead one of Berlin's major orchestras, Mallwitz has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Konzerthaus Berlin since 2023. In the 2024/25 season, she will make debuts with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and at the Metropolitan Opera.

She is signed exclusively to the Deutsche Grammophon label and will soon undertake her first project for the label, a recording of the works of Kurt Weill with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.

"In times of profound social, political, media, and economic change, there is a more urgent need than ever for clear, convincing voices that convey culture in all its diversity as what it is: an indispensable necessity, a treasure of civilization that must not only be preserved but also increased," the citation reads.

"With her outstanding artistic work and her inspiring influence on young musicians – and especially female musicians – Joana Mallwitz is shaping the future in a very concrete way: as a great role model, in her commitment to promoting young talent, in her captivating way of communicating music, and in her courage to break new ground."