Estonian composer Arvo Pärt will be awarded the 2026 Goethe Medal. Other recipients include Italian translator Anita Raja and Greek theater director Prodromos Tsinikoris, the Goethe-Institut announced on Tuesday. Institute President Gesche Joost will present the official award of the Federal Republic of Germany at a ceremony in Weimar on August 28.

Arvo Pärt

The Goethe Medal is awarded annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to international cultural exchange. This year, the award is dedicated to Europe, said Joost. "We are honoring three exceptional individuals whose artistic work touches us and who are connected to Germany in a special way."

The 90-year-old composer Pärt, whose music captivates many people worldwide, lived with his family in exile in Berlin from 1981 onwards, Joost explained. "The protection, the friendships, and the artistic resonance he experienced here had a formative influence on his work."

The Goethe Medal has been awarded annually since 1955. It is the official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the most important prize in foreign cultural policy. The recipients are selected by a jury chaired by the author and dramatist Thomas Oberender. Past recipients include the composers György Ligeti (1990), Rolf Liebermann (1997), Sofia Gubaidulina (2001), and Péter Eötvös (2019); the conductor Simone Young (2005); the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim (2007); and the opera and theater director Gerard Mortier (2014, posthumously).

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