Rolf Schock unites Science, the Arts and Music

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts and The Royal Academy of Music have decided that the Rolf Schock Prize of 2008, a sum of 2 million SEK, should be awarded in the fields of: Mathematics to ENDRE SZEMERÉDI (born in Hungary), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, NJ, USA and the Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary, “for his deep and pioneering work from 1975 on arithmetic progressions in subsets of the integers, which has led to great progress and discoveries in several branches of mathematics”. Logic and Philosophy to THOMAS NAGEL (born in the former Yugoslavia), New York University, NY, USA, “for his systematic investigation of the tension between subjective and objective perspectives on reality and of how this tension gives rise to fundamental philosophical problems”. The Visual Arts to MONA HATOUM (born in Lebanon), “for a rich and multi-faceted artistic oeuvre which mirrors experiences involving exile and gender. In a highly sensitive way, Mona Hatoum has availed herself of recent developments as regards means of artistic expression and choice of materials in order to set forth ideas of great urgency and deep personal experiences”. Musical Arts to GIDON KREMER (born in Latvia), “for his artistic integrity and tireless curiosity in constantly re-evaluating his experiences and challenging his audiences with innovative interpretations of both contemporary music and older repertoires”. The Rolf Schock Prizes are triennial and are awarded in the fields of logic and philosophy, mathematics, the visual arts and musical arts. The prize is SEK 500,000 per category, making a total of SEK 2 million. The prize-giving ceremony will take place on 22 October, 2008 in Grünewaldssalen, Konserthuset (The Concert Hall), Kungsgatan 43, Stockholm. There will be a press meeting (breakfast) on the same day at 8.30 am–10 am in Ledamotssalen, Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien (The Royal Academy of Music), Nybrokajen 11, Stockholm. Please read more about the laureates and their work, and about the founder of the prizes in the attached PDF file. Contacts Mathematics: Professor Anders Björner, Institut Mittag-Leffler, +46-8-622 05 60, bjorner@mittag-leffler.se Logic and philosophy: Professor Lars Bergström, Stockholm Univ., +46-8-16 42 09, lars.bergstrom@philosophy.su.se The Visual Arts: Permanent Secretary Olle Granath, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, +46-8-10 22 08, olle.granath@konstakademien.se Musical Arts; Permanent Secretary Åke Holmquist,The Royal Academy of Music, +46-8-407 18 04 Press contact: Randy Jämtlid, +46-704-66 28 34, randy@kva.se