Musikfest-Preis 2025 goes to Hervé Niquet & Le Concert Spirituel

French conductor Hervé Niquet and his ensemble Le Concert Spirituel will receive the 2025 Musikfest Bremen Prize. Since 1998, the festival has awarded this non-cash prize annually to outstanding soloists, ensembles, orchestras and conductors who have made their mark on the international music scene through their exceptional artistic achievements and who helped shape the profile of the festival. Previous laureates include Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Jessye Norman, Marc Minkowski, Hélène Grimaud, Janine Jansen, Rolando Villazón, Philippe Herreweghe, Martin Grubinger and, most recently, René Jacobs.

»Since their Musikfest debut in 2005, Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel have consistently demonstrated why they have been one of the leading ensembles in the field of historically informed performance for decades, with concerts at the festival in Bremen, Verden, Friesoythe and Barßel. After careful study of sources and scores, Niquet's work with his ensemble always brings to the fore a deep, intense expression, achieving a delicate balance between passion and restrained nobility. With his keen sense of the dramatic, Niquet succeeds in creating dynamically sophisticated interpretations that, thanks to the remarkable homogeneity of his ensemble, impress with both carefully crafted details and opulent, sweeping splendour«, the jury explained their decision.

This year, on Tuesday, 2 September at St. Petri Cathedral, Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel will reconstruct a pompous festive service held in Florence in the mid-16th century on St. John's Day in honour of the city's patron saint, centred around Alessandro Striggio's »Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno« for five eight-part choirs.

The Musikfest Prize will be handed over to Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel after the concert at a private Musikfest reception in the small auditorium of Bremen's concert hall »Die Glocke«.