The Jury for the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts 2001, convened in Oviedo, comprising José Antonio Álvarez Gundín, Fernando Argenta, Álvaro Fernández-Villaverde y de Silva, duke of San Carlos, Guillermo García Alcalde, Manuel Gómez de Pablos Gónzalez, Luis Hernando, Rosa María Malet, Manuel Martín Ferrand, María Teresa Ocaña, Miguel de Oriol e Ybarra, Benigno Pendás García, Juan Ramón Pérez Las Clotas, Ana Rodríguez Navarro, Rodrigo Uría Meruéndano, Amelia Valcárcel, chaired by José Lladó Fernández-Urrutia and with José Antonio Caicoya as secretary, has decided by majority vote to grant the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts 2001 to Krzysztof Penderecki, the Polish composer and conductor. His talent for innovation in every genre, even in times of political and social adversity, and his ability to integrate different facets of the music of the latter half of the twentieth century, make him a key player in projecting the culture of Eastern Europe towards the rest of the world.

Oviedo, 30th May 2001