The Polar Music Prize was first awarded in 1992. It acknowledges musicians for exceptional lifetime achievements, transcending musical genres and breaking down musical boundaries. Past winners have included pop musician Elton John, conductor Nicholas Harnoncourt and the jazz legend, Dizzy Gillespie. This year, there were three winners, the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and the American musicians, Burt Bacharach and Robert Moog.

Karlheinz Stockhausen is regarded as one of the most innovative composers of the 20th century. He was a pioneer of electronic music and contributed significantly to the formulation of serial music. In the 1950's, Stockhausen, together with Pierre Boulez and Luigi Nono, was one of the leading figures of the Darmstadt serial school.

Some of the highlights of Stockhausen's artistic work include the world exhibition concerts in the spherical auditorium in Osaka, his musical-theatrical actions such as INORI, or the seven-part cosmic music theatre cycle LICHT (Light), which is now almost complete.

Karlheinz Stockhausen has so far written more than 285 works, recorded more than 100 different CD's of his own works and published ten volumes of texts on music. He has been the recipient of many honors both at home and abroad, including the Federal Order of Merit 1st Class, the German Record Prize and the UNESCO Picasso Medal. He has also received an honorary doctorate from the FU Berlin (Freie Universität or Free University Berlin).