As the winners of Sweden's prestigious Polar Music Prize, US heavy metal band Metallica and an Afghan music institute are set to be honored by the Swedish royal family on Thursday.
Image: Imago/Pacific Press Agency/A. Bosio
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It may be heavy metal, but the Swedish royals won't shy away from the Polar Music Prize ceremony scheduled for June 14 in Stockholm. Swedish King Carl Gustaf and his royal family are slated to attend the televised gala honoring US band Metallica and Afghanistan's National Institute of Music.
The Polar Music Prize is often called the "Nobel Prize" for music.
In February, when this year's laureates were announced, the jury cited Metallica for its "physical and furious" music. "Through virtuoso ensemble playing and its use of extremely accelerated tempos, Metallica has taken rock music to places it had never been before," the panel's statement read.
The band has sold 110 million albums worldwide, with some of its hits including "Enter Sandman" and "Nothing Else Matters."
The other winner, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and its founding director, Ahmad Sarmast, were praised for using "the power of music to transform young people's lives." Sarmast started his school in 2010 — a unique co-educational initiative in the war-torn country.
The institute teaches both Afghan and Western music. It helped to create the country's first all-female orchestra, which performed last year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Zohra, Afghanistan's first all-female orchestra, performed at the WEF in Davos in 2017Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Keystone/G. Ehrenzeller
Sarmast has faced substantial risk in a country where both music and girls' education was banned under the repressive 1996-2001 Taliban regime.
The institution "revives Afghan music, and shows you can transform lives through music," said the jury of the award.
"We believe that our two recipients, although from very contrasting worlds, exemplify the mission of the Polar Music Prize, and that is to honor musicians and music organisations whose work has made a difference to people's lives," Marie Ledin, managing director of the award, said in a statement.
The Swedish prize is awarded every year to one contemporary and one classical musician or group. Each award is worth 1 million kronor ($130,000). Previous recipients include Sting, Bob Dylan, Bjork, Sonny Rollins and Ravi Shankar.
The man who portrayed music's best: Anton Corbijn
From U2 to Metallica, the Rolling Stones and Johnny Cash, Dutch photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn has immortalized the world's top musicians. A retrospective in Berlin celebrates his work.
Image: AP
Born photographer and filmmaker
He would later work with Depeche Mode and U2, but Anton Corbijn began as a self-taught photographer. He was born on May 20,1955 in Strijen, the Netherlands, as the son of a pastor. From the early 1980s he moved from photography to music videos. In 2007 Corbijn rose to global prominence as a feature filmmaker with "Control" (pictured), about the life of singer Ian Curtis from the band Joy Division.
Image: picture-alliance/Capelight Pictures/Rogers
The first great love: music
Music fascinated the introverted Corbijn from his early youth. For him, the camera was a social tool which helped him overcome social barriers and connect him with his favorite artists. The camera allowed him to drop his reserved guard and, through photography, led to many deep connections and friendships with his many subjects - including Irish band U2.
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
The second great love: photography
Corbijn's black-and-white photographs always speak in the language of melancholy. With a Hasselblad camera he portrayed musicians, painters, models, and actors. In 2002 he shot a series of self-portraits, in which he was disguised as dead rock musicians. Here he poses in front of a self-portrait which part of his retrospective exhibition.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. de Waal
Corbijn and post-punk
At 19 Corbijn decided to become a freelance photographer. At the beginning of the 1980s he moved from The Hague to London. One of the first bands he photographed in his adopted home were post punk pioneers Joy Division. He soon became an in-demand photographer for music bible "NME," snapping Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, and many more - including David Bowie.
Image: Victoria and Albert Museum
Corbijn meets Cobain
In addition to Joy Division, Corbijn enjoys close relationships with the bands Depeche Mode and U2. Over the past 30 years he has designed several album covers for both bands and directed many of their music videos. One of his most famous music videos is "Heart Shaped Box" by Nirvana, fronted by rock icon Kurt Cobain (pictured), for which he won the 1994 MTV Music Award for "Best Art Direction."
Image: Getty Images
Stars on film
As one of the world's most in-demand film clip directors, Corbijn has also shot seminal videos for Depeche Mode, The Killers, Arcade Fire, Roxette, Metallica, U2, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Mercury Rev, Travis, Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell and Coldplay (pictured), for whom he directed the clips for the singles "Talk" and "Viva la Vida."
Image: AP
A new love: film
His debut as a feature filmmaker was "Control" - an elegant and grainy black-and-white film reminiscent of the early days of cinema. In his second feature, "The American" starring George Clooney (pictured right), he stunned audiences with his minimalism and still images of barren and desolate landscapes.The film's striking soundtrack was composed by German pop icon Herbert Grönemeyer.
Image: imago/EntertainmentPictures
Old love never dies
In Corbijn's 2014 film, "A Most Wanted Man," Herbert Grönemeyer (pictured left) stars on screen in a supporting role. The two artists have been friends for 25 years, and Grönemeyer explained: "We are like a pair of lovers. There is a chemistry between us that I cannot quite explain. There are also differences: Anton is a very smart, wise person. I am rather childish, temperamental."
Image: Senator Film
Still photographer, acclaimed filmmaker
Prior to his career Corbijn could let his photographs speak for themselves. Now he regularly gives interviews at film festivals, such as the Berlinale and Cannes. However, despite his wide popularity as a filmmaker, he explained, "I like the melancholy side of life and use it as a starting point for my films. I believe that we all live our lives alone."
