Award ceremonies

8th September
Grosse Halle, Reitschule Bern
The Swiss Music Prizes 2023 have been presented on 8 September, in the presence of Federal President Alain Berset. In a first, the award ceremony has taken place in Bern, in the old riding hall (Grosse Halle) of the Reitschule. Organised by the Federal Office of Culture, it has seen live performances of several of this year's eleven prize winners. In addition, some of the prize winners were part of the line-up of Musikfestival Bern, which took place in Bern from 6 to 10 September 2023.

Live on stage:

• Ensemble Nikel
• Lucia Cadotsch
• Mario Batkovic
• Erik Truffaz
• Saadet Türköz

The Swiss Music Prizes 2022 were presented on 16th of September 2022 at the L’Octogone Théâtre de Pully. In the presence of Federal Councillor Alain Berset, Yello, the pioneers of electronic pop, received the Swiss Grand Award for Music 2022. The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) honoured a further 7 musicians with the Swiss Music Prizes 2022. Furthermore, for the first time three Special Prizes for Music were awarded to organisations and cultural practitioners for their outstanding contribution to the Swiss music scene. The award ceremony was part of Label Suisse, the festival dedicated to Switzerland’s diverse music scenes.

Several of the prize winners performed during the event:

• Yello – Pioneers of electronic pop
• Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Collective rhythmic dadaism
• Fritz Hauser – The high priest of percussion
• Marina Viotti – A uniting voice
• Hanneli Musig (Folk music collection Hanny Christen) – A treasure trove of folk music
• Ripperton – Techno house guru

The Swiss Music Prizes 2021 were presented on 17 September 2021 at the LAC - Lugano Arte e Cultura. In the presence of Federal Councillor Alain Berset, the cosmopolitan chansonnier Stephan Eicher received the Swiss Grand Award for Music 2021. The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) honoured a further 14 musicians with the Swiss Music Prizes 2021.

Several of the prize winners performed during the event:

Yilian Cañizares - radiant world musician
- solo performance, voice and violin

Lionel Friedli – inspirational drummer
- in duo with cellist and musicologist Zeno Gabaglio, former member of the Federal Music Jury

Conrad Steinmann - flutist and archeologist of sound
- imagined music of Greek antiquity

Stephan Eicher – Swiss Grand Award for Music 2021
Viviane Chassot – brilliant ambassador for the accordion
Lionel Friedli – inspirational drummer
- New interpretations of Stephan Eicher's timeless songs, with bassist Simon Gerber

The LongLake Festival 2021 in Lugano closed with a tribute to the Swiss Music Prizes. On 18 and 19 September 2021, some of the 2021 prize winners performed on stage together with musicians from the Italian part of Switzerland.

On 17 September 2020, the Swiss Music Prize 2020 was awarded at the Opéra de Lausanne. In the presence of Federal Council Alain Berset, the Federal Office of Culture honoured singer, musician and performer Erika Stucky with the Swiss Grand Award for Music 2020. A further 14 musicians or ensembles were awarded a Swiss Music Prize. The award ceremony was part of the Label Suisse festival, which is dedicated to the Swiss music scene in all its diversity.

During the event, several of the award-winning musicians performed, among them:

• Emilie Zoé - Powerful voice of rock
• Francesco Piemontesi - Magical pianist
• Big Zis - Trailblazing rapper
• Christy Doran and Erika Stucky in duet with an interpretation of songs by Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles
  

The award ceremony of the Swiss Music Prize took place on 20 September 2019 at the Kunstmuseum Basel. In the presence of Federal Council Alain Berset, the duo Cod.Act - André & Michel Décosterd received the the Swiss Grand Award for Music 2019. The two brothers deal with the interactions between sound, image and space and renew the perception of contemporary music. Another fourteen musicians or ensembles have been awarded a Swiss Music Prize. The award ceremony was part  of the ZeitRäume Basel - Biennale for New Music and Architecture and was dedicated to the interdisciplinarity and diversity of the music genres.

During the event, several of the award-winning musicians performed, among them:

Béatrice Graf
Solo drum performance

Ils Fränzlis da Tschlin
Engadine music between tradition and innovation

Björn Meyer
Poetic music for solo bass

Kammerorchester Basel
Under the direction of Giovanni Antonini, the orchestra played the overture to W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Swiss Grand Award for Music 2019: Cod.Act – André and Michel Décosterd
Cycloïd-E: On the occasion of the award ceremony, the kinetic sound sculpture was on display at the Kunstmuseum Basel.

On 13 September 2018, the Swiss Music Prize 2018 was awarded at the Casino de Montbenon in Lausanne. In the presence of Federal Council Ignazio Cassis, the Federal Office of Culture honoured jazz pioneer Irène Schweizer with the Swiss Grand Award for Music 2018. A further 14 musicians or ensembles were awarded a Swiss Music Prize. The award ceremony was part of the Label Suisse festival.

At the award ceremony, the creation "Orchestra, Orchestra, Orchestra" curated by Martin Schütz, Hans Koch and Daniel Fontana (Bad Bonn) was presented. More than ten winners of the Swiss Music Awards 2014 to 2018 were on stage together, among them:

- Noldi Alder (violin, dulcimer, vocals),
- Pierre Audétat (keyboard, samples),
- Christophe Calpini (Percussion)
- Sylvie Courvoisier (piano)
- Jacques Demierre (spinet)
- Hans Koch (musical director, clarinet)
- Joke Lanz (Turntables)
- Barbara Lehnhoff (vocals, keyboard)
- Marcel Oetiker (Schwyzerörgeli)
- Julian Sartorius (musical direction, percussion)
- Martin Schütz (musical director, violoncello)
- Franz Treichler (vocals, guitar, electronics)

The best moments of the award ceremony of the Swiss Music Prize on 22. September 2017

The best moments of the award ceremony of the Swiss Music Prize on 15. September 2016

The best moments of the award ceremony of the Swiss Music Prize on 11. September 2015

The best moments of the award ceremony of the Swiss Music Prize on 20.September 2014