The Jan Wallander Prize
The Jan Wallander Prize is awarded each year to a distinguished student at one of the music colleges in Sweden. The award was established by Handelsbanken in collaboration with KMH. In addition to the honour, the prize-winner will have the opportunity to use an instrument of extremely high class for an extended period of time.
Hugo Löf is awarded the 2024 Jan Wallander Prize
Photo: Wilhelm Hempel
21-year-old Hugo Löf, double bass player and student at the Royal College of Music (KMH), is this year's recipient of the Jan Wallander Prize. For the next eight years, he will be able to use a double bass made in 1830 in England.
Hugo was selected with the jury's motivation:
With his breathtaking virtuosity and imaginative improvisational talent, the double bassist Hugo Löf is a worthy winner of this year’s Jan Wallander Prize.
Former winners of the Jan Wallander Prize
- 2023 – David Stener
- 2022 – Ilias Livieratos
- 2021 – Cancelled due to the pandemic
- 2020 – Fred Lindberg
- 2019 – Carl Vallin
- 2018 – Julia Biegniewska
- 2017 – Victoria Stjerna
- 2016 – Charlotta Grahn Wetter
- 2015 – Josef Karnebäck
- 2014 – Joel Lyssarides
- 2013 – Tomas Lundström
- 2012 – Sofia Hansen
- 2011 – Oscar Treitler
- 2010 – Daniel Migdal
About the prize
Through the Jan Wallander Prize, we hope to give more young people the opportunity to use and use a first-class instrument for a longer period. The award has received its name from Handelsbanken's former CEO and chairman, Jan Wallander. The instruments available to the winners are included in the Handelsbanken Classic Instruments collection.
A musician expresses himself through his instrument. By using a first-class instrument, a musician can reach further in his creative interpration – the instrument responsively responds to the finest impulses and contributes with his sonic beauty to the richness of the expression.