Valery Gergiev – recipient of the Montblanc prize

Every year since 1992, the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award has been presented to outstanding benefactors for their contribution to the development of the arts. This year the prize celebrates its twentieth anniversary and will be presented to prominent representatives of twelve countries. Since the prize was founded, the jury has included such internationally acclaimed cultural figures as Catherine Deneuve, Bernardo Bertolucci, Yehudi Menuhin and Jasper Johns to name but a few. Montblanc rules state that each country may forward three candidates, from whom one will be chosen to receive a pen from Montblanc’s unique Patron of Art collection and fifteen thousand Euros to donate to a cultural programme of his or her choice. The winners must be able to demonstrate not only their own dedication to the arts but also the powerful effect they have had on society at large through their support of key cultural programmes.

This year the prize-winners from various countries include Yoko Ono (Japan), the outstanding musician Yo-Yo Ma (France), Her Majesty Queen Sofía of Spain and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (Great Britain), while the Russian prize-winner is maestro Valery Gergiev.