娱乐英语新闻:Paul Simon, Yo-Yo Ma share Polar Music Prize 2012

STOCKHOLM, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The 2012 Swedish Polar Music Prize was awarded to the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the Chinese American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the prize committee said in a statement on Tuesday.

"For five decades, Paul Simon has built bridges not only over troubled waters but over entire oceans by (re)joining the world's continents with his music," said the prize committee.

"Nobody else is more deserving of the epithet of world-class songwriter," the statement added.

Paul Simon, born in 1941, is widely known as half of the American duo "Simon & Garfunkel." He has been recipient of many honors and awards, including 12 Grammy Awards in his music career. His representative songs include "Mrs. Robinson", "the sound of silence," "bridge over troubled water," all of which hit No. 1 on the U.S. singles charts.

The other winner of the prize Yo-Yo Ma was commented as "the leading cellist of our time" and "living proof that music is communication, passion and the ability to share experience."

"With a cello and curiosity in his wake, Yo-Yo Ma has in travelling routes like the Silk Road, united people from every continent", said the prize committee.

Apart from the performance of classical music, Yo-Yo Ma, born in 1955, is also known for the diverse musical elements in his music, of which the inspiration he has got is from, for example, native Chinese music and the music of the Kalahari bush people in Africa.

Dubbed as Nobel Prize in music, the Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the Swedish legend Stig Anderson who was the publisher, lyricist and manager of the famous ABBA band.

The laureates will receive the prize from Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf at Stockholm Concert Hall on August 28th. Besides, each recipient will be awarded the prize carrying a million Swedish Kronor (about 140,000 U.S. dollars).