An awards show interspersed with unforgettable performances of great score for film and television, the World Soundtrack Awards have offered fans incredible experiences for more than two decades now. We invite you all to discover live which composers take home the win in the categories Film Composer of the Year, Television Composer of the Year, Best Original Song, Discovery of the Year, Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer and the Public Choice Award. In 2023, the festival presented a brand new award: the WSA Game Music Award (voted by the audience). The winner of this award was announced at the PRESS PLAY: Music in Games concert on 19 October.
Two grandmasters of the world of film music were honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at WSA2023: Nicola Piovani and Laurence Rosenthal. Both composers have had decades-long careers, composing for both film and television. Piovani has worked with major Italian directors such as Marco Bellocchio, the Taviani brothers, Nanni Moretti, Federico Fellini and Roberto Benigni (among others). For the score of Benigni's La vita è bella, Piovani was awarded an Oscar in 1999. Laurence Rosenthal is best known to film and television fans for his three time Emmy-winning music for the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and its subsequent TV films. Rosenthal is also a two-time Oscar nominee. Both his music for Becket and Man of La Mancha were nominated for an Academy Award.
Multi-talented musician Eiko Ishibashi was also a prominent guest at this year's World Soundtrack Awards. In 2022, she won the Discovery of the Year Award for her compelling jazzy score for the Oscar-winning film Drive My Car.
Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Maestro Dirk Brossé performed music by Nicola Piovani, Laurence Rosenthal and Eiko Ishibashi during the World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert.