Leonard Cohen received the Glenn Gould Prize at Massey Hall in Toronto on Monday.
The Glenn Gould prize is awarded to an individual for a unique lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition through the arts.
Cohen donated the $50,000 award attached to the honor to the Canada Council for the Arts saying “without the help and encouragement of the Canada Council, I would never have written The Favorite Game or The Spice Box of Earth.”
The honor also included The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize of $15,000 for which Cohen selected the children of Sistema, a musical education program in Toronto.
In Cohen’s brief acceptance speech he said “I’m going to make these remarks mercifully short because I want to hear the music… if there is any anxiety about performing in front of me, please let it dissolve completely,” Cohen said. “I go into bouts of childlike ecstasy… when I hear anyone cover my songs.”
The evening included tributes by actor Alan Rickman, novelist Michael Ondaatje, Serena Ryder, Blue Rodeo’s singer-songwriter Greg Keelor, actor Gordon Pinsent and singer Travis Good.
The award ceremony closed out a series of events in Toronto celebrating Cohen’s work.
