James Conlon

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Conlon received the conducting award of the American National Orchestral Association, and in 1974 became the youngest conductor engaged for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's subscription series. In 1976 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut and his British debut with the Scottish Opera, and in 1979 he debuted at Covent Garden. He was named director of the Cincinnati May Festival in 1979, a position he retained until 2016. After engagements with the Paris Opéra, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Lyric Opera, Conlon became chief conductor of the Cologne Opera in 1989. In 1996, he was appointed music director of the Opéra National de Paris.

Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974 at the invitation of Pierre Boulez, Conlon has appeared with virtually every major North American and European orchestra. He has also appeared with many of the world's major opera companies, including Teatro alla Scala (Milan), the Royal Opera at Covent Garden (London), the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence). Associated for almost 30 years with the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut in 1976, he has conducted more than 250 performances there, leading a wide range of works from the Italian, German, French, Russian and Czech repertoires.

Conlon has held several major European posts, including principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983–1991), Generalmusikdirector (GMD) of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989–2002), where he was simultaneously GMD of the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Opera, and principal conductor of the Paris National Opera (1995–2004), where his Paris tenure was the longest of any conductor there since 1939. In 2015, he was named principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra.

Career in the US

Conlon has been music director of the Los Angeles Opera since the 2006-2007 season. His work there has included a series called "Recovered Voices", a multi-year project during which Conlon presented operas by composers affected by the Third Reich. The series included a double-bill of Alexander von Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg and Viktor Ullmann's Der zerbrochene Krug, and operas by composers such as Schreker and Braunfels. Conlon has conducted seven of Wagner's operas with Los Angeles Opera, including the first-ever Los Angeles performances Der Ring des Nibelungen in 2008-2009. In September 2021, the company announced the newest extension of Conlon's contract as music director, through the 2024-2025 season.

Conlon's tenure as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival, from 1979 to 2016, was the longest such tenure in the festival's history. He served as music director of the Ravinia Festival from 2005 to 2015. In November 2020, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Conlon as its artistic advisor, effective with the 2021-2022 season, for a period of three seasons, an unusual appointment in that Conlon had not conducted the orchestra prior to the announcement. Conlon conducted his first concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in October 2021.

Source

• Grand Prix du Disque (France), for EMI recording of Zemlinsky: The Dwarf, 1997
• In 1999, Conlon received the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Zemlinsky Prize, awarded only once before, for his efforts in bringing the composer's music to international attention.
• He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree by the Juilliard School in 2004, an honorary Doctor of Arts honoris causa by Chapman University in 2009 and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Brandeis University in 2009.
• In 2005, Conlon received one of five annual Opera News Awards given for the first time in recognition of distinguished contributions from leading figures in the world of opera.
• He has been honored by The New York Public Library as a "Library Lion", an annual award given to individuals in recognition of their contributions through their work.
• Conlon was named an Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 1996, and in September 2004 he was promoted to Commander—the highest honor awarded by the Ministry of Culture in France. In September 2002, Conlon received France's highest distinction from the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac—the Légion d'Honneur.
• Conlon was honored by the Anti-Defamation League for his work championing composers silenced by the Third Reich. Conlon received the League's Crystal Globe Award at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park near Chicago on August 12, 2007.
• Conlon received the Medal of the American Liszt Society in recognition of his distinctive performances of the composer's works.
• He received Italy's Premio Galileo 2000 Award for his significant contribution to music, art and peace in Florence in 2008.
• Conlon received the Music Institute of Chicago's Dushkin Award in recognition of his artistry and passion as a performer, educator, and mentor in 2009.
• Conlon's rendition of Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny won a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. The recording was made with Los Angeles Opera.
• Conlon was inducted in 2009 into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles for his lifelong activity and dedication to music and excellence in conducting in Italy, as well as all over the world in 2011.
• Commendatore dell'Ordine Al merito della Repubblica Italiana (Order of Merit of the Italian Republic) conferred by Sergio Mattarella, Il  Presidente della Repubblica 30 Dicembre 2016.
• Conlon's world premiere recording of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles with Los Angeles Opera won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording and Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical.