Conductor James Conlon Awarded Austria's Cross of Honor for Science and Art

Conlon has been a champion of lesser-known Austrian composers, especially those oppressed by the Nazi regime

Austria’s Cross of Honor for Science and Art (Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is part of the Austrian national honors system, and has been awarded since 1955 to those who have "distinguished themselves and earned general acclaim through especially superior creative and commendable services in the areas of the sciences or the arts."

The American conductor James Conlon was officially given the honor at a ceremony that took place in the residence of the Austrian Consul General on October 6. Dignitaries present at the ceremony included the Austrian Ambassador to the United States, Ddr. Petra Schneebauer, and the Austrian Consul General of Los Angeles, Dr. Michael Postl.

Conlon has received a number of other, comparable honors from European countries: including France's prestigious Légion d'Honneur in 2002 and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2004. The President of Italy also awarded Conlon the Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2018.

Over the course of his 50-year career, Conlon has been particularly dedicated to championing works by lesser-known or lesser-performed composers, including the Austrian composers Arnold Schönberg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Franz Schreker, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Ernest Krenek, and the recently deceased 103-year-old Walter Arlen.

Conlon has conducted almost every major symphony orchestra in Europe, the United States, and Canada, and at many of the world's great opera houses, including the Wiener Staatsoper and the Salzburg Festival.