Conductor Vladimir Jurowski Receives Honorary Knighthood of the Order of the British Empire

Jurowski has been awarded for his significant contributions to the arts and music industry in the UK

Established by King George V in 1917, the Order of the British Empire rewards contributions to the Arts, Sciences, Charitable work, and Public Service across military and civilian divisions. 

Conductor Vladimir Jurowski has been appointed as an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). THe honorary knighthood is given to those who have contributed to their field within the UK but are not citizens of a Commonwealth realm. 

Conferred by His Majesty King Charles III on the advice of the British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Jurowski is recognized for his services to music and the arts.

As a citizen of Germany, Jurowski will have the insignia of the award presented to him by The King’s representative in Germany, Ambassador Jill Gallard CMG CVO, IMG Artists reports. 

The honorary title has also been awarded to artists including Bernard Haitink, Yehudi Menuhin, Daniel Barenboim, Murray Perahia, Andre Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Georg Solti. 

Born in Moscow in 1972, Jurowski studied at the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory and later attended the Musikhochschule of Dresden and Berlin when his family relocated to Germany in 1990.

He has been General Music Director of Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper since 2021, as well as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin since 2017.

In 1996, he made his UK debut conducting at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden; in 2021, he stepped down after a 15-year tenure as Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), to become their Conductor Emeritus. 

His other roles have included Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera from 2001 to 2013, and Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

As a guest conductor, he has performed with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, New York Philharmonic, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, among others. 

Next month, Jurowski will return to London to conduct Wagner’s The Ring Cycle with the LPO. The Ring Cycle’s “Götterdämmerung” will be held on April 27, 2024, at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London.