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James Conlon By LISA ROBINSON
Juilliard's 2004 commencement speaker is internationally renowned conductor James Conlon. A Juilliard alumnus and former faculty member, Conlon is one of the pre-eminent conductors of his generation. In 1995 he was appointed principal conductor of the Paris Opera, the first American ever to hold the top musical position at the illustrious institution. He served as general music director of the City of Cologne, Germany, from 1989-2002 and as music director of the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Opera, as well as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, from 1983-1991. This year he celebrates his 25th year as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival, America's oldest choral festival. Beginning with the 2005 season, Conlon will become music director of the Ravinia Fesival.
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| James Conlon (Photo by Chester Higgins Jr.) |
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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, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Kirov Orchestra, London Philharmonic, l'Orchestre de Paris, Orchestra Sinfonica di Santa Cecilia, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington), among many others.Associated for more than 25 years with the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut in 1976, Conlon has conducted some 200 performances with that company, leading a wide range of works from the Italian, German, French, Russian, and Czech repertoire. He has appeared with many of the world's major opera companies, including Teatro alla Scala (Milan), the Royal Opera at Covent Garden (London), and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.Highlights of Conlon's 2003-04 season in the U.S. include performances leading the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National Symphony, along with concerts featuring the works of Erwin Schulhoff at Lincoln Center, the 92nd Street Y, and the Kennedy Center. The concerts are part of a project, conceived by Mr. Conlon and begun in the 2002-03 season, intended to raise the consciousness of the public to the significance of the works of the composers whose lives were impacted by the Holocaust, a considerable body of work that occupies an important place in the history of 20th-century music.In Europe this season Conlon conducts five operas at the Paris Opera—Salome, Die Meistersinger, Der Fliegende Holländer, Otello, and Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle—in addition to leading a double bill of Zemlinsky's A Florentine Tragedy and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at La Scala. In addition, he guest conducts the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Russian National Symphony Orchestra in Moscow, the Orchestra di Opera di Bologna, and the Bayerische Rundfunk.Since the beginning of his tenure with the Paris Opera, Conlon has conducted 37 operas, most of them new productions, with a total of more than 335 operatic and symphonic performances. He led the French premiere of Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg, as well as the first Parisian production of Dvorak's Rusalka. He also led productions of Peter Grimes, Wozzeck, Der Rosenkavalier, Turandot, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, and the Paris Opera's first production of Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina in 75 years.Conlon has recorded extensively for the EMI, Erato, Capriccio, and Sony Classical labels. A champion of the works of Alexander Zemlinsky, he has recorded most of the works in the composer's substantial output. Several of Conlon's recordings have earned prestigious international awards.
A native of New York, Conlon made his professional debut in 1971 conducting Boris Godunov at the Spoleto Festival, and his New York debut the following year while still a student, leading a Juilliard production of La Bohème on the recommendation of Maria Callas. During his three years as a Juilliard faculty member (1972-75), he performed nearly 50 programs, each of works he was conducting for the first time. He has retained close ties with the School as a frequent guest conductor of the Juilliard Orchestra, and has involved Juilliard student instrumentalists and vocalists in his annual New York concert series, "Recovering a Musical Heritage." Beginning with the 2004-05 school year, Conlon will hold the title of distinguished visiting conductor at Juilliard.In 1999, Conlon received the Zemlinsky Prize for his efforts in bringing the composer's music to international attention. In September 2002, he was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, France's highest distinction. Maestro Conlon will receive Juilliard's Honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree on May 21.
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