he retired for health reasons. In addition to becoming known as a major interpreter of classical composers, Abravanel championed contemporary music, recording the music of Crawford Gates and Leroy Robertson among others. From 1954 to 1980, Abravanel also directed the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, where young musicians gathered for summer music camps. He taught conducting at Tanglewood, where he was appointed artist-in-residence for life. In his later years he received various honors: The American Symphony Orchestra League gave him its Gold Baton in 1981; President Bush presented him with the National Medal of Arts in 1991; and in 1993 Salt Lake City renamed its Symphony Hall Abravanel Hall. Abravanel is remembered for making several classic recordings with the Utah Symphony Orchestra for the US Vanguard label, including the Berlioz Requiem, orchestral works by Arthur Honegger, Erik Satie, Edgar Varèse and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as the first complete recording of Gustav Mahler's nine symphonies by an American orchestra. Honors Received Tony Award for conducting the music of Marc Blitzstein's opera, Regina on Broadway (1950) Member of the first music panel of the US National Endowment for the Arts (1970) Served on the National Council of the Arts (1970–1976) Received "Golden Baton" award from the American Symphony Orchestra League (1981) Appointed "Artist in Residence for Life" from the Tanglewood Music Festival (1981) Received the National Medal of Arts from US President George H. W. Bush (1991) Received Grammy Award nominations for several of his over 100 classical recordings with the Utah Symphony Orchestra References Sources Durham, Lowell, Abravanel!, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1989. External links Interview with Maurice Abravanel by Bruce Duffie, June 22, 1985 (about early years, conducting operas of Massenet and Wagner. Originally published in "Massenet Newsletter" July, 1986, and "Wagner News" January, 1988.) Maurice Abravanel papers, 1890-2009 Maurice Abravanel photograph collection, 1920s-1990s 1903 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century Sephardi Jews Maurice American male conductors (music) Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Switzerland Greek conductors (music) Jews from Thessaloniki Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical musicians Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France Male conductors (music) Musicians from Thessaloniki Sephardi Jews from the Ottoman Empire Swiss conductors (music) United States National Medal of Arts recipients Vanguard Records artists