Anton Nanut (13 September 1932 – 13 January 2017) was a renowned Slovenian international conductor of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. From 1981 to 1999 he served as the chief conductor of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. He was a professor of conducting at the

Ljubljana Academy of Music The Academy of Music of the University of Ljubljana () is the largest and only music conservatoire in Slovenia. The academy has its origin in the Music School of the Slovene Philharmonic Society (founded 1821, indirectly descended from the Ljublja ...

and the artistic leader of the Slovene Octet in its most productive years.

Works

Nanut collaborated with over 200 orchestras and had made over 200 recordings with a variety of labels. Among the concerts that he valued most was a concert with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra in the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, his concerts with

Staatskapelle Dresden The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (), or Saxon State Orchestra Dresden, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world, created by order of Maurice, Elector of Saxony in 1548. Under communist East Germany and until 1992 it was called Staatskap ...

, with the Berlin RIAS and with

Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a symphony orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Their home venue is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. History The roots of th ...

. He was a chief conductor of the

Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra () is a professional musical orchestra from the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia and the chief musical representative of the Dubrovnik region. In its work it carries on with the musical history started in the earlier Repu ...

and has conducted nearly all the Italian symphony orchestras (especially Orchestra Di Padova e del Veneto).

Awards

Nanut was bestowed numerous awards for his work, among them the Prešeren Foundation Award (for his interpretations of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

), the Župančič Award, the Croatian

Milka Trnina Award Milka is a Swiss brand of chocolate confectionery. Originally made in Switzerland in 1901 by Suchard, it has been produced in Lörrach, Germany, from 1901. Since 2012 it has been owned by US-based company Mondelez International, when it demerged ...

, the City of Split Award, a high state decoration of the Republic of Croatia, the Yugoslav award

Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...

, the Silver Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia. On 7 February 2011, he received the

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award (), also called the Grand Prešeren Award (), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each year by the Prešeren Fund () to two eminent Slovene art ...

, the highest cultural award in Slovenia, for his lifetime work. Especially prized were his interpretations of Mahler's symphonies.

Death

Nanut died following a long illness on 13 January 2017 at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanut, Anton 1932 births 2017 deaths People from the Municipality of Kanal Prešeren Award laureates Slovenian male conductors (music) University of Ljubljana alumni Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana 20th-century conductors (music) 21st-century Slovenian conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians 21st-century Slovenian male musicians