Bruckner Society of America


BRUCKNER SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Information on the

Kilenyi Bruckner Medal of Honor


A detailed description of the Kilenyi Bruckner Medal, written by Harry Waterson, can be found here.


To provide some background on the Kilenyi Bruckner Medal of Honor,  excerpts from two different editions of "Chord and Discord" are provided.


From "Chord & Discord" Volume 1, Number 4 (October, 1933):


"Recently, a distinguished member of the Bruckner Society, the American sculptor, Mr. Julio Kilenyi of New York, wishing to give formal expression to his great love for the master's music, designed an exclusive Medal of Honor displaying his own conception of Bruckner's features. A photograph of this design was immediately sent to Austria where leading members of the I.B.G. (International Bruckner Society) hailed it as the most impressive portrait of the master that has as yet appeared. So delighted was Prof. Max Auer with it that he at once requested permission to include it among the illustrations in the fourth volume of the monumental Goellerich-Auer biography of Bruckner then in the press.


The hearty European welcome accorded this initial American contribution to the iconography of the great symphonist should be a source of deep gratification not only to our native Bruckner enthusiasts but also to all American lovers of the plastic arts. Mr. Kilenyi's triumphant solution of a difficult problem in this by-path of music follows a long line of sculptural successes in more worldly, more glamorous walks. Among his many creations are the designs for exclusive medals officially awarded to Colonel Lindbergh, Admiral Byrd, Thomas A. Edison, General Pershing, President Coolidge, and many other outstanding figures in the cultural, industrial, and political life of this country. Perhaps the most distinguished among his recent designs is the William Penn Anniversary Medal, replicas of which were presented to their Majesties, King George and Queen Mary of England, and Queen Wilhelmina of Holland.


This year (1933-1934) for the first time, the Bruckner Society will be able to present its own Medal of Honor, the one designed by Mr. Kilenyi for that exclusive purpose. It will be awarded during the current musical season to Arturo Toscanini and Bruno Walter of the New York Philharmonic, Dr. Serge Koussevitzky of the Boston Symphony, Dr. Frederick Stock of the Chicago Symphony, and Dr. Martin G. Dumler of Cincinnati, Honorary Chairman of the Society.


When asked for the source of his Bruckner inspiration, Mr. Kilenyi made the following interesting reply:

'Listening to Bruckner s music has always seemed to me like reading Dante s poetry. There is in the work of these two great geniuses the same grand spirit; It is this conception that I sought to portray on the Society's new, exclusive Medal of Honor. It only requires a single glance to discover the Dantesque expression of my Bruckner'."


From "Chord & Discord" Volume 2, Number 9 (1960) - In Memoriam Julio Kilenyi:


"Julio Kilenyi (1886-1959) was born in Hungary. Before his departure for Argentina at the age of twenty-one, he had studied in Budapest, Paris, and Berlin. When he was thirty years old, he came to the United States and became a citizen eight years later.


A sculptor of wide renown, he created among others the designs for the William Penn Anniversary Medal, for medals officially awarded to Col. Lindbergh, Thomas A. Edison, President Coolidge, General Pershing, Admiral Byrd, and for medals commemorating the opening of the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel. Plaques and medals by Kilenyi are exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. the Cleveland Museum of Art. Boston Fine Arts Museum, Smithsonian Institute, British Museum, Oxford University, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, and the Vatican Museum. Prizes were awarded to him by the Allied Artists of America and the Tenth Olympiad Committee of Los Angeles, among others.


Julio Kilenyi was active in The Bruckner Society of America for a quarter of a century. At the time of his death, he was an Executive Member, Director and Vice-President. In 1933 he designed the Bruckner Medal of Honor for the exclusive use of the Society. Two years later, he designed the Mahler Medal of Honor to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of Mahler's birth. This Medal was also made for the Society's exclusive use. The medals are awarded for outstanding effort to further interest in and appreciation of the music of Anton Bruckner. By creating these designs, Julio Kilenyi has made a contribution of lasting value to the Bruckner movement."


PAST RECIPIENTS OF THE BRUCKNER SOCIETY KILENYI MEDAL OF HONOR

NAME DATE
Acra-Brache, Susanna2010
Adler, F. Charles1954
Aldeborgh, David2011, March 14
Asahina, Takashi2011, March - Posthumously
Max Auer1933
Barbirolli, Sir John1959, October 17
Barenboim, Daniel2017, January 21
Berky, John2013, September 6
Blomstedt, Herbert2012, February 8
Böhm, Karl1970s
Botstein, Leon2013, February 24
Busch, Fritz1950, May
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation-
Carragan, William2010, September 11
Carvalho, Eleazar de1970s
Chailly, Riccardo2014, November 9
Chicago Symphony Orchestra1970s
Clapp, Philip Greeley1940, February 28
Cohrs, Benjamin-Gunnar2010
Dean, Dean2015, February - Posthumously
Dixon, James1962, July 5 - probably
Dohnányi, Christoph von2013, February 16
Downey, Lyle1952, March 4
Dumler, Martin1933
Goossens, Eugene1940, November 8
Graf, Hans2012, December 2
Haitink, Bernard1970, April 23
Hawkshaw, Paul2011, May 23
Hindemith, Paul1963, March 29
Howie, Crawford2013, April
Jochum, Eugen1970s
Kertész, István1970s
Kessler, Maurice1941, November 18
Klemperer, Otto1935
Kluge, Mark2016, January
Korstvedt, Benjamin2010, September 11
Koussevitsky, Serge1935
Krips, Josef1956, May 7
Kurtz, Efrem1948, December 13
KWFM Radio1958, November 15
Leinsdorf, Erich1945, October 26
Masur, Kurt2014, August 11
Mitchell, Donald-
Moissl, Franz1933
New York Philharmonic1965
O'Connell, Charles1935
Ormandy, Eugene1935
Roelofs, Hans2017, February
Rodzinsky, Artur1938, March 16
Rudolf, Max-
Sanderling, Stefan2012, April 15
Schaller, Gerd2017, March 31
Schönzeler, Hans-Hubert1970s
Scholz, Robert1950, March 12
Schuricht, Carl1956, December 6
Simpson, Robert1960
Skrowaczewski, Stanisław2012, April 19
Storey Smith, Warren1958, January 17
Solti, Sir Georg1970s
Steinberg, William1950, December 17
Stock, Frederick1939, March 23
Szell, George1952, March 27
Tintner, Georg2011, March - Posthumously
Toscanini, Arturo1932
van Hoogstraten, Willem1931
van Zweden, Jaap2019, May 27
Walter, Bruno1933, December 4
Ward, Ken2011, April
Wax, Massimiliano2010
WEFM Radio1960, March 11
Welser-Möst, Franz2011, July 13
WFMT Radio1955, November 6
WNYC Radio1952, June 3
Cucka, Michael2023, September 9