Claudio Abbado In Italy he has received the "Gran Croce" of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the "Medaglia d'oro" for merit in culture and art, in France the "Grand Croix of the Légion d’Honneur" and in Germany the "Grosse Verdienstkreuz" and the "Ernst-von-Siemens-Musikpreis". He was awarded honorary degrees by the universities of Cambridge, Aberdeen and Ferrara. In 1999 he received the "Premio Nonino". In 2001 he was elected "conductor of the year" by the German press and was awarded the "Würth-Preis della Jeunesses Musicales", Germany. In March 2002 he received the prestigious German critics’ award, the "Kritikerpreis des Verbandes der deutschen Kritiker".
In April 2002 the President of the German Federal Republic presented him with the most prestigious award of the German state for his services to art in the city of Berlin: "Das Grosse Verdienstkreuz mit Stern".