In November 2025, the Board of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation awarded Josep Pons its Artistic Gold Medal, the theatre’s highest institutional distinction in the field of music. The honour recognised his leadership of the Liceu’s resident ensembles and his decisive contribution to the consolidation of the theatre’s musical project.
The Liceu particularly acknowledged the thirteen years of work developed with the Gran Teatre del Liceu Symphony Orchestra since Josep Pons became Music Director in 2012. During this period, he led a sustained process of renewal, expansion and artistic growth, strengthening the orchestra, broadening its repertoire and developing a distinctive musical identity.
The official citation highlighted his fundamental role in raising the orchestra’s artistic standards and earning recognition from audiences and critics. The project was built on continuous work with the musicians, long-term artistic planning and the conviction that the orchestra should stand at the centre of the theatre’s artistic life.
During his tenure, the Liceu Orchestra and Chorus tackled some of the most demanding works in the operatic and symphonic repertoire. Major projects included the operas of Richard Wagner, the Mahler Universe cycle and works by Richard Strauss, Claude Debussy, Alban Berg, Benjamin Britten, Dmitri Shostakovich, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi and Leoš Janáček, alongside contemporary music and Catalan and Spanish musical heritage.
The Artistic Gold Medal also recognised the growing international profile of the theatre’s musical ensembles. During this period, the Liceu Orchestra expanded its symphonic activity, participated in audiovisual and recording projects, performed beyond Barcelona and made its debut at major international venues including the Opéra Bastille in Paris.
The distinction joined several other honours received by Josep Pons in 2025, including the Creu de Sant Jordi and the Ópera Actual Lifetime Achievement Award. This recognition, however, carried particular significance because it came from the institution with which he had developed one of the longest and most decisive artistic projects of his career.
Other Gold Medals presented in the same edition recognised figures and institutions closely connected to the Liceu: Javier Camarena, for vocal achievement; Àlex Ollé, for special dedication; Marina Abramović, for visual arts; Hèctor Parra, for composition; the Fundació Òpera a Catalunya, in the institutional category, and Banco Santander and the Banco Santander Foundation, for their commitment to patronage.
Through the Artistic Gold Medal, the Gran Teatre del Liceu expressed its gratitude for a period that had profoundly transformed the orchestra, strengthened the theatre’s musical personality and placed its resident ensembles at the heart of the institution’s artistic project.