Robert Caro reflects on childhood as he receives New York Historical's Historians' Laureate Medal

Robert Caro has received the first-ever Historians' Laureate Medal from The New York Historical

NEW YORK -- Receiving an award from one of Manhattan's oldest cultural institutions, The New York Historical, had Robert Caro thinking about childhood.

“It (New York Historical) has been a very integral element of my life since I was a little boy," Caro said Wednesday night during his brief remarks as he accepted the first-ever Historians' Laureate Medal in the organization's 221 year-old existence.

A native New Yorker who grew up near what was then called the New-York Historical Society and still lives just blocks away, Caro remembered many visits growing up as he walked around the neighborhood with a favorite aunt.

"Among the various honors I’ve been lucky enough to receive, this is an award that is very special," added Caro, whose awards range from the Pulitzer Prize for his epic biography of municipal builder, Robert Moses, “The Power Broker,” to a National Book Award for the third volume of his celebrated Lyndon Johnson series, “Master of the Senate.”

“And in a way, as I stand here before you tonight, I have this wonderful feeling that my life has come full circle, in a wonderful circle," he said, speaking to hundreds gathered for The New York Historical's “History Makers Gala.”

Caro, who turns 90 next month and is still working on the long-awaited fifth Johnson book, has for years been the unofficial laureate of The New York Historical. His career is the subject of a permanent exhibition, his archives are stored there and a research room is named for him. He was introduced at the ceremony by a close friend, singer Judy Collins, who cited Caro's musical approach to his writing, his attention to rhythm and mood.

“That is why some have said his books read like great novels, and I would say they read like great music,” she said.

Also on Wednesday, The New York Historical presented its History Makers Award to the Venezuelan-born conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who next year becomes the musical and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic after leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009. Last week, he opened the New York Philharmonic's fall season.

Dudamel, interviewed on stage by the philanthropist-businessman David M. Rubenstein, said he looked upon moving to New York as “an opportunity to open this new chapter” and that he had a “feeling of connection” to the New York orchestra. When Rubenstein noted that Dudamel's predecessors at the New York Philharmonic included Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini and Leonard Bernstein, the 44-year-old Dudamel acknowledged feeling a little intimidated.

“My God, every time that I work there, and I'm in the dressing room and I see all of these faces (of his predecessors), I say, ‘What am I doing here?’”