We prove that for simple complex finite dimensional Lie algebras, affine Kac-Moody Lie algebras, the Virasoro algebra and the Heisenberg-Virasoro algebra, simple highest weight modules are characterized by the property that all positive root elements act on these modules locally nilpotently. We also show that this is not the case for higher rank Virasoro and for Heisenberg algebras.

We describe the structure of the irreducible highest weight modules for the twisted Heisenberg--Virasoro Lie algebra at level zero. We prove that either a Verma module is irreducible or its maximal submodule is cyclic.

We classify the subalgebras of the general Lie conformal algebra $\gc_N$ that act irreducibly on $\mathbb{C} [\partial]^N$ and that are normalized by the sl$_2$-part of a Virasoro element. The problem turns out to be closely related to classical Jacobi polynomials $P_n^{(-\sigma,\sigma)}$, $\sigma \in \mathbb{C}$. The connection goes both ways---we use in our classification some classical properties of Jacobi polynomials, and we derive from the theory of conformal algebras some apparently new properties of Jacobi polynomials.

We study the representations of extended affine Lie algebras $s\ell_{\ell+1} (\mathbb{C}_q)$ where $q$ is $N$-th primitive root of unity ($\mathbb{C}_q$ is the quantum torus in two variables). We first prove that $\bigoplus s\ell_{\ell+1} (\mathbb{C})$ for a suitable number of copies is a quotient of $s\ell_{\ell+1} (\mathbb{C}_q)$. Thus any finite dimensional irreducible module for $\bigoplus s\ell_{\ell+1} (\mathbb{C})$ lifts to a representation of $s\ell_{\ell+1} (\mathbb{C}_q)$. Conversely, we prove that any finite dimensional irreducible module for $s\ell_{\ell+1} (\mathbb{C}_q)$ comes from above. We then construct modules for the extended affine Lie algebras $s\ell_{\ell+1} (\mathbb{C}_q) \oplus \mathbb{C} d_1 \oplus \mathbb{C} d_2$ which is integrable and has finite dimensional weight spaces.