Mariss Jansons
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Mariss Jansons (born January 14, 1943 in Riga, Latvia) is a prominent Latvian conductor, the son of conductor Arvid Jansons. His mother, the singer Iraida Jansons, who was Jewish, gave birth to him in hiding after her father and brother were killed in the Riga ghetto. As a child, he first studied violin with his father.
In 1946, his father won second prize in a national competition and was chosen by Yevgeny Mravinsky to be his assistant at the Leningrad Philharmonic. When his family joined him in 1956, young Jansons entered the Leningrad Conservatory, where he studied piano and conducting, although his father urged him to continue playing violin. In 1969 he continued his training in Vienna with Hans Swarowsky and in Salzburg with Herbert von Karajan. Karajan had invited Jansons to be his assistant with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but the Soviet authorities blocked Jansons from ever hearing about the offer.[1]
In 1973, Jansons was appointed Associate Conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra (now St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra). In 1979, he was appointed music director of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he performed, recorded and toured extensively. Jansons resigned his Oslo position in 2000 after disputes with the city over the acoustics of the Oslo Konserthus.[2]
In 1992, Jansons was named principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a favored guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra[3] and has recently recorded with them for the LSO Live label.[4]
In 1997, Jansons became the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. His initial contract was for three years, but his subsequent contract renewals were evergreen contracts that required yearly renewal.[5] In June 2002, he announced that he would leave the orchestra in 2004.[6]
In April 1996 in Oslo, Jansons nearly died while conducting the final pages of La Bohème, after a heart attack.[7] He recuperated in Switzerland. Later, surgeons in Pittsburgh fitted a defibrillator in his chest to give his heart an electric jolt if it fails. (Jansons's father died at a 1984 concert, conducting the Hallé Orchestra.) Jansons has stated that he suffers from jet lag, and this was one reason that he left his American position.[8]
At the start of the 2003-2004 season, Jansons began his tenure as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO)[9], for an initial contract of 3 years[10]. He recently extended his contract with the BRSO to 2009[11].
In October 2002, Jansons was named the sixth chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (KCO) of Amsterdam, effective 1 September 2004, succeeding Riccardo Chailly.[12] His initial Amsterdam contract was for 3 years[13]. As of February 2007, no published reports of what will happen after 2007 regarding Jansons' tenure with the KCO have been given, although Jansons recently stated in an article that the next opera production in Amsterdam that he will conduct will be Carmen[14].
In 2006 he conducted the Vienna New Year's Concert. Also in January 2006, he was awarded MIDEM's Artist of the Year Award in Cannes. On considering his driving force, in a December 2006 WNYC radio interview, Jansons explained to his host, "I want that every [one] of my concerts should be [an] event, for me, for [the] orchestra and [for the] public."[15]
Jansons has been married twice. He and his first wife, Ira, had a daughter, Ilona, a pianist who currently works at the Mariinsky Theatre. The marriage ended during his tenure in Oslo. Jansons and his second wife Irina, a former speech therapist, have a home in St. Petersburg, where Jansons keeps his collection of scores.[16]
| Preceded by Okko Kamu |
Music Director, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 1979–2000 |
Succeeded by André Previn |
| Preceded by Lorin Maazel |
Music Director, Pittsburgh Symphony 1997–2004 |
Succeeded by Andrew Davis |
| Preceded by Lorin Maazel |
Chief Conductor, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra 2003– |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Riccardo Chailly |
Chief Conductor, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra 2004– |
Succeeded by incumbent |
[edit] References
- ^ Colin Hughes, "Straight from the heart". The Guardian, 1 May 1999.
- ^ Hugh Canning, "On the upbeat". The Times, 15 January 2006.
- ^ Richard Morrison, "A hundred to one". The Times, 6 December 2003.
- ^ Hugh Canning, "Classical CD of the Week: Mahler: Symphony No 6". The Times, 27 July 2003.
- ^ Andrew Druckenbrod, "Analysis: Jansons' health, lifestyle, ambitions may be factors in Maestro mystery". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4 July 2002.
- ^ Mark Kanny, "Jansons to bid city adieu in '04". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 7 June 2002.
- ^ Geoff Brown, "Brave heart". The Times, 12 April 2003.
- ^ Geoffrey Norris, "Musician, magician". Telegraph, 12 September 2002.
- ^ Martin Kettle, "Prime Time". The Guardian, 30 January 2004.
- ^ Hilary Finch, "Every performance is a brave new world". The Times, 26 August 2003.
- ^ Vivien Schweitzer, "Mariss Jansons and Bavarian Radio Symphony to Make First US Tour Together in November". Playbill Arts, 22 September 2006.
- ^ Martin Cullingford, "Jansons confirmed as Royal Concertgebouw head". Gramophone, 17 October 2002.
- ^ Guido van Oorschot, "Mariss Jansons to Succeed Riccardo Chailly at the Concertgebouw Orchestra". andante.com (overall website now defunct), 16 October 2002.
- ^ Tom Service, 'It's good to have dreams'. The Guardian, 9 February 2007.
- ^ Mariss Jansons. Mad About Music. WNYC-FM (2006-12-03). Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
- ^ Richard Morrison, "My other band's the Concertgebouw". The Times of London, 31 March 2006.
