Mariss Jansons

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019Template:Efn) was a Latvian conductor, best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss, and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Shostakovich.<ref name="Millington"/> During his lifetime he was often cited as among the world's leading conductors;<ref name="Millington"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Independent">Template:Cite news</ref> in a 2015 Bachtrack poll, he was ranked by music critics as the world's third best living conductor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jansons was long associated with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO; 2003–2019) and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO; 2004–2015) as music director.

Born in Riga, Latvia, Jansons moved to Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in 1956, where he studied conducting, and he received further training in Austria. He first achieved prominence with the Oslo Philharmonic, where he served as music director from 1979 to 2000. Besides the BRSO and RCO, he also directed the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to 2004; he was a frequent guest conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra. Jansons recorded prolifically, and was the recipient of numerous awards.

Early life

Jansons was born in Riga, Latvia—then under German occupation during the Second World War—to Iraida Jansons, the diva of the Riga Opera, and Arvīds Jansons, conductor of the opera orchestra.<ref name=Guardian1999>Template:Cite news</ref> Iraida, who was Jewish, gave birth to her son in hiding after being smuggled out of the Riga Ghetto, where her father and brother were murdered by the Nazis. As a child, Jansons first studied violin with his father.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1956, Arvīds was appointed assistant conductor to Yevgeny Mravinsky at the Leningrad Philharmonic. Jansons joined his father in Leningrad, where he began to study conducting, and soon entered the Leningrad Conservatory.<ref name="Guardian1999" /> In 1968, Herbert von Karajan visited the Soviet Union, and he singled out Jansons and Dmitri Kitayenko from a group of young conductors. Karajan offered Jansons the opportunity to study with him in Berlin, but the Soviet authorities blocked the offer.<ref name="Guardian1999" /> In 1969, Jansons continued his training with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna, and then in Salzburg with Karajan.<ref name="Guardian1999" /> In 1971, Jansons won the second prize at the "Herbert von Karajan" International Conducting Competition.<ref name="Millington">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BR">Template:Cite news</ref> Karajan invited Jansons to be his assistant with the Berlin Philharmonic, but the Soviet authorities blocked Jansons from ever hearing about the offer.<ref name="Guardian1999" />

Career

File:Imperfect Harmony.webm
Scene from the documentary Imperfect Harmony, with Mariss Jansons and Louis Andriessen preparing a new composition by the latter with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

In 1973, Jansons was appointed Associate Conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1979, he was appointed Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic, 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 Concert Hall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1992, Jansons was named Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He worked as a guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra and recorded Mahler's Symphony No. 6 with them for the LSO Live label.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore </ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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. In June 2002, he announced his resignation, which would become effective in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 1996, Jansons nearly died from a severe heart attack while conducting the final pages of La bohème in Oslo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He recuperated in Switzerland. Later, surgeons in Pittsburgh fitted an implanted defibrillator in his chest to give his heart an electric jolt if it failed.<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter">Template:Cite news</ref> (Jansons's father had died at a 1984 concert, conducting the Hallé Orchestra.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) Jansons stated that he suffered from jet lag, and this was one reason that he left his American position.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the start of the 2003-2004 season, Jansons began his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> for an initial contract of three years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His commitment with the BRSO was for ten weeks per season.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In September 2006, Jansons extended his initial BRSO contract to August 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2007, he further extended his contract with the BRSO to August 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In April 2011, he extended his BRSO contract to August 2015 in Munich.<ref>"BR verlängert Vertrag mit Mariss Jansons" (press release). Bayerischer Rundfunk, 15 April 2011.</ref> In June 2013, the BRSO further extended Jansons's contract through August 2018.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In May 2015, the BRSO announced another extension of Jansons's contract through 2021.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In July 2018, the orchestra announced a further extension of his contract through 2024.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> He regularly campaigned for the construction of a new concert hall for the orchestra.<ref name="Independent"/> On 8 November 2019, he conducted his final orchestral concert, at Carnegie Hall with the BRSO and Diana Damrau.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 2002, Jansons was named the sixth Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) of Amsterdam, effective 1 September 2004, succeeding Riccardo Chailly.<ref name="BR" /><ref>Martin Cullingford, "Jansons confirmed as Royal Concertgebouw head". Gramophone, 17 October 2002.</ref> His initial Amsterdam contract was for three years,<ref>Guido van Oorschot, "Mariss Jansons to Succeed Riccardo Chailly at the Concertgebouw Orchestra". andante.com (overall website now defunct), 16 October 2002.</ref> and his commitment in Amsterdam was for twelve weeks per season. In April 2014, the orchestra announced that Jansons was to stand down as chief conductor after the 2014–2015 season.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He conducted his final concert as chief conductor of the RCO on 20 March 2015, in the presence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He subsequently held the title of conductor emeritus of the KCO until his death.<ref name="Concertgebouworkest"/>

In 2006, Jansons conducted the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert for the first time. Also in January 2006, he was awarded MIDEM's Artist of the Year Award in Cannes. In October 2007, Jansons (who was Lutheran<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for Pope Benedict XVI and 7,000 other listeners in the papal audience hall (Auditorio Paul VI). Jansons conducted the Vienna New Year's Concert for the second time in 2012, and for the third and final time in 2016.

Personal life

Jansons was married twice. He and his first wife, Ira, had a daughter, called Ilona, who became a pianist. The marriage ended during his tenure in Oslo. Jansons and his second wife Irina (née Outchitel),<ref name="Millington" /> a former speech therapist, had a home in Saint Petersburg, where Jansons kept his collection of scores.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> He held both Latvian and Russian citizenship.<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter"/>

Jansons died during the night of 30 November 2019 / 1 December 2019 at his home in the Tolstoy House, Saint Petersburg, as a result of a longstanding heart condition, aged 76.<ref name="LTV1"/><ref name="LR1"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Awards and recognition

Jansons was awarded various international honours for his achievements, including Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit from King Harald of Norway and memberships in the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of Music Friends) in Vienna. He was awarded the St. Hallvard Medal in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 2006, he was awarded the Order of the Three Stars (2nd class or Grand Commander), Latvia's highest state honour. He was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit in 2007 and in 2010, the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art. In 2008, Jansons received the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Jansons' recording of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 with Sergey Aleksashkin (bass) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus won the Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance at the 2006 Grammy Awards.<ref name="Grammy">Template:Cite web</ref>

In January 2006 he was awarded a Midem, a Cannes Classical Award as Artist of the Year. In 2007 he was honoured by the German Phono Academy with the Echo Klassik as Conductor of the Year. In 2011, he was awarded the same title by the German journal Opernwelt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Jansons won the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> On 31 March 2013 Jansons was awarded a medal of honour "For the Merits before St. Petersburg". On 4 October 2013, Jansons received the Grand Merit Cross with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 1 November 2013, Jansons was awarded Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion and received it from Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In November 2017,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Royal Philharmonic Society awarded Jansons the RPS Gold Medal, with Mitsuko Uchida presenting the medal to Jansons during a concert with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks) on 24 November 2017 at the Barbican Hall.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Jansons was the 104th recipient of the RPS Gold Medal.

In 2018, Jansons was awarded Honorary Membership of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in June 2018 of the Vienna Philharmonic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 14 April 2019, Jansons received the Herbert von Karajan Prize at the Salzburg Easter Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019, he received the Opus Klassik award in the category "Lifetime Achievement”.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2020, the BRSO posthumously awarded its Karl Amadeus Hartmann Medal to Jansons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Selected recordings

Jansons is credited on over 190 orchestral recordings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Commons category

Template:Oslo-Filharmonien conductors Template:PSOrch music directors Template:Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductors Template:Concertgebouworkest conductors Template:Ernst von Siemens Music Prize Template:Léonie Sonning Music Prize laureates Template:Gramophone Hall of Fame Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Mariss_Jansons&oldid=426881"