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Masterprize
Tel: +44 (0)20 7233 0111 Masterprize site designed by Room101 Ltd |
Mariss
Jansons, Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
since 1997 and of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1979
to 2000, will take the post of Chief Conductor of the
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich from
September 2003. Mariss Jansons is one of the most
distinguished conductors currently at work and is renowned
for his many recordings, concert performances and tours, as
well as his numerous radio and television
appearances.
Mariss Jansons was born in Riga, Latvia in 1943, the son of the renowned conductor Arvid Jansons. He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory, from which he graduated with honours. In 1969 he continued his training in Vienna with Hans Swarowsky and in Salzburg with Herbert von Karajan. Two years later he won the International Herbert von Karajan Foundation Competition in Berlin.
Mariss Jansons' collaboration with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the Leningrad Philharmonic) dates back to 1973 when Mravinsky, then its Music Director, invited Mr Jansons to assist him as Associate Conductor. Mariss Jansons has conducted the orchestra over a long period of time on many of its successful tours across the world and served for many years as Associate Principal Conductor.
In the twenty years under Jansons' leadership, the Oslo PO grew to international stature. Together they toured the world's major musical centres, the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, the Edinburgh Festival, BBC Proms, the Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall in London, the Vienna Musikverein, the Royal Concertgebouw, New York's Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Over the years they have repeatedly received outstanding reviews for their many recordings on the EMI, Chandos and Simax labels.
His association with the Pittsburgh SO, though more recent, has already brought the orchestra to a similar level of recognition. On a recent European tour, which included the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Festival and the BBC Proms, The Guardian wrote, "The first of their concerts, in particular, was one of those very great evenings that you catch half a dozen times in your life, if you're lucky". The Pittsburgh SO and Mariss Jansons recently released their first recording of Shostakovich 8 for EMI to much critical acclaim.
Mariss Jansons also works with the world's greatest orchestras and appears each season with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. He also continues to appear each year at the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals and at the BBC Proms in London.
Mariss Jansons has recorded prolifically for EMI, Chandos and Simax and his discography includes works by Berlioz, Dvorak and Bartok, Mahler, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Respighi, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Kurt Weill, Brahms and Strauss. In addition to his many renowned recordings with the Oslo PO, Jansons has also recorded with the Berlin and Vienna PO, Royal Concertgebouw, Philadelphia Orchestra and the London Philharmonic. Several of Mariss Jansons' recordings have received international awards: Shostakovich's Symphony No.7 with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra won an Edison Award in 1989; Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra won the coveted Dutch Luister Award; Dvorak's Symphony No.5 with the Oslo Philharmonic received a Penguin Award and Honneger's Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 won the Grand Prix de Disque. In 1996 he was appointed EMI Classics' Artist of the Year.
In 1995, King Harald V of Norway conferred on Mariss Jansons the honour, Commander with Star of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, for his work and achievements with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the highest such award available to foreigners. Mr Jansons has also been awarded the prestigious Norwegian Culture Prize of Anders Jahre. In 1999, he was conferred a Honourary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London, and in June 2001, Mr Jansons was elected Honourary Member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, the highest musical honour which can be awarded in Austria.
Mariss Jansons is Professor of Conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatoire of Music.