The Boston Symphony Orchestra has appointed Andris Nelsons director, the BSO announced Thursday.
Nelsons will become the 15th director in BSO history, dating back to 1881. At 34, he'll become the youngest BSO director in more than 100 years, the BSO said. He had been director of the City of Birmingham Orchestra in the U.K.
Read the Full BSO Release:
ANDRIS NELSONS TO VISIT BOSTON IN LATE JUNE FOR HIS FIRST VISIT TO THE CITY FOLLOWING HIS APPOINTMENT AS THE NEXT BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MUSIC DIRECTOR
May 16, 2013 - Andris Nelsons has been appointed the 15th Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since its founding in 1881. The announcement was made today by Chairman of the BSO Board of Trustees Ted Kelly, BSO Board of Trustees Vice Chairs Stephen B. Kay and Robert O'Block, and BSO Managing Director Mark Volpe, following a meeting of the orchestra's Board of Trustees earlier in the day at Symphony Hall. At 34 years old, Andris Nelsons is the youngest music director to lead the Boston Symphony Orchestra in over 100 years; he is also the first Latvian-born conductor to take on the post.
"It is absolutely thrilling for us to announce the appointment of Andris Nelsons as the next Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director," said Ted Kelly. "Sought after by the top orchestras and opera houses of the world, Maestro Nelsons, at age 34, is already considered one of the most brilliant conductors of our time. We are very fortunate that Mr. Nelsons, as the BSO's next music director, will bring his extraordinary ability to lead powerfully moving and insightful performances to the next chapter in the orchestra's storied history. As the BSO continues to realize its mission of bringing the highest standards of music making to an ever-growing live and online audience, I believe Andris Nelsons' unique creativity and visionary instincts will bring a remarkable inspiration to all the BSO's endeavors."
"I am deeply honored and touched that the Boston Symphony Orchestra has appointed me its next music director, as it is one of the highest achievements a conductor could hope for in his lifetime," said Andris Nelsons. "Each time I have worked with the BSO I have been inspired by how effectively it gets to the heart of the music, always leaving its audience with a great wealth of emotions. So it is with great joy that I truly look forward to joining this wonderful musical family and getting to know the beautiful city of Boston and the community that so clearly loves its great orchestra. As I consider my future with the Boston Symphony, I imagine us working closely together to bring the deepest passion and love that we all share for music to ever greater numbers of music fans in Boston, at Tanglewood, and throughout the world."
ANDRIS NELSONS TO VISIT BOSTON IN LATE JUNE
Mr. Nelson's will make his first visit to Boston since being appointed the next Ray and Maria Stata Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in late June, with an exact date and further information about the visit to be announced in a few weeks. Prior to his Boston visit in June, Mr. Nelsons will guest conduct Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich's Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Leipzig's Gewandhaus Orchestra, as well as lead concerts with his City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall in Birmingham and on tour in seven cities in Germany, Belgium, and France.
SOME DETAILS OF BSO AGREEMENT WITH ANDRIS NELSONS
Maestro Nelsons will act as BSO Music Director Designate for the BSO's 2013-14 season, making his first appearance in that official capacity October 17-19, leading Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, with soloist Paul Lewis, and Brahms's Symphony No. 3; he returns to the BSO podium on March 6, 2014 to lead a performance of Strauss's Salome. Prior to his Symphony Hall engagements as BSO Music Director Designate next fall and winter, Mr. Nelsons will make an appearance at Tanglewood on July 27, leading the BSO, a quartet of internationally acclaimed singers, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in a performance of Verdi's monumental Requiem. Mr. Nelsons succeeds James Levine, who was music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2011. Mr. Nelsons is the third youngest conductor to be appointed BSO music director since the orchestra's founding in 1881: Georg Henschel was 31 when he became the orchestra's first music director in 1881, and Arthur Nikisch was 33 when he opened his first season with the orchestra in 1889.
"All of us at the BSO are incredibly proud to be part of this landmark moment in the BSO's 132-year history, as we announce the appointment of Andris Nelsons as the next Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra," said Mark Volpe. "With the appointment of such legendary leaders as Serge Koussevitzky, Charles Munch, Erich Leinsdorf, Seiji Ozawa, and James Levine, the BSO has always drawn the world's top conductors to lead its orchestra and inspire its audiences. We believe that Andris Nelsons will further the BSO's proud standing as one of the world's greatest orchestras and bring his singular musical gifts to the orchestra and its countless fans in Boston, across the nation, and around the globe."
"I am thrilled that Andris Nelsons is being appointed as our new Music Director," said BSO Concertmaster Malcolm Lowe. "On behalf of the musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, I want to express our excitement and anticipation of working closely with Andris Nelsons to bring great music and performances to our audiences in Boston and around the world. Maestro Nelsons has an acute awareness and appreciation of the tremendous legacy of the Boston Symphony and he is passionately intent on expanding, focusing, and energizing our future. It is clear that the joy and love of music is at the heart of Maestro Nelsons' music making. His musical center, knowledge, and artistically searching human spirit, along with his youthful exuberance, will inspire that future. I think the appointment of Maestro Nelsons will be a great celebration of music."
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MUSIC DIRECTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE
The Boston Symphony Orchestra's Music Director Search Committee is made up of members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, BSO Board of Trustees, and management leadership team. The committee is co-chaired by BSO Board of Trustees Vice Chairs Stephen B. Kay and Robert O'Block, with other trustee members including Ted Kelly (BSO Chairman of the Board) and Paul Buttenwieser and Joyce Linde (trustees). Other members of the committee include orchestra members Edward Gazouleas (viola), Jason Horowitz (violin), Malcolm Lowe (concertmaster), Robert Sheena (English horn), and James Sommerville (principal horn); and management staff members Mark Volpe (BSO Managing Director) and Anthony Fogg (BSO Artistic Administrator).
Andris Nelsons Bio
Andris Nelsons is one of the most sought-after conductors on the international scene today, earning distinction on both the opera and concert podiums, including those of the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera and Vienna State Opera. He is also a regular podium presence at the Bayreuth Festival. Mr. Nelsons' tenure since 2008 as Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has earned critical acclaim. Born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Mr. Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before studying conducting. He is married to the soprano Kristine Opolais, who recently received wide acclaim in her Metropolitan Opera debut as Magda in Puccini's "La Rondine." They live in Riga with their 17-month old daughter Adriana.
Andris Nelsons made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut in March 2011, leading Mahler's Symphony No. 9 at Carnegie Hall in place of James Levine. Last summer he conducted both the Boston Symphony Orchestra (in Ravel's La Valse) and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (in Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy with Anne-Sophie Mutter) as part of Tanglewood's gala 75th-anniversary concert, following that the next day with a BSO concert pairing Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms and Brahms's Symphony No. 2. Mr. Nelsons made his Symphony Hall debut with the BSO this past January, leading a program of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 with soloist Baiba Skride and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.
With the CBSO Mr Nelsons is undertaking major tours worldwide, including regular appearances at such summer festivals as the Lucerne Festival, BBC Proms and Berliner Festspiele. Together they have toured the major European concert halls, including the Musikverein, Vienna, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Gasteig, Munich and the Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid. Nelsons made his debut in Japan on tour with Wiener Philharmoniker and returns to tour the Far East with the CBSO in November 2013.
Nelsons and the CBSO are working towards releasing all orchestral works of Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss for Orfeo International. The first Strauss disc, featuring Ein Heldenleben, garnered critical praise. Further releases include works of Stravinsky and Shostakovich. The majority of Mr. Nelsons' recordings have been recognized with a Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik; in October 2011 he received the prestigious ECHO Klassik of the German Phono Academy in the category "Conductor of the Year" for his 2010 recording with the CBSO of Stravinsky's Firebird and Symphony of Psalms. For audiovisual recordings, he has an exclusive agreement with Unitel GmbH, the most recent release is a disc of Britten's War Requiem with the CBSO, released on DVD and Blu-ray.
Prior to his position as Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Nelsons served as principal conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany, from 2006 to 2009, and was music director of the Latvian National Opera from 2003 to 2007.
