Mariss Jansons

Mariss Jansons emerged as a leading conductor from the Soviet Union during its final phase, guiding prominent ensembles across Europe and the United States while building an extensive recorded legacy. Born on January 14, 1943, in Latvia under German occupation, he came into the world after his Jewish mother escaped the capital to give birth; her father and uncle had both been killed. Following the war he took up violin lessons from his father before entering the Leningrad Conservatory, later renamed the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he pursued studies in conducting and piano. Opportunities to train further in the West led him to Austria, where he worked with Hans Swarowsky and Herbert von Karajan, and he subsequently claimed first prize in the International Herbert von Karajan Foundation Competition in Berlin. Although Karajan, impressed by the young musician, wished to engage him as an assistant with the Berlin Philharmonic, Soviet authorities withheld the offer. Jansons instead joined Yevgeny Mravinsky, who named him associate conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in 1973. His initial major Western post arrived in 1979 when he became music director of the Oslo Philharmonic, a role he held until 2000, departing after disputes with municipal authorities concerning the Oslo Concert Hall’s acoustics. In 1985 he added the chief conductorship of the Leningrad Philharmonic; after the Soviet collapse he continued leading the renamed St. Petersburg Philharmonic on extensive European and American tours that introduced him to wider audiences. Those appearances paved the way for his appointment as principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic in 1992 and, in 1997, as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, where he remained until 2004. While conducting Puccini’s La bohème in that city he suffered a heart attack and later received a defibrillator, benefiting from Pittsburgh’s advanced medical facilities. Between 2002 and 2014 he served as chief conductor of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra, and during the 2003–2004 season he assumed the same title with the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. He also attracted considerable public attention through several appearances leading the Vienna Philharmonic’s annual New Year’s concert. His discography, issued on labels such as EMI Classics and the orchestra’s own BR Klassik imprint, is extensive; within the opening months of 2019 alone he featured on four releases—Beethoven, Schumann, and Bruckner recordings on BR Klassik plus the Deutsche Grammophon collection Blue Hour with the Berlin Philharmonic. Still managing a cardiac condition, he died at his St. Petersburg residence later that year. Among numerous distinctions he received the Grand Merit Cross with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany.