Dirigent
Biography:
Maris Jansson was born in Riga in 1943 as the son of the conductor Arvids Jansons. He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory and completed his training with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna and with Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg.
In 1971 he won the Karajan Competition in Berlin and began working closely with what is now the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, first as assistant to Yevgeny Mravinsky and later as permanent conductor. From 1979 to 2000, Mariss Jansons was music director of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra: under his aegis, the orchestra gained international renown and made guest appearances in the most important concert halls in the world. From 1997 to 2004 he conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and in the 2003/2004 season he became chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra. His tenure at the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam began with the 2004/2005 season and ended in 2015. As a guest conductor, Mariss Jansons works with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, among others, whose New Year's Concert he conducted in 2016 for the third time. He has also conducted the leading orchestras in the USA and Europe.
His discography includes many award-winning recordings, including the Grammy-winning one 13st Symphony by Shostakovich.
Mariss Jansons is an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Berlin Philharmonic, which had already honored him with the Hans von Bülow Medal, and the Vienna Philharmonic. The City of Vienna presented him with the Golden Medal of Honor, the State of Austria with the Cross of Honor for Science and Art, and in 2010 he was awarded the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Art and Science. In 2007 and 2008 he received the ECHO Klassik. In 2013 he was awarded the renowned Ernst von Siemens Music Prize for his lifetime work as a conductor. In the same year, Federal President Joachim Gauck presented him with the Great Federal Cross of Merit with Star in Berlin. The Ministry of Culture of the French Republic appointed Mariss Jansons Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 2015. In 2017 the Royal Philharmonic Society in London honored him with the Gold Medal, and in March 2018 he received the international Léonie Sonning Music Prize.
Albums:
musica viva vol. 32 – Requiem stanzas:
