Jansons, Mariss

▪ 2004

      In February 2003 Mariss Jansons was treated to a birthday party thrown by his cohorts at the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Symphony Orchestra to celebrate his 60th birthday. The gala included performances by such luminaries as cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, pianist Emanuel Ax, and violinist Gil Shaham. While the event celebrated a personal milestone for Jansons, it also served as a tribute to the conductor who had so greatly enhanced the orchestra's reputation since 1997, when he began his tenure as music director. It was also a farewell party of sorts; Jansons had announced in 2002 that he would be leaving his Pittsburgh post following the 2003–04 season to become principal conductor of Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Jansons also took over as music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, Ger., at the start of its season in September 2003.

      Jansons was born on Jan. 14, 1943, in Riga, Latvia. The son of the respected conductor Arvid Jansons, Mariss was captivated by music as a child. He studied violin, piano, and conducting in the Soviet Union at the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Conservatory and graduated with honours. In 1969 he went to Austria and began studies in conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and with Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg. Those efforts culminated in his winning the International Herbert von Karajan Foundation Competition in Berlin in 1971.

      Two years later Jansons was invited to become associate conductor of the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Philharmonic; he was named its principal conductor in 1985. In 1979 Jansons began a 23-year stint as music director of the Oslo Philharmonic. As he would later do in Pittsburgh, he elevated the reputation of the Norwegian orchestra via recordings and tours in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Over the course of his career, Jansons conducted many of the world's major orchestras, and he appeared on an annual basis at the Salzburg Festival.

      Usually specializing in the Central and Eastern European repertory, Jansons made especially memorable interpretations of Dvorak, Bartok, Brahms, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich. He was a frequent visitor to the radio, television, and recording studios. His recordings with major orchestras, including those from Pittsburgh, St. Petersburg, Oslo, Philadelphia, and Berlin, were well received, and his work was honoured by receipt of the Dutch Luister Award and the French Grand Prix de Disque, among others. Perhaps the greatest honour of all came in 1995, however, when, in recognition of his work with the Oslo Philharmonic, King Harald V made Jansons Commander with Star of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. It was that country's highest honour for anyone not of Norwegian descent.

Harry Sumrall

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