On 30 November 2019, the Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons died at the age of 76 years. Jansons was born on January 14, 1943 in Riga. He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory and in 1969 went to Austria, where he continued his education with Hans Swarowsky and Herbert von Karajan. In 1973 he became deputy conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, from 1979 to 2000 he conducted the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1992 he became Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1997, and since 2003 Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he was chief conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra from 2004 to 2015. In 2006, 2012 and 2016, Mariss Jansons conducted the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. After many important honors and awards, he received the “Opus Klassik 2019” on October 13, 2019 for his life’s work.
Austria 1.1.2006