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The Boston Symphony Orchestra have just announced that Andris Nelsons is to become their next Music Director, beginning as Music Director Designate in the 2013-14 season. He takes on the full role in the following season on a five-year contract that commits him to up to 12 weeks of performances each year. The full press release is below.
The CBSO have confirmed Andris will stay with them until "at least 2014/15 on a rolling contract"; they will make an announcement about future seasons later this year.
While it's possible for one conductor to handle two orchestras, this makes it less likely that Nelsons will be available for the Berlin Philharmonic opening in 2018.
BSO press release:
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.
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DETAILS OF BSO AGREEMENT WITH ANDRIS NELSONS Andris Nelsons will take on the title of BSO Music Director in the 2014-15 season for an initial five year commitment, leading 8-10 weeks of programs during the BSO’s 2014-15 subscription season in Symphony Hall in Boston; he will lead 12 weeks of programs each subsequent year of the five-year contract. Mr. Nelsons will also lead several programs each season at Tanglewood, the orchestra’s summer music festival in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. 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).