Andris Nelsons has held major conducting posts on both the concert and operatic stages, and in each realm, has distinguished himself as an incisive interpreter of a broad range of music. Whether conducting
Puccini at the Met,
Wagner at Bayreuth, or
Stravinsky with the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,
Nelsons has managed to win over both critics and the public alike. He is the music director of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra and the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. In 2022,
Nelsons led the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in the latest installment of their survey of Bruckner's symphonies on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Nelsons was born in Riga, Latvia, on November 18, 1978. His parents and stepfather were musicians, and at an early age,
Nelsons studied piano but took up the trumpet at 12. He later sang in his mother's early music ensemble and played trumpet in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra. After local studies,
Nelsons began studying conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with
Alexander Titov. In 2002, he began studying privately with famed conductor
Mariss Jansons.
Nelsons' orchestral repertory includes large portions of
Mozart,
Mahler, and
Shostakovich. His operatic repertory takes in much
Wagner and
Puccini, as well as
Bizet,
Tchaikovsky, and
Richard Strauss.
Nelsons has conducted around the globe, including throughout Europe, the U.S., and Japan. He served as principal conductor of the Latvian National Opera from 2003-2007. In 2006, he took on a second important post, this one as chief conductor of the
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, a position he held until 2009. From 2007,
Nelsons began making regular appearances in the U.K., and that September was named music director of the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, beginning in the 2008-2009 season. He held this post until the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season. 2009 saw
Nelsons' debut at the Met, leading a performance of
Puccini's Turandot. The following year,
Nelsons made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival with a production of
Wagner's Lohengrin; this followed a concert performance given in Birmingham with the
City of Birmingham Symphony. In 2011, a highly praised reading of
Mahler's Ninth Symphony at Carnegie Hall with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra marked two more important debuts for
Nelsons; this was his first performance at Carnegie Hall and his first time leading the
Boston Symphony.
Nelsons was named the
Boston Symphony's 15th music director in 2014, after several years of guest conducting. In 2018,
Nelsons was named the 21st Gewandhauskapellmeister (music director) of the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
Nelsons has an exclusive recording contract with the Deutsche Grammophon label but has also recorded for Decca and Orfeo, among others. He has continued to receive acclaim for his recordings, especially those of his continuing surveys of the symphonies of
Shostakovich, with the
Boston Symphony, and
Bruckner (which is paired with music by
Wagner), with the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. In 2020,
Nelsons received contract extensions with both groups: the
Boston Symphony until 2025 and the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig until 2027.
Nelsons led the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig on a recording of
Bruckner's first and fifth symphonies with
Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde in 2022. ~ Robert Cummings & Keith Finke