Andris Nelsons
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 /TiVo
-
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5 / Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: Prelude & Liebestod
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 11 Feb 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms : Piano Concertos No. 1 & No. 2 (Version Lossless) (Live)
Hélène Grimaud, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1, 14 & 15; Chamber Symphony in C Minor
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 25 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms : The Symphonies - Symphony No. 4
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonies - Released by BSO Classics on 24 Apr 2017
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
Rudolf Buchbinder, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 3 Sep 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky : Manfred Symphony, Marche slave (Live)
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonic Music - Released by Orfeo on 6 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 7; Incidental Music to „King Lear” (Live at Symphony Hall, Boston / 2017)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 22 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, "Pathétique"
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonies - Released by Orfeo on 10 Aug 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphonies Nos. 5, 8 & 9; Suite From "Hamlet" (Live)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 27 May 2016
Gramophone Editor's Choice16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák : Symphonie n°9 - Heldenlied, op.111
Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by BR-Klassik on 14 Mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky : The Firebird - A Symphony of Psalms
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Andris Nelsons
Symphonic Music - Released by Orfeo on 4 Mar 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonies - Released by Orfeo on 23 Sep 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Hamlet Overture
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonies - Released by Orfeo on 28 May 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich : Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Arabella Steinbacher, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Andris Nelsons
Violin Concertos - Released by Orfeo on 27 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Boston Symphony Orchestra - Wagner and Sibelius
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by BSO Classics on 1 Dec 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphony No. 10 (Live)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 31 Jul 2015
Gramophone Award16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 12 & 13
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 20 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms : The Symphonies - Nos. 2 & 3
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonies - Released by BSO Classics on 24 Apr 2017
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sommernachtskonzert 2022 / Summer Night Concert 2022
Andris Nelsons, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Andris Nelsons & Wiener Philharmoniker
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 1 Jul 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals (Narrated by Jimmy Fallon)
Lang Lang, Gina Alice, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons, Jimmy Fallon
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Mar 2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Neujahrskonzert 2020 / New Year's Concert 2020 / Concert du Nouvel An 2020
Andris Nelsons, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 17 Jan 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo