Andris Nelsons
Conductor Andris Nelsons is leading the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Boston Symphony Orchestra into a unique multidimensional partnership. Indeed, the 36 years old Latvian has been appointed as Gewandhauskapellmeister, starting with the 2017-18 season. He will be successor of Riccardo Chailly who announced his resignation in Leipzig last week.
The BSO/GWO Alliance will explore the many historic connections between these two world-famous orchestras, inspire new cultural exchanges, and create a wide spectrum of performance and educational programs designed to bring a new dimension of concert experience to each of the orchestra’s respective audiences. As the central figure in bringing the BSO and GWO together, Andris Nelsons will be intricately involved in the planning and implementation of all the programming initiatives between the two orchestras.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhausorchester Alliance will informally begin in May 2016 when the BSO, as part of a European tour to the major musical capitals of Austria, Germany, and Luxembourg, makes its debut performance in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, one of the great European halls after which Boston’s Symphony Hall was modeled (1884 version). The BSO/GWO Alliance officially takes place over a five-year period beginning with the 2017-18 concert season.
The BSO/GWO Alliance, under the leadership of Andris Nelsons, will feature a series of co-commissions, with new works presented each year of the partnership, starting with a work by German composer Jörg Widmann to be premiered in Boston and Leipzig in the 2017-18 concert season. The commissioning program-featuring an array of international composers representing a diversity of styles and generations-will create new works to be performed by both ensembles during their subscription seasons. The Alliance will also focus on some key educational initiatives including a program that will give Conducting Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center (BSO’s acclaimed summer music academy in western Massachusetts) an opportunity to assist Andris Nelsons with his work with the Gewandhausorchester. BSO musicians will also take part in the GWO’s chamber music education series.
During the 2017-18 subscription season, the BSO will celebrate « Leipzig Week in Boston » at Symphony Hall and the GWO will celebrate « Boston Week in Leipzig » at the Gewandhaus, giving each orchestra an opportunity to focus on some of the repertory for which their partner organization is best known. BSO Performing at Gewandhaus and GWO Performing at Symphony Hall.
One other component of the Alliance will be a chance for the BSO to perform at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the GWO to perform at Symphony Hall in Boston, giving each orchestra’s audience a chance to appreciate this new partnership first hand. The BSO/GWO Alliance will also explore musician exchanges between the two orchestras.
