Passing of Mariss Jansons

[waderice]

Just found out over at the Mahler Group on Facebook that Mariss Jansons passed away yesterday at age 76 in St. Petersburg.  No details yet, though I did take note of a comment that he had a heart attack 25 years ago while conducting in Stockholm.

Wade

[Roland Flessner]

We've lost a most distinguished conductor, much loved by the orchestras he led.

[erikwilson7]

This is awfully sad. I’m still shocked. He was still a very active conductor lately as far as I could tell. He had an excellent M6 with the LSO, and I’m going to revisit the rest of his Mahler with a fresh mind. Overall he was a tremendously talented conductor.

[Roland Flessner]

I agree that that LSO M6 is excellent, and during my most recent M7 obsession, I thought his BRSO recording was top of the class. His Pittsburgh Shostakovich 8 is, IMHO, one of the best recordings of anything ever made, and his Philadelphia Shostakovich 10 is outstanding too.

Here in Chicago, I heard him conduct Shostakovich 7 twice, once with the RCO and once with the BRSO. Both were superb concerts.

I tend to be wary of live recordings because they usually lack the precise execution of studio sessions, but with Jansons, it's hard to tell the difference, the live recordings being just as "tight" as those made in the studio.

I had read that he resigned from the RCO several years ago because health problems prevented him from staying there and also serving with the BRSO. He said he wished to regain the Munich position because they had plans to build a new hall, and he wanted to see that project through.

[John Kim]

Wait for the release of Mariss Jansons/BRSO Shosy 10th. It is bloody good! It's one of Jansons' best recordings in his entire career.