Andris Nelsons assumed the position of Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in February 2018, a post he holds concurrently with that of Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). With these positions, and in leading a pioneering alliance between two such esteemed institutions, Grammy Award- winning Nelsons is firmly underlined as one of the most renowned and innovative conductors on the international scene today.

 

 

2019 will feature the Gewandhausorchester undertaking four major tours with Andris Nelsons: across Europe, the first tour together to Japan and China, a festival tour with appearances at the London Proms, the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival, and in the autumn, as part of the ongoing cooperation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a week-long residence in Boston, including concerts on an ambitious scale on stage together with the BSO.

 

Baiba Skride’s natural approach to her music-making has endeared her to some of today’s most important conductors and orchestras worldwide. She is consistently invited for her refreshing interpretations, her sensitivity and delight in the music.

 

 

The Gewandhausorchester is the oldest civic symphony orchestra in the world. Not only was the orchestra founded during Johann Sebastian Bach's tenure as Thomaskantor, it also had a strong connection to this most revered of all musicians.

 

 

Bach was responsible for the sacred music in Leipzig's principal churches (including those of St. Thomas and St. Nikolai) for 27 years. In this capacity he was Music Director of the musicians in the employment of the city, the “Stadtpfeiffer” ("Town Pipers"), as well as directing one of the “Collegia Musica”, consisting of students from the university.

 

 

The orchestra was founded in 1743 on the initiative of a group of 16 persons, comprising both nobility and regular citizens, to perform for the newly formed concert society “Das Große Concert”.

 

The Gewandhausorchester´s unique contribution to Europe´s historical and current musical wealth has been recognised with the award of the European Cultural Heritage Label.

 

June 8th
1. Bruckner
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major

June 9th
1. Shostakovich
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77
Violinist: Baiba Skride

2. Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64