Andris Nelsons launches Leipzig-Boston joint venture

News release just in:

Andris Nelsons, Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Gewandhauskapellmeister Designate, will lead a unique multidimensional collaboration between his two orchestras over a five-year period beginning with the 2017-18 concert season.  An unprecedented partnership in the world of orchestral music, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhausorchester 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.

Andris says: ‘The creation of an alliance is a natural step, since these two respected ensembles have, in the course of their history, already been closely associated with one another. I am so eager to invest my energies into the individual and joint musical direction of my two orchestral families in order  to bring new artistic enrichment and perspective to both orchestras and audiences. By bringing the tremendous strengths and gifts of these two remarkable orchestras together we have developed a new and dynamic approach to programming that we hope will inspire our audiences to discover more about this fascinating relationship.

‘From commissioning new works to be performed in Boston and Leipzig, to creating musician exchanges at the professional and student levels, and presenting a wide spectrum of programs about the wonderful legacies of these two great orchestras and how they so beautifully relate to each other, this unique partnership has a great potential to bring a new and powerful perspective to our fantastic world of classical music. We truly hope that our audiences at home and around the world will be inspired by our growing BSO/GHO Alliance, to get to know their extraordinary musical gifts, both individually and  collectively.’