Nelsons was born in Riga. His mother founded the first early music ensemble in Latvia, and his father was a choral conductor, cellist, and teacher. At age five, his mother and stepfather took him to a performance of Wagner'sTannhäuser, which Nelsons refers to as a profoundly formative experience: "...it had a hypnotic effect on me. I was overwhelmed by the music. I cried when Tannhäuser died. I still think this was the biggest thing that happened in my childhood." As a youth, Nelsons studied piano, and took up the trumpet at age 12. He also sang bass-baritone, with a special interest in early music, in his mother's ensemble. He studied for one summer at the Dartington International Summer School with Evelyn Tubb. He served as a trumpeter with the orchestra of the Latvian National Opera.
Conducting career
Nelsons studied conducting with Alexander Titov in Saint Petersburg, Russia and participated in conducting master classes with Neeme Järvi, Roberto Carnevale and Jorma Panula. He came to the attention of Mariss Jansons when he emergency-substituted with the Oslo Philharmonic in their trumpet section during an orchestra tour. Nelsons counts Jansons as a mentor and has been a conducting student with him since 2002. In 2003, Nelsons became principal conductor of the Latvian National Opera. He concluded his tenure there after four years in 2007. In 2006, Nelsons became chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie of Herford, Germany, a post he held until the end of the 2008/09 season. His first conducting appearance at the Metropolitan Opera was in October 2009, a production of Turandot. In July 2010, Nelsons made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival, conducting a new production of Wagner's Lohengrinat the opening performance of the festival. In November 2017, The Boston Globe reported that Nelsons told Jim Braude and Margery Eagan of Boston Public Radio that sexual harassment is not – nor has it ever been – an issue in the classical music world. In a subsequent statement to the paper, Nelsons clarified his position saying that he has "not seen overt examples of sexual misconduct" but admitted that it "takes place in all fields, including, of course, the classical music industry."
In the UK, Nelsons's early work included studio concerts with the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, and his first BBC Philharmonic concert at the Bridgewater Hall was in November 2007. In October 2007, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra named Nelsons as its 12th principal conductor and music director, effective with the 2008/09 season, with an initial contract for three years. The appointment was unusual in that Nelsons had conducted the CBSO only in a private concert and in a recording session, without a public concert engagement, prior to being named to the post. His first public conducting appearance with the CBSO was on 11 November 2007 in a matinee concert, and his first subscription concert appearance with the CBSO was in March 2008. In July 2009, Nelsons extended his CBSO contract for an additional three years, through the 2013/14 season. In August 2012, the CBSO announced the extension of his CBSO contract formally through the 2014/15 season, and then for subsequent seasons on the basis of an annual rolling renewal. In October 2013, the CBSO announced the conclusion of Nelsons's tenure as music director after the end of the 2014/15 season.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
In the US, Nelsons made his first guest-conducting appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in March 2011, as an emergency substitute for James Levine at Carnegie Hall. He subsequently guest-conducted the BSO at the Tanglewood Music Festival in July 2012, and made his first appearance with the BSO at Symphony Hall, Boston in January 2013. In May 2013, the BSO named Nelsons as its 15th music director effective the 2014/15 season. His initial contract was for 5 years and stipulated 8 to 10 weeks of scheduled appearances in the first year of the contract and 12 weeks in subsequent years. Nelsons held the title of Music Director Designate in the 2013/14 season. In August 2015, the BSO announced the extension of Nelsons's contract as music director through the 2021/22 season with a new contract, for eight years, that replaced the initial five-year contract, and also contained an evergreen clause for automatic renewal.
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Nelsons first guest-conducted the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2011. Since February 2018 Nelsons is the 21st Gewandhauskapellmeister. The orchestra announced the appointment with the initial contract for 5 seasons.
With the CBSO, Nelsons has recorded music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky for the Orfeo label. Separately from the CBSO, Nelsons has also recorded for the BR-Klassik label and for the label of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Nelsons has also recorded commercially with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon, where their album Under Stalin's Shadow, of the Symphony No 10 of Shostakovich, received a 2015 Grammy Award for best orchestral performance. This DG album is part of an intended long-term contract between the Boston Symphony, Nelsons and DG, as extended in May 2016. In 2019 DG published Complete Beethoven symphonies with Andris Nelsons and Vienna Philharmonic.
Personal life
Nelsons was married to the Latvian soprano Kristīne Opolais. They met during Nelsons's tenure at Latvian National Opera, when she was a member of the Latvian National Opera chorus, and later became a solo singer with the company. The couple married in 2011. Their daughter, Adriana Anna, was born on 28 December 2011. The couple announced their divorce on 27 March 2018.
