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S uperlatives PEOPLE, CULTURE, TASTE, STYLE VIEW FROM THE TOP Passing the Baton THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA'S SUPERSTAR NEW CONDUCTOR ANDRIS NELSONS TAKES THE PODIUM. BY JARED BOWEN T Music is in Nelsons's genes. In Latvia, his father is a cellist and his he Boston Symphony Orchestra is gaining a renewed sense of vitality, thanks to its new music director, Andris Nelsons. The mother is the founder of an early music group. He launched his own 34-year-old, Latvian-born conductor is the youngest music director career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before to lead the orchestra in more than a century. For an organization steeped in studying conducting. He already has a host of worldwide conducting prestige, Nelsons represents a spirited, fresh reboot. "This is a great honor," engagements to his credit, and since 2008 he has been the music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England. "Music is he says. "This is one of the world's best orchestras, with a great tradition." Although he was named to the prestigious post in May, Nelsons's ini- food for our souls," he says. "We need to feed our soul. And through music, tial five-year contract officially begins with the 2014–2015 season, which through art, you can do this. We need to be strong messengers of that. [Music] can be such an emotional experience that will ultimately see him leading 12 weeks of procan heal many things." grams at Symphony Hall and several programs Nelsons inherits the BSO from James Levine, each summer at Tanglewood, the BSO's summer whose seven-year tenure ended with a series of canmusic festival in the Berkshires. (He will lead eight cellations resulting from the maestro's myriad to 10 weeks of programs during his first year as he health issues. "It's an honor to take over from fulfills existing guest conductor obligations Levine. He may be one of the greatest American around the world.) For the time being, Nelsons is conductors," Nelsons says. "It's difficult that, the BSO's music director designate and will lead because of his health situation, he had to leave. We the orchestra October 17–19 in Wagner's Siegfried —ANDRIS NELSONS are all very sorry and wish him the best." Idyll, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, and As the baton is passed to Nelsons, so to speak, he plans no radical Brahms's Symphony No. 3. It is an orchestra he knows well, having guestconducted several times during the past two years. "The orchestra is departures. "First I need to continue to allow the power, the strength of sounding really wonderful," Nelsons says. "I've experienced that in all the orchestra to develop and to continue what the great maestros have the times I've conducted them. It's a great sound. It's great individual done," he says. "I will try to balance my own love of certain composers, solo playing. The quality of the sound is not forced. It's very rich, and it's who are my great loves, with the needs of the orchestra and the needs of very close to my heart." continued on page 62 "Music is food for our souls. It can be an emotional experience that heals many things." BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 060-062_BC_SPR_P_VFT_LateFall13.indd 61 61 9/17/13 11:28 AM