Mariss Jansons announced today that he will resign his position as chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra after the 2014/15 season.
The Latvian-born conductor, 71, has held the position since September 2004, succeeding Riccardo Chailly. He is also chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; his current contract there comes to an end in 2018.
Jansons' leadership of the Amsterdam orchestra has been a period of especial success and acclaim. In 2008 the orchestra was voted "the world's greatest" by an international panel of music critics; CDs and DVDs by Jansons with the RCO on its own label, RCO Live, have received countless international prizes, and in 2011 Jansons was named "conductor of the year" by German magazine Opernwelt. His recent residency with the orchestra at London's Barbican saw him hailed as a "master of balance and texture."
In a press release, the orchestra, the management and the chief conductor stated that they are parting on excellent terms and with deep mutual respect. There is no word as to his possible successor, who will be only the seventh chief conductor in the orchestra's 126-year history.
See also
Tom Service: Jansons ensured the RCO lived up to its 'greatest orchestra' tag
Audio slideshow: a day in the life of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
