CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON
Martha H. Jones, President and Executive Director
PRESENTS
ROYAL CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA
MARISS JANSONS, CONDUCTOR
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1 AT SYMPHONY HALL  

(BOSTON)— In its first Boston appearance since 1999, and the first under its current Chief Conductor Mariss Jansons, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam performs Claude Debussy’s La Mer and Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique on Friday, February 1 at 8:00 pm at Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. The performance is presented by Celebrity Series of Boston and sponsored by the DeMoulas Foundation; media partner is WGBH 89.7FM.

This engagement marks the sixth Celebrity Series of Boston appearance for the Orchestra. The group made its Celebrity Series debut in October 1982, led by Bernard Haitink , and last appeared in Boston in February 1999, led by Riccardo Chailly. Mariss Jansons has appeared with the Celebrity Series twice before: leading the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in November 1999 and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in November 2002.

Established in 1888, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO)has long been regarded as one of the world’s leading symphonic ensembles. Over the course of its 120-year history, the orchestra has been led by six esteemed chief conductors: Willem Kes, Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, and, since September 2004, Mariss Jansons. The Orchestra is best known for its interpretations of late romantic repertoire, particularly the music of Mahler, Brahms, Bruckner, and Richard Strauss. Throughout its history the orchestra has collaborated directly with numerous composers including Ravel, Debussy, Hindemith, Mahler, Milhaud, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky, several of whom conducted their own works with the orchestra.

Currently comprised of 120 full-time members, the RCO has a continued interest in the works of Mahler, Strauss, and Bruckner and, with the arrival of Mariss Jansons, has performed the works of those composers alongside repertoire ranging from Mozart and Haydn to contemporary Dutch composers, and a commissioned work by German composer Hanz Werner Henze. The Celebrity Series program includes Debussy’s lyrical La Mer and Berlioz’s dramatic Symphonie Fantastique.

Mariss Jansons is the sixth Chief Conductor in the history of the RCO. Prior to his appointment in September 2004, Mr. Jansons was chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1979 to 2000, and music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 2004. He has been principal conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2003, a position he holds concurrent with his leadership of the RCO. Mr. Jansons was born in Riga, Latvia, and studied violin, piano, and conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory. He studied with Hanz Swarkowsky and Herbert von Karajan in Austria, ultimately winning the International Herbert von Karajan Competition in 1971.

As a guest conductor, Mr. Jansons has led orchestras around the world including the Berlin, Vienna, and New York Philharmonics; the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras; and the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1992 to 1997. He is the recipient of numerous international honors including the Cross of Merit from King Harald of Norway, and memberships in London’s Royal Academy of Music and Vienna’s Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. In May 2006 he was awarded Latvia’s highest honor—the Order of the Three Stars.

PROGRAM INFORMATION AT A GLANCE

ROYAL CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA
Mariss Jansons, conductor
Friday, February 1 at 8:00pm
Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston

DEBUSSY
La Mer

BERLIOZ
Symphonie Fantastique

TICKETS
Tickets, priced at $80, $65, $50, $37 , and $32 are available by calling CelebrityCharge at 617.482.6661 Monday-Friday 10:00am -4:00 pm; online at www.celebrityseries.org; or at the Symphony Hall box office,
301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. Student rush tickets available; visit www.celebrityseries.org for information.

ABOUT CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON
Celebrity Series of Boston is New England’s leading presenter of music, dance, and the performing arts from around the world. Founded in 1938, the Series incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in 1989. Each year, the Celebrity Series brings to Boston’s major concert halls and theatres performances by instrumental and vocal soloists, symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, dance companies, jazz and popular music performers, folk and ethnic performance groups, and other performing artists. The Celebrity Series’ Arts, Education and Community program was initiated in 1984. The program reaches thousands of students annually in Boston-area schools and communities. The program includes the award-winning AileyCamp Boston, a six-week summer dance program for Boston middle school students, and ACT 2, an after-school initiative for former participants of AileyCamp Boston. For more information on Celebrity Series of Boston, call 617.482.2595 or visit www.celebrityseries.org.

The Celebrity Series receives major annual support from two anonymous donors; The Little Family Foundation; The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation; Bank of America; The Linde Family Foundation; Tufts Health Plan; Talbots Charitable Foundation; Foley & Lardner LLP; Charlesbank Capital Partners; Comcast; Morgan Stanley; BDO Seidman; PTC; Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation; Steven and Joan Belkin Foundation; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; The Consulate General of Canada; The Collings Foundation; The Esther B. Kahn Charitable Foundation; The Red Sox Foundation; Massachusetts Cultural Council; National Endowment for the Arts; New England Foundation for the Arts; Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser Foundation; The Harris A. Berman and Ruth E. Nemzoff Family Foundation; Amy and Joshua Boger; DeMoulas Foundation; Margaret Eagle and Eli Rapaport; Kathleen and Steven Haley; Cerise and Charles Jacobs; Paul L. King; Jann E. Leeming and Arthur D. Little; Paul F. and Barbara A. Levy; Frank and Eleanor Pao; Spring Sirkin and Arthur Frank; Dorothy and Stephen Weber; Nancy Richmond Winsten and Dr. Joseph Winsten; Charles O. Wood, III and Miriam M. Wood; Ellen and Arnold Zetcher.

# # #