About Arvīds Jansons
Lived 1914 – 1984 (aged 70). Arvīds Jansons was a Latvian and Russian conductor, music educator, university teacher, violinist and musician.
Arvīds Jansons (10 October 1914 – 21 November 1984) was a Latvian conductor and father of conductor Mariss Jansons.
Biography Jansons was born in Liepāja.
He studied violin from 1929 until 1935 at the Conservatory of Liepāja, then composition and conducting (under Leo Blech) at the Conservatory of Riga from 1940 until 1944 while working as violinist at Riga Opera.
In 1944 he was appointed conductor of Riga Opera, then of the Latvian Radio Orchestra (1947–1952). In 1952 he was appointed reserve conductor, and tour conductor, of the Leningrad Philharmonic behind Yevgeny Mravinsky and Kurt Sanderling.
Jansons became principal guest conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in 1965.
He collapsed and died from a heart attack in 1984 while conducting a concert with the Hallé in Manchester. He is buried next to Karl Eliasberg in Volkovo Cemetery, Saint Petersburg.
Recordings For Melodiya Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (From the New World) USSR Symphony Orchestra César Franck; Symphony in D minor Franz Liszt; Symphonic poem Tasso, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra Andrei Petrov: Poem, for strings, organ, four trumpets, and percussion Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra Pyotr Tchaikovsky; Suite No. 1 and Symphony No. 3 Polish Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra Manuel de Falla; El amor brujo with Irina Arkhipova. , Sweden Hilding Rosenberg; Violin Concerto No. 2, Leon Spierer, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Radio archives BBC Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty (1971) Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (1984, final performance, sound archive of the British Library)
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Important facts
People in Arvīds Jansons's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Arvīds Jansons's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Arvīds Jansons?
Latvian conductor (1914–1984)
When was Arvīds Jansons born?
Arvīds Jansons was born on 23 October 1914 in Liepāja.
When did Arvīds Jansons die?
Arvīds Jansons died on 21 November 1984 in Manchester.
What was Arvīds Jansons's occupation?
Arvīds Jansons was a conductor, music educator, university teacher, violinist and musician.
What nationality was Arvīds Jansons?
Arvīds Jansons was Latvian and Russian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Arvīds Jansons. https://biography.guide/arvids-jansons/
MLA: "Arvīds Jansons." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/arvids-jansons/.
Chicago: "Arvīds Jansons." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/arvids-jansons/.
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