In Thursday’s (11/15) Star-Tribune (Minneapolis), Graydon Royce writes, “Music Director Osmo Vänskä has taken the extraordinary step of breaking his silence on the Minnesota Orchestra lockout. In a letter to board members and musicians, Vänskä pleaded for a return to negotiations and said he is ‘desperately anxious’ about the future of the orchestra. ‘Please, do what it takes, find a way, talk together, listen to each other and come to a resolution of this dreadful situation,’ Vänskä wrote in the letter that he delivered to board chairman Jon Campbell and president Michael Henson on Monday. The letter also was sent to musicians. Vänskä has not been involved in negotiations, and has refused all media requests for comment in the past six weeks. This is typical for a music director during a labor dispute. … Principal trombonist Doug Wright, a member of the musicians’ negotiating team, said Vänskä’s letter was a bold statement. ‘One of the things he’s calling for is to let the orchestra play again,’ Wright said. ‘The longer we stay out, the greater the potential for the work to diminish because we’re not playing together.’ … Chairman Campbell said he empathizes with Vänskä’s concern. ‘Clearly, we have no intention to push forward a diminished orchestra for any audience,’ Campbell said. … Since becoming music director in 2003, Vänskä has been credited widely with burnishing the orchestra’s reputation”
Posted November 15, 2012
