In Monday’s (5/13) New York Times, James Oestreich writes, “When the Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä took over as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra in 2003, he told the players that he wanted it to be ‘the best orchestra in this country in four or five years,’ he recounted in a 2006 interview. … What Mr. Vanska has achieved over 10 seasons in Minnesota is remarkable by any standard. The latest evidence includes two superb CDs of Sibelius symphonies: one (Bis 1986; Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5) nominated for a Grammy last year, the other (Bis 1996; Nos. 1 and 4) a good bet to win one this year. But no, make that nine seasons. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Orchestra announced that it was canceling concerts through June 2, the remains of a season now lost entirely to a lockout of the musicians by management on Oct. 1 … The orchestra is scheduled to record again in September and to form a major component of Carnegie Hall’s next season, with two Sibelius concerts in November and two more in April, encompassing all seven of the symphonies and other works. But the ensemble now seems in danger of coming apart. … Surely the great cultural mecca of Minneapolis must want this resolved quickly. We in New York do. And whatever happens, the world will be watching. Mr. Vanska and his formidable troops have seen to that.”
Posted May 13, 2013
