“The board of the Minnesota Orchestra, which is trying to rebuild itself after a bitter labor dispute and a debilitating 16-month lockout, has found itself facing an unusual choice of whether to side with its musical leadership or its administrative leadership,” writes Michael Cooper in Friday’s (2/28) New York Times. “The players and some critics and fans want the orchestra to rehire its old music director, Osmo Vanska, who resigned during the lockout. But Mr. Vanska has reportedly said that he will not come back unless Michael Henson, the orchestra’s president and chief executive, leaves. So the orchestra’s board met Friday to chart a new course for the organization, and, in a perplexing turn of events, it announced that it had made up its mind — but would not say how. The chairman of the board, Gordon Sprenger, issued a statement saying that ‘the board came to very strong agreement on leadership and a positive direction for the organization’ but declined to say what that strong agreement was. ‘However, we have more work to do before we are able to make a detailed public statement,’ he said. ‘We will share further news as soon as we are able.’ ”
Posted March 3, 2014
