As Osmo Vänskä, former music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, prepares to guest conduct three National Symphony Orchestra concerts this week, Anne Midgette writes in Sunday’s (4/20) Washington Post, “There’s no question that the Minnesota Orchestra’s labor troubles, when they arrived, deeply saddened [Vänskä]…. Plenty of attention has been focused, in recent years, on the ongoing struggles of this particular ‘difficult time’ in the history of classical music organizations…. Less attention is paid to an attendant phenomenon: the idea that struggle can help vitalize artistic achievement. … There are certainly examples to be found today: the Detroit Symphony, enjoying a notably energetic period after a long and potentially damaging strike, or the Milwaukee Symphony, which recently staved off imminent closure with a successful fund-raising campaign. Certainly the Minnesota Orchestra Musicians, playing under their own name during the lockout, gave what were, by all accounts, some memorable concerts. It remains to be seen whether Vänskä and ‘his’ ensemble will be able to forge a new and dynamic partnership…. In the meantime, he’s coming to the NSO, which, in the protective embrace of the Kennedy Center, has managed to remain relatively untouched by labor woes.”
Posted April 21, 2014
