In Monday’s (1/12) Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Graydon Royce writes that the Minnesota Orchestra and Music Director Osmo Vänskä “will resume recording sessions this spring to complete its cycle of Jean Sibelius symphonies. The project had been put on hiatus during the 16-month lockout of musicians that ended a year ago. Following live performances of Sibelius’ Third, Sixth and Seventh symphonies, the orchestra will record the works in nine sessions in May and June at Orchestra Hall with the Swedish label BIS Records. A release date was not announced…. Vänskä and the orchestra have released two other albums of the Finnish composer’s symphonies on BIS.… The second album, featuring the First and Fourth … won the 2014 Grammy Award for best orchestral performance…. The recording fees will be underwritten by an anonymous donor…. President and CEO Kevin Smith said … that recordings continue to be part of the strategy to maintain the orchestra’s visibility and sound. ‘Finishing our Sibelius symphony cycle is an enormously important marker for us,’ said cellist Marcia Peck. Founded as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra issued its first recording in 1924 and has since recorded more than 450 works.”
Posted January 13, 2015
