Tír Na HiFi

Roger Wright, director of the BBC Proms and BBC Radio 3, made the following statement in his RPS lecture at the weekend:
Sadly, however, I can let you know that the first ever residency by an orchestra from the US will not now be happening at the Proms in 2015. We had planned for some years a Sibelius symphony cycle by Osmo Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra and had held on to the plan through this last difficult year, only having to accept in the last fortnight, with Osmo’s tragic but understandable resignation, that it won’t happen.
The loss of international prestige – a concomitant to a healthy economy – is considerable. It will take years for Minnesota to regain it.

Peter wrote:Yes, I was looking forward to Sibelius's music conquering the world with Vanska in the vanguard!!!

Seán wrote:

Peter wrote:Yes, I was looking forward to Sibelius's music conquering the world with Vanska in the vanguard!!!

and no better man to do it too.

Peter wrote:

Seán wrote:

Peter wrote:Yes, I was looking forward to Sibelius's music conquering the world with Vanska in the vanguard!!!

and no better man to do it too.

I guess Sibelius is an acquired taste....? Definitely my favorite Scandinavian composer! The cycles seemingly pile up over the years.....

Seán wrote: Yes, for some perhaps but not for me, I LOVE Sibelius Symphonic output and the Bernstein/NYPO cycle is my favourite.

Peter wrote:

Seán wrote: Yes, for some perhaps but not for me, I LOVE Sibelius Symphonic output and the Bernstein/NYPO cycle is my favourite.

For some reason I have been pretty much attuned to the Segerstam as well as the Davis cycles. Davis because it was the first one (nostalgia) and Segerstam because I like the slower tempos in his renditions. I should give Bernstein some time. It is interesting how different orchestras/conductors give such unusual flavors to these symphonies, don't you think?
By the way, did you ever check out the esoteric compilation of historical Sibelius recordings on the Membran label? It is very good. Here is an outstanding review from Musicweb.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/c ... 233314.htm

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unkonventionell ... s+sibelius

Lockout Over, Minnesota Orchestra Faces Challenges as It Salvages Its Season
By MICHAEL COOPER
JAN. 15, 2014

The end of the corrosive 15-month lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra on Tuesday was greeted with relief by musicians, management and fans, who took to the “Save Our Symphony Minnesota” Facebook page and other websites to praise the impending return of music to Orchestra Hall. But even as the new contract agreement finally puts an end to the classical music world’s longest-running, bitterest labor battle, the orchestra is facing daunting challenges.

The players of the orchestra, which had reached new artistic heights in recent years with its Grammy-nominated Sibelius recordings and its growing national profile, are returning to a leaderless ensemble: Their music director, Osmo Vanska, resigned in October. Some players may not return at all: A couple have resigned, and eight more have taken leaves of absence since the lockout began. Another question is whether audiences will return, after a lost season and a half.

“It does take quite a while for everybody to be comfortable again just playing with each other,” said Leonard Slatkin, the music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, who had to rebuild that orchestra after a six-month strike in 2011. “It sounds odd, coming from a conductor, but the biggest thing they have to do now is not about the music — it’s about reconnecting with everybody in the Twin Cities.”

Musicians said in interviews that they were eager to get back to work with their colleagues after a topsy-turvy year. Many made ends meet during the lockout by taking temporary gigs with orchestras around the country. R. Douglas Wright, the principal trombone player, said, “I’ve upped my status with Delta Air Lines.” Steven Campbell, the tuba player, said he counted himself lucky to find fill-in work, considering that most orchestras have only one tuba.

Some players have drawn unemployment benefits. Some have taught. One of the more unusual temporary jobs was taken by a horn player, Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, who, in addition to appearing with the Cleveland Orchestra, said that she worked for a month as a dive master in Mexico.

The contract that the musicians agreed to will cut base pay by 15 percent in the first year, with small raises in the second and third years, and require them to pay more toward their health coverage. The original proposal by management would have cut their pay by roughly one-third.

Several players said in interviews that they were pleased that the deal would keep the orchestra one of the 10 best-paid in the nation — something they hope will help bring back some of the members on leave and attract talented musicians who will see Minnesota as a destination where they can make a career, rather than as a stop on the way to somewhere better. And several said that they hoped that Mr. Vanska could be induced to return as music director.

As painful as the lockout was, some players said it had brought them closer together — and closer to some of their most passionate fans, who came out to support them at a series of concerts that they produced themselves and even donated money to help their cause. “I think that one of the most inspiring things for us was seeing how much the audience loved the orchestra when we did our musician-produced concerts, and we are going to do everything that we can to bring those audiences back into Orchestra Hall,” said Timothy Zavadil, a clarinet player who negotiated for the musicians.

Most of the players have not been inside their Minneapolis home, Orchestra Hall, since it reopened in September after a $50 million renovation — a big capital expenditure that drew criticism, coming at the same time that the orchestra’s management was seeking significant pay cuts from the players in order to close big operating deficits each year.

The novelty of the newly renovated hall may help bring audiences back. Any interruption of performances is considered dangerous in the classical music world, where longtime subscribers may decide not to renew, once the habit is broken. (Audiences never bounced back for New York City Opera after it went dark for a season for the renovation of its theater; it filed for bankruptcy this fall.)

Orchestra officials face considerable short-term challenges, including a scramble to put together a compressed season featuring 37 classical concerts and a host of other concerts for young people and families, beginning sometime in early February and lasting through June. “In a normal year, you would have nine months to sell a subscription and get everybody seated,” Michael Henson, the Minnesota Orchestra’s president and chief executive officer, said in a telephone interview. “We now have the very complicated logistics of doing this in a three-week period.”

There were 9,000 households with subscriptions before the lockout, and 3,700 opted to keep their subscriptions rather than get refunds.

Then there are the long-term challenges. Mr. Henson said that the new labor deal would save the orchestra $3.5 million in the first year — a significant savings, but not enough to wipe out deficits that had been running at $6 million a year before the lockout, which had forced the orchestra to use more of its endowment funds than many board members thought was prudent.

A financial analysis conducted on behalf of management that was released in June concluded that classical audiences were likely to diminish further and that it was “unrealistic to think that the orchestra can fund-raise its way out of its current financial difficulties.” Some of the bad blood stirred up by the recent labor difficulties may make fund-raising even tougher.

Several players said that there were lessons to be learned, particularly about communication between players and management. “I am optimistic, I am certain that we’re going to pull ourselves out of it,” Mr. Wright said. “But I think there’s a lot of it that could have been avoided, and I hope that others learn from this example what not to do.”

Osmo Vänskä returns to Orchestra Hall

Article by: WILLIAM RANDALL BEARD , Special to the Star Tribune Updated: March 27, 2014 - 5:53 PM

Thursday morning was an occasion for celebration at Orchestra Hall. Former Minnesota Orchestra music director Osmo Vänskä returned to conduct the ensemble for the first time since the settlement of the musician’s lockout.

At his first appearance, Vänskä was greeted with a rousing standing ovation. He employed a deep bow to acknowledge the audience’s response.

The focus was on the music, powerful performances of the Sibelius Symphonies No. 4 in A minor and No. 1 in E minor. The orchestra’s recording of these works recently won a Grammy award.

It usually makes sense to perform works by a single composer in chronological order, but in this case, it was right to perform Sibelius’ Fourth first. It is so dark a work that it was nice to have the First coming after as an antidote.

It’s dangerous to read too much biography into a composer’s work, but just before beginning the Fourth, Sibelius had a malignant tumor removed, and his musings on a potentially long and painful death hangs over the work.

Principal cello Anthony Ross set the mood with a melancholy solo, establishing a mood of foreboding. The scherzo churned with restless unease. The slow movement descended even further into gloom that was sustained throughout the rhythmic uncertainty of the finale.

Vänskä maintained a firm hand on the symphony’s emotion. The slow, almost achingly painful ways that the melodies were spun out kept the performance forever engrossing.

The orchestra sounded like a different ensemble than it has in weeks past. The relationship that the musicians have maintained with Vänskä for more than a decade showed in the precision and intensity of their performance. It will be some time before they are once again playing at the level of the recording, but they are improving.

The Symphony No. 1 came as a breath of fresh air. It is a work of youthful energy, as emotionally extravagant as the previous symphony was austere. It opens with a long clarinet melody, ably performed by Acting Principal Clarinet Gregory T. Williams, after which soaring Romantic melodies (many bearing the influence of Tchaikovsky) pile on top of each other.

Vänskä conducted with fervor and passion. The orchestra sounded at its best during the violent emotions of the finale.


William Randall Beard writes about music and theatre.