Osmo Vänskä
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Osmo Vänskä (born 28 February 1953 Sääminki, Finland) is a Finnish orchestra conductor. He started his musical career as an orchestral clarinettist with the Turku Philharmonic (1971-1976).[1] He then became the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982. During this time, he started to study conducting with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy, where his classmates included Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. In 1982, he won the Besançon Young Conductor's Competition.
He became principal guest conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 1985, and chief conductor in 1988. He will conclude his tenure with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 2008, at which time he will become Conductor Laureate. His complete set of Sibelius symphonies with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, also on the BIS label, has gathered widespread acclaim. He has recorded extensively with his Lahti orchestra for the BIS label, including music of Kalevi Aho, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Bernhard Crusell, Uuno Klami, Tauno Marttinen, Robert Kajanus, Sofia Gubaidulina, Joonas Kokkonen, Jan Sandström, and Fredrik Pacius.
Vänskä was chief conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 1993-1996. In 1996, he was appointed chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBCSSO), and served in that capacity until 2002. With the BBCSSO, he made recordings of the complete Carl Nielsen symphonies for the BIS label[2].
In 2003, he became the music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. Vänskä and the orchestra have received critical praise, and he is generally regarded as having enhanced the quality of the orchestra.[3] [4] In 2004, Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra began a five-year project to record the complete Beethoven symphonies on the BIS label. In 2005, Vänskä signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Orchestra which will keep him in Minneapolis through at least 2011. In November 2006, Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra began a 10-year project of performing all of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner in performances both at Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall and the Cathedral of Saint Paul[5].
Vänskä and his wife Pirkko, a freelance drama critic, have a home in Minneapolis. They have three grown children. One of Vänskä's hobbies is motorcycles[6]. His son Olli plays violin in the Finnish folk metal band Turisas.
[edit] References
- ^ David Patrick Stearns, "Making His Mark: Osmo Vänskä". andante.com (overall site now defunct), February 2004.
- ^ Andrew Clements, "For my next trick...". The Guardian, 15 April 2005.
- ^ James R. Oestreich, "A Most Audacious Dare Reverberates". New York Times, 17 December 2006.
- ^ Jay Nordlinger, "A Glorious Dawn, in Sound & Spirit". New York Sun, 15 February 2007.
- ^ "Osmo Vänskä begins ten-year Bruckner project with concerts at Orchestra Hall and Cathedral of Saint Paul". Minnesota Orchestra Press Release, 2006.
- ^ Alex Ross, "Osmosis". The New Yorker, 14 and 21 February 2005.
[edit] External links
- Osmo Vänskä at Virtual Finland
- Osmo Vänskä at Hyperion Records
- Osmo Vänskä at Minnesota Orchestra
- Anthony Tommasini, "Surprising And Bold, Even if Not In the Club". New York Times, 11 February 2004 (review of Carnegie Hall concert)
- Interview with Osmo Vanska from InDigest Magazine.
| Preceded by Ulf Söderblom |
Chief Conductor, Lahti Symphony Orchestra 1988–2008 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Petri Sakari |
Chief Conductor, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra 1993–1996 |
Succeeded by Petri Sakari |
| Preceded by Jerzy Maksymiuk |
Chief Conductor, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 1996-2002 |
Succeeded by Ilan Volkov |
| Preceded by Eiji Oue |
Music Director, Minnesota Orchestra 2003– |
Succeeded by incumbent |
 |
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