Osmo Vänskä Quits Minnesota

MPR State of the Arts reports from the Goodbye-Concert: Standing ovations, tears for Vanska as conductor begins waving his baton goodbye

He said for the encore he wanted to perform some Sibelius. He said the piece he chose is about a girl who dreams she is dancing with a young man. Then she realizes she’s not dreaming, and the man leading her in the dance is Death.

From Minnesota Public Radio: Live Broadcast: Osmo Vanska's Farewell Concert

[MPR is] seeking permission to rebroadcast/archive the audio from the live concert; as soon as they have approval from the interested parties, they will make its availability known.

From Michael Anthony at the MinnPost: Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra: He was the right man at the right time (October 2)

OpEd from Larry Perelman in the Star Tribune: The Minnesota Orchestra as we know it must die (October 2)

Musicians should follow Vanska's example and resign. It’s the only way the orchestra can be reborn. Here’s the model to follow.

From the New York Times: Vanska Quits Minnesota Orchestra as Labor Dispute Drags On (October 1)

Anne Midgette, A dark day: Minnesota Orchestra loses music director; NY City Opera declares bankruptcy (Washington Post, October 2)

Management and Orchestra have official responses to his departure - via CBS Minnesota.
The Musician's message is a bit bland, the message from Orchestra Board Chair Jon Campbell is a little dickish between the lines, and suggests a lack of true comprehension of what just happened.

Star Tribune article here: Conductor Osmo Vänskä quits Minnesota Orchestra

The orchestra's musicians and the board have now managed, with mutual incompetence, negligence, wilfull stupidity, and ignorance to doom the orchestra—among the country's very finest, most interesting for a moment—to lasting mediocrity that will unlikely ever be undone. At this point it's hard not to say: Well deserved! But it's also very sad to know their Sibelius Cycle won't be finished, nor their Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle with Yevgeni Sudbin.

More links, comments, and baseless speculations to follow.

Like the one that sees Osmo Vänskä now succeed Valery Gergiev with the LSO. He could form a cultural Little Finland in the British capital: Sakari Oramo and Esa-Pekka Salonen are already there.

Chris Steller tweets:

Seeing a lot of tweets out of Cleveland about Osmo Vanska leaving the MN Orchestra

— Chris Steller (@chris_steller) October 1, 2013

Osmo as MD of the Cleveland Orchestra? What a supremely tantalizing suggestion. They would be so lucky! But doesn't Franz Welser-Möst's contract run until 2048, anyway?