Interchanging Idioms

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (January 17, 2014)—The Minnesota Orchestra today announced plans for two weeks of homecoming concerts February 7 through 15, offering audiences the first chance to hear the ensemble perform in the renovated Orchestra Hall. The Orchestra’s return begins February 7 and 8 with a pair of historic concerts led by the ensemble’s eminent Conductor Laureate Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, highlighted by Beethoven’s heroic Third Symphony and Skrowaczewski’s own powerful orchestration of Bach’s D-minor Toccata and Fugue—the work that opened the first concert at Orchestra Hall in 1974. French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier continues the musical homecoming February 14 and 15 with a set of Valentine’s weekend concerts that includes an all-British program of Holst’s popular The Planets and Elgar’s Cello Concerto, the latter featuring virtuoso soloist Steven Isserlis. All concerts begin at 8 p.m., and all are preceded by a free public open house at Orchestra Hall, with doors opening at 4 ...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (January 14, 2014)—The Minnesota Orchestra Board of Directors and musicians, who are members of the Twin Cities Musicians’ Union (Local 30-73), today ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, effective February 1, that brings the organization’s lockout to a conclusion. The Orchestra’s first concert performances back on stage at Orchestra Hall are anticipated in early February and will be announced shortly. “This ratified agreement reflects that both the musicians and the board made concessions on issues of importance to them, which was necessary in order to bring the organization together again,” said Board Negotiating Chair Richard Davis. “Our success now depends on our ability to move forward with positive spirit as one organization, and we are very pleased to begin this work with the musicians and to engage our audiences with music again.” Clarinetist and musician negotiator Tim Zavadil said, “Musicians are pleased that we have come to a solution with our...

The Minnesota Orchestra and the American Composers Forum have announced details of the 2013 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute , which will run from January 7-13, 2013, at the University of Minnesota's School of Music in Minneapolis. Under the guidance of composer Aaron Jay Kernis, up to nine composers will have orchestral works rehearsed and performed by the Minnesota Orchestra and will participate in a series of seminars on musical, career, business and professional development issues. Composers receive consultations with Kernis and Music Director Osmo Vänskä before and after the rehearsals. They also meet with Orchestra members and attend small-group sessions with leading music industry professionals. Composers’ travel and hotel will be provided. All works selected for the Institute will be performed in a public concert, conducted by Music Director Osmo Vänskä on Friday, January 11, 2013, 8 pm.

Music Director Osmo Vänskä leads his tenth season with the Orchestra, held primarily at the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center while Orchestra Hall undergoes renovation Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra today unveiled plans for their tenth season together, running from October 2012 to June 2013 and held primarily at the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center, while the Orchestra’s home venue, Orchestra Hall, closes temporarily for a major renovation due for completion in summer 2013. Highlights of the season include a two-week Clarinet Festival—the Orchestra’s first ever—featuring an array of classical and jazz clarinetists that includes Mr. Vänskä himself, who trades his conductor’s baton for a clarinet in a Mozart serenade; concerto solos by current Concertmaster Erin Keefe and her predecessor Jorja Fleezanis, the latter in her first solo appearance with the Orchestra since retiring from the ensemble in 2009; a rare complete performance of ...

Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducts Sibelius’ Second and Fifth Symphonies; Album available January 13 in stores and at minnesotaorchestra.org The Swedish label BIS Records is set to release the first recording of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sibelius symphonies series, featuring the Finnish composer’s stirring Second and Fifth Symphonies. Conducting the recording is Music Director Osmo Vänskä, whose Sibelius interpretations have earned international acclaim. The disc, the newest chapter of the highly-praised collaboration between BIS , Mr. Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra, is available starting January 13 through the Orchestra’s website, minnesotaorchestra.org . It will also be available in stores and as a download on major online music sites. Mr. Vänskä and the Orchestra recorded the two symphonies at Minneapolis ’ Orchestra Hall in sessions during June 2011. The BIS team, led by producer Rob Suff, recorded the album as a Super Audio CD (SACD), using surround sound recording tech...

The Minnesota Orchestra and Music Director Osmo Vänskä announced today the appointment of American violinist Erin Keefe as concertmaster. Keefe, who is known as a renowned chamber musician, will officially begin as concertmaster at the Orchestra’s season opening concerts September 29 to October 1. The Orchestra’s Concertmaster Search Committee said in a statement, “Throughout the past two seasons our 13-member search committee listened to many excellent concertmaster candidates. Erin Keefe’s audition, in which she performed as concertmaster, chamber musician and soloist, captivated us. Her depth, refinement, and exquisite artistry showed her to be a violinist of the highest caliber. As we welcome Erin to the Minnesota Orchestra, we are confident that she brings the wonderful qualities of talent and leadership commensurate with this great orchestra.” Keefe played with the Minnesota Orchestra as guest concertmaster in performances last May. “I’m extremely pleased that we are able t...

Osmo Vänskä And Minnesota Orchestra Launch 2011-12 Season With Premiere Of Jazz-Themed Work By Father-Son Team Of Stephen And Greg Paulus The Minnesota Orchestra launches its 109th season—its ninth under Music Director Osmo Vänskä—with the world premiere of a major new work titled TimePiece , a cutting-edge composition for jazz soloists and orchestra co-written by acclaimed Minnesota-based composer Stephen Paulus and his son, 27-year-old professional trumpet player Greg Paulus. Greg Paulus himself performs as trumpet soloist in the four-movement TimePiece , which melds jazz and classical styles along with electronic elements. He is joined by pianist Bryan Nichols and three members of the improvisational ensemble Fat Kid Wednesdays: saxophonist Mike Lewis, bass player Adam Linz and drummer J.T. Bates. The program includes two additional American works rooted in jazz, George Antheil’s A Jazz Symphony and John Adams’ Fearful Symmetries, and concludes with Ravel’s colorful fantasi...

First-ever Minnesota Orchestra Fantasy Camp, September 15-16, gives adult amateur musicians the unique opportunity to rehearse and perform with the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall The Minnesota Orchestra today announced plans for the first-ever Minnesota Orchestra Fantasy Camp, a two-day orchestral immersion experience offering amateur musicians the one-of-a-kind opportunity to rehearse and perform with the Orchestra—playing side by side with Orchestramusicians onstage at Orchestra Hall—and to participate in a range of backstage activities with Orchestra musicians and staff. The camp will be held on Thursday, September 15, and Friday, September 16, and includes two side-by-side rehearsals and a general clinic, all led by conductor Sarah Hicks; breakout sessions divided by individual sections of the orchestra; a seminar providing an insider’s view of Orchestra programming, led by members of the Orchestra’s artistic planning team; and additional backstage activities. The camp ...

Yevgeny Sudbin performs the Fourth and Fifth (Emperor) Concertos; Osmo Vänskä conducts; Album available in stores and at minnesotaorchestra.org The Swedish label BIS Records has released the first recording of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Beethoven piano concertos series, featuring the composer’s final two piano concertos, the Fourth and Fifth (Emperor), conducted by Music Director Osmo Vänskä and featuring Russian soloist Yevgeny Sudbin at the keyboard. The disc, the newest chapter of the highly-acclaimed collaboration between BIS , Mr. Vänskä and the Orchestra, is now available through the Orchestra’s website at minnesotaorchestra.org. It will also be available in stores and as a download on major internet music sites. Mr. Vänskä, Mr. Sudbin and the Orchestra recorded the concertos at Minneapolis ’ Orchestra Hall in sessions during January 2009 and June 2010. The BIS team, led by producer Rob Suff, recorded the album as a Super Audio CD (SACD), using surround sound recording techn...

Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra today unveiled plans for their ninth season together—the final season at Orchestra Hall before the venue’s $45 million renovation takes place. Highlights of the season include a two-week “Bravo Brahms” series spotlighting an array of the composer’s symphonies, concertos and choral works; performances of Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel marking the centennial of the Orchestra’s Young People’s Concert series; appearances by acclaimed guest soloists including violinists Midori and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, pianists Stephen Hough and Peter Serkin and soprano Deborah Voigt; a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall and a five-city Florida tour; a recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with soloist Yevgeny Sudbin; and the launch of the Common Chords outreach project including week-long festivals in Grand Rapids and Willmar, Minnesota. In addition, the Orchestra is now announcing a major multi-year initiative to record ...

Orchestra will seek many donations to fund creation of a new symphonic work; Judd Greenstein announced as composer; Premiere targeted for March 2012 The Minnesota Orchestra today announced the launch of the Musical MicroCommission project, inviting music fans to donate sums supporting the creation of a major new orchestral work by New York-based composer Judd Greenstein . Unlike standard commissions, which are usually funded by one or several large donations, the MicroCommission aims at drawing hundreds of “micro” donations of $5, $10, $20, $50 or more to support the project. The premiere of Mr. Greenstein’s symphony-length piece, slated for March 2012, will be the culminating event of the Orchestra’s 2011-12 Inside the Classics series, which is conducted by Principal Conductor of Pops and Presentations Sarah Hicks and hosted by Orchestra violist Sam Bergman. Full information on the project and a link to donate are available at insidetheclassics.org . “The idea behind the MicroC...

Composers will travel to Minneapolis for Orchestra’s acclaimed professional training program; Institute runs from October 24 to 30, highlighted by October 29 Future Classics concert Seven emerging composers have been selected as participants in the Minnesota Orchestra’s tenth annual Composer Institute, Institute Director Aaron Jay Kernis announced today. Chosen from a pool of 168 candidates through a competitive process, the composers represent four nationalities and reside throughout the U.S. , and their works encompass a variety of musical styles. They will be in Minneapolis from October 24 to 30, 2010, for rehearsals, seminars and tutoring sessions, as well as a public concert of their works on Friday, October 29, led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä. The participants are Taylor Brizendine of Los Angeles , California ; Chinese-born Wang Jie of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; Russian-born Polina Nazaykinskaya of Austin , Texas ; Clint Needham of Bloomington , Indiana ; Ben Phelps of ...

Led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, Stravinsky’s Petrushka will be available for free download beginning Friday, May 28, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 will be available June 4 The Minnesota Orchestra will conclude its 107th concert season by offering its first-ever free symphonic downloads. As part of the organization’s new Minnesota Orchestra Music on Demand project, concert performances of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 will be available for free download exclusively at minnesotaorchestra.org/musicondemand , on May 28 and June 4, respectively. Next fall, the free downloads will be followed by five additional major works which will be offered as paid downloads—with the first movement available for free. All download material will be drawn from live Minnesota Orchestra performances led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, and recorded and produced for distribution by Minnesota Public Radio. “The Minnesota Orchestra enjoys a distinguished recording and b...

The Minnesota Orchestral Association (MOA) announced today that Assistant Conductor Courtney Lewis and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis have signed new contracts with the Orchestra, giving Mr. Lewis the title of associate conductor for three seasons while extending Mr. Kernis’ tenure for another two years as director of the annual Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. Mr. Lewis became the Orchestra’s assistant conductor at the start of the 2009-10 season; his new appointment is effective September 2010. As associate conductor he will continue to lead a variety of Orchestra concerts including Young People’s, family and summer concerts, and he will serve as cover conductor for many regular season classical concerts. “In his first season with the Orchestra, Courtney has led a very wide range of concerts and has proven himself to be a fine communicator and above all, a first-rate conductor,” says Robert Neu, the Orchestra’s vice president and general manager. “He has...

Osmo Vänskä leads Orchestra in two performances at London’s BBC Proms, as well as festival concerts in Edinburgh and Amsterdam Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra will perform at three major European music festivals this summer, including two performances at what is generally considered the world’s most famous classical music festival: the BBC Proms in London. Featuring violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Alisa Weilerstein, the tour also includes performances at the Edinburgh International Festival and in the Great Hall of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Running from August 24 through 31, the one-week Festival Tour is entirely underwritten by an anonymous donor. Tour repertoire spans the symphonic gamut from string concertos by Berg, Elgar, Mozart and Shostakovich to Bruckner’s Fourth and Beethoven’s Seventh symphonies. In the Orchestra’s final performance at the Proms, it will perform Beethoven’s Ninth, along with the BBC Symphony Chorus and vocal s...

Orchestra raises $38m towards $40m project Award-winning Toronto-based architects Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB) today unveiled schematic designs for the renovation and expansion of Orchestra Hall, home of the Minnesota Orchestra in downtown Minneapolis . The $40 million project to revitalize Orchestra Hall—towards which the Orchestra has raised $38 million to-date—focuses on a reinvention of its public lobby spaces and creates a dramatic exterior that better connects the Hall to the city outside. “In renovating Orchestra Hall, we made it a priority to preserve the iconic elements of the original 1974 design, while also re-envisioning aspects of the building to better fit the current city and context,” says architect Bruce Kuwabara, who serves as design partner on the renovation. “This project offers a remarkable opportunity to renew a great venue and revitalize Orchestra Hall’s relationship to the city of Minneapolis .” The renovation doubles Orchestra Hall’s available...

CDs include Tchaikovsky’s three piano concertos and Concert Fantasia recorded live in concert in 2009 The British record label Hyperion has released a two-CD set of Tchaikovsky’s complete piano-and-orchestra works—three piano concertos and the Concert Fantasia—performed by Grammy Award-nominees Stephen Hough, the Minnesota Orchestra and conductor Osmo Vänskä. The album, the 50th release in Hyperion’s acclaimed Romantic Piano Concerto series, was recorded live in concert at Minneapolis ’ Orchestra Hall in spring and fall 2009. The CDs will be available April 1 in stores and online at minnesotaorchestra.org and hyperion-records.co.uk, and will also be available as a download on major internet music sites. Mr. Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra have earned high praise for their previous recording projects together, including a five-CD Beethoven symphony cycle with Swedish-based BIS . The Tchaikovsky recording is the ensemble’s first live recording project under Mr. Vänskä, as well ...

Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra today unveiled plans for their eighth season together, highlights of which include a Mid-Winter Mozart Festival spotlighting an array of the composer’s symphonies, concertos, choral works and chamber music, culminating in a semi-staged production of the beloved opera The Magic Flute ; performance cycles of the Brahms and Rachmaninoff symphonies; visits by acclaimed soloists including Grammy Award-winning cellist Truls Mørk, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and violinists Viktoria Mullova and Lisa Batiashvili, as well as Minnesota pianists Lydia Artymiw and Andrew Staupe ; the continuation of a Beethoven piano concertos recording project with soloist Yevgeny Sudbin; and a new initiative to record Sibelius’ Second and Fifth Symphonies. The season will also feature solo turns by five Orchestra musicians; appearances by nine accomplished guest conductors, including Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop and the Orchestra’s...

Ms. Hicks to lead Orchestra’s U.S. Bank Pops Season through August 2013 October 12, 2009 -- Sarah Hicks has been appointed the Minnesota Orchestra’s Principal Conductor of Pops and Presentations, Orchestra President and CEO Michael Henson announced today. Ms. Hicks, who will assume the new role immediately, will lead the Orchestra’s signature U.S. Bank Pops Season for a term of four years, through 2012-13. Ms. Hicks joined the Orchestra as assistant conductor in 2006, making history as the first woman to hold a titled conducting post with the Minnesota Orchestra. “Pops concerts play an important role in the Minnesota Orchestra’s artistic offerings, and we have taken our time in identifying a new pops leader in order to find the right fit with audiences, the Orchestra—and the music itself,” says Michael Henson. “We’ve discovered that Sarah Hicks is made for this role. She sparks great connections with audiences; she has earned the respect of the musicians; she is a creative prog...

Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducts internationally acclaimed cycle; Box set includes discs nominated for Grammy and Gramophone Awards The Swedish record label BIS has released a five-disc box set of Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra’s Beethoven symphonies cycle, a five-year project that has earned major award nominations and received high praise in national and international media outlets. The box set is now available in stores and through the Orchestra’s website at minnesotaorchestra.org . Mr. Vänskä and the Orchestra recorded the nine Beethoven symphonies at Minneapolis ’ Orchestra Hall in a series of sessions between April 2004 and January 2008. The BIS team, led by producer Rob Suff, recorded the albums as Super Audio CDs (SACD), using surround sound recording technology to reproduce the sound of the concert hall as faithfully as possible. BIS Hybrid SACDs are playable on all standard CD players. Beethoven symphonies set combines acclaimed releases The box set co...