December 13, 2013; New York Times, “ArtsBeat”
NPQ has been covering the ongoing saga of the Minnesota Orchestral Association on the musicians who were locked out earlier this year. In our last newswire, we told you that some in Minneapolis were suggesting the musicians reorganize around the association and examine their options for accessing the resources now under the association’s control, including a hefty endowment topping $100 million.
The musicians have, in fact, applied for their own nonprofit status, and have now announced a full season of concerts that will include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell, as well as Osmo Vänskä, the Finnish conductor who resigned as the orchestra’s music director in October during the dispute. He will lead four of the musician’s concerts, including a program devoted to the Sibelius symphonies, his specialty.
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The involvement of these high profile artists will clearly send a message about where the sympathies of the music world generally lie. It’s a particularly interesting turn of events in regard to Vänskä, who had previously gone to pains not to take a side.—Ruth McCambridge
This article has been altered from its original form. The Minnesota musicians did not “go on strike,” as was initially reported. NPQ regrets the error.
