Vänskä in rehearsal (photo by Jeff Wheeler)
By Claude Peck
With some weeks off at the Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä has headed west, and is guesting at the San Francisco Symphony. He'll lead programs there over two weekends, including Halloween. Some of the music being played is familiar to Minnesota concertgoers -- "Slonimsky's Earbox" by John Adams, Sibelius' Violin Concerto, Beethoven's 8th. But a rarity -- Symphony No. 1 by Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen -- is also on the bill.
The website San Francisco Classical Voice has a lengthy story that offers an outsider's look at Vänskä and his tenure with the Minnesota Orchestra. In one oft-heard refrain, Vänskä talks about his work ethic. "These people are very hard workers, and I am too," he tells writer Georgia Rowe. "It is still that way. That's an ideal situation for the conductor. I know that I have a lot of requests and demands. But they are going to do them. They are going to do all the things I ask."
Here's a link to the complete story.
