Music director Osmo Vänskä did not want to talk about labor negotiations or lockouts or his conversations with Minnesota Orchestra management. On Friday night at the Minneapolis Convention Center, Vänskä simply was happy to be back performing with his home orchestra.
He and his musicians played the Sibelius Symphonies 2 and 5, their CD of which has been nominated for a Grammy Award.
"It is my biggest dream that people see this as an opportunity to come together," Vänskä said after a rehearsal Friday afternoon. "Finally, it is all about the music."
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and orchestra benefactor Judy Dayton organized the event as a respite from the labor strife that has consumed the organization. Friday marked four months that musicians have been locked out. When he first announced that he had invited the musicians and Vänskä to celebrate the nomination, the mayor insisted that the event be considered "neutral ground." There were to be no signs, leafletting, T-shirts, buttons or other merchandise sold -- other than the celebrated Sibelius recording on the BIS label. Rybak and Dayton gave brief remarks before the concert, which started late because of snow.
"Tonight we choose to celebrate," Rybak told the crowd. "We ask you to do all we can to rededicate ourselves to ensuring this institution."
Rybak said before the concert that putting the event together was "complex but necessary," citing the sensibilities of musicians and management.
"Everyone has good intentions, and nobody here is an enemy of the Minnesota Orchestra," he said in an interview. "We have to make sure both sides survive."
According to Rybak spokesman John Stiles, any revenue from the concert -- after expenses at the convention center -- "will go into an escrow account that the musicians will use to pay for educational concerts."
