The Herald
Monday, August 28, 2006
I doubt there will be a classier set of Festival performances than those delivered here in a breathtaking display of sophistication by Osmo Vänskä's Minnesota Orchestra.
The Independent
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The Minnesota Orchestra lost a soprano but gained a pianist on their way to the Proms.
Helsingin Sanomat
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
When the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Osmo Vänskä, played in Sibelius Hall in Lahti two years ago it seemed like the big brother of the Lahti Symphony .. . In the acoustics of the Finlandia Hall the Minnesota Orchestra sounds much grander, more colorful and voluble than in Lahti. Musical Director Vänskä and the orchestra have reached a totally same wavelength and Vänskä has found a conducting concept that fits the character of the Minnesota Orchestra.
The Scotsman
Monday, August 28, 2006
It's good to have Osmo Vänskä, the former chief conductor of the BBC SSO, back conducting his current band, the Minnesota Orchestra. Together on Friday they turned in an exhilarating performance of Stravinsky's 1947 version of Petrushka.
The Herald
Monday, August 28, 2006
I doubt there will be a classier set of Festival performances than those delivered here in a breathtaking display of sophistication by Osmo Vänskä's Minnesota Orchestra.
Pioneer Press
Monday, August 28, 2006
"Osmo is bringing his orchestra to his native Finland; last tour, they played little Lahti with its gorgeous Sibelius Hall.
Tonight, they are in the bright lights of the big city and there are things to be proven."
Pioneer Press
Monday, August 28, 2006
"The book/writing/music/fringe festival has clogged the streets, shops and cafes of the very Scottish town — everything
everywhere looks like Hogwarts, with lorries, cars and people, people, people."
The Times
Monday, August 28, 2006
First time at the Proms! The Minnesota Orchestra has for too long been an orchestra in waiting. Now with Osmo Vänskä, their new music director, at the helm, the players are enjoying what is probably their first golden age since their previous incarnation as the Minneapolis Orchestra, when their name was synonymous with luminaries such as Eugene Ormandy and Dmitri Mitropoulos.
Helsingin Sanomat
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Helsinki Festival has paid 'the normal tariff' for the visit of the Minnesota Orchestra, even though the costs of the tour are being paid for by a private benefactor, according to the orchestra itself.
Helsingin Sanomat
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Billionaire patrons bring Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra to Finland
The Daily Telegraph
Friday, August 25, 2006
As the Proms enters its last few weeks the starry visiting orchestras are making their appearance. One American orchestra has already been kept away by increased flight security, but fortunately the Minnesota Orchestra made it.
Star Tribune
Friday, August 25, 2006
The Minnesota Orchestra got a special kind of standing ovation Thursday night in London -- hundreds in the audience stood for the entire concert.
NHD
Friday, August 25, 2006
The misfortune of Dawn Upshaw’s cancellation for the concert of the Minnesota Orchestra quickly turned into a mood of celebration after the first notes from the violin of Viktoria Mullova.
Pioneer Press
Friday, August 25, 2006
"The Concertgebouw seats 2,000 and tonight it is very nearly sold out. It is a festival crowd, dressed informally but buzzing excitedly. Minnesota, after all, no doubt sounds exotic to these Amsterdam folk."
Het Parool
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Vänskä, who walks in the footsteps of such greats as Ormandy, Mitropoulos, Dorati, and De Waart, effortlessly laid bare the Finnish soul in the Sibelius Violin Concerto.
musicOMH.com
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Prommers were out in force on Thursday evening to watch Osmo Vänskä conduct the Minnesota Orchestra.
Pioneer Press
Thursday, August 24, 2006
"Think of it as a red plush-lined pit, a sort of luxury State Fair hippodrome, and start to get a partial sense of the famous London Proms."
Pioneer Press
Thursday, August 24, 2006
"The stage entrance is around the side of this wedding cake wonder of a building. Musicians drag in suitcases because trucks leave with the luggage right after the concert tonight. They are eager to get inside the building and be reconnected with the instruments they have been separated from for days."
Playbill Arts
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Minnesota Orchestra and music director Osmo Vänskä kick off their European tour tonight with a performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, part of the annual Robeco Zomerconcerten series.
Pioneer Press
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
"Today is the orchestra's free day, a chance to shift gears and adjust to the time change before the performance in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw tomorrow night."
Reuters
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Musicians flying to and from Britain are being forced to put delicate and valuable instruments into aircraft holds.
Pioneer Press
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
For the next two weeks, the Minnesota Orchestra plays major European music festivals in Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh, Helsinki and Locarno, Italy. I am along for the ride … I am embedded in the
Star Tribune
Monday, August 21, 2006
Soprano Dawn Upshaw has cancelled her performances with the Minnesota Orchestra scheduled for Wednesday in Amsterdam and Thursday at the BBC Proms in London, the first concerts in the orchestra's
Pioneer Press
Sunday, August 20, 2006
“Osmo Vänskä and the ensemble have been invited to some of the world's most esteemed classical music festivals, presenting six concerts in five countries in nine days.”
The Star Tribune
Friday, August 18, 2006
“For the first time in the Proms' 111-year history, the Minnesota Orchestra has been asked to play a concert as part of another "first" for the group - a five-city tour of European festivals,
The Times Online
Friday, August 18, 2006
"I haven't heard an orchestra playing more sweetly or with more unified purpose this year than when I went to Minneapolis and caught the Minnesota Orchestra performing under its Finnish music
The Minnesota Orchestra’s European Tour is being covered by press from all over the world. The articles are posted below.
