Osmo Antero Vänskä (born 28 February 1953) is a Finnish
conductor,
clarinetist, and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Def ...
.
Biography
Vänskä started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the
Turku Philharmonic (1971–76). He then became the principal
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...
of the
Helsinki Philharmonic
The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (in Finnish: ; in Swedish: ; literal English translation: Helsinki City Orchestra; commonly abbreviated as HPO) is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic O ...
from 1977 to 1982. During this time, he started to study conducting with
Jorma Panula at the
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It ...
, where his classmates included
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...
and
Jukka-Pekka Saraste. In 1982, he won the
International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors.
Vänskä became principal guest conductor of the
Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 1985, and chief conductor in 1988. He concluded his tenure with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 2008 and is now the orchestra's Conductor Laureate. His complete set of
Sibelius symphonies with the
Lahti Symphony Orchestra, also on the BIS label, has garnered widespread acclaim. He has recorded extensively with the Lahti orchestra for the BIS label, including music by
Kalevi Aho,
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Einojuhani Rautavaara (; 9 October 1928 – 27 July 2016) was a Finnish composer of classical music. Among the most notable Finnish composers since Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Rautavaara wrote a great number of works spanning various styles. T ...
,
Bernhard Crusell
Bernhard Henrik Crusell (15 October 1775 – 28 July 1838) was a Swedish- Finnish clarinetist, composer and translator, "the most significant and internationally best-known Finnish-born classical composer and indeed, — the outstanding Fi ...
,
Uuno Klami,
Tauno Marttinen,
Robert Kajanus,
Sofia Gubaidulina
Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (russian: Софи́я Асгáтовна Губaйду́лина, link=no , tt-Cyrl, София Әсгать кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 24 October 1931) is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established ...
,
Joonas Kokkonen,
Jan Sandström,
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
, and
Fredrik Pacius
Fredrik Pacius (; born Friedrich Pacius; 19 March 1809 – 8 January 1891) was a German-Finnish composer and conductor who lived most of his life in Finland. He has been called the "Father of Finnish music".
Pacius was born in Hamburg. He was ap ...
.
Vänskä was chief conductor of the
Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, he was appointed chief conductor of the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBCSSO), and served in that capacity until 2002. With the BBCSSO, he made recordings of the complete
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer.
Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...
symphonies for the BIS label. In June 2014, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra announced the return of Vänskä to the orchestra as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season.
In 2003, Vänskä became the music director of the
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall.
History
Em ...
. He and the orchestra have received critical praise, and he is regarded as having enhanced the quality of the orchestra. In 2004, Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra began a five-year project to record the complete
Beethoven symphonies
The compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven consist of 722 works written over forty-five years, from his earliest work in 1782 (variations for piano on a march by Ernst Christoph Dressler) when he was only eleven years old and still in Bonn, until hi ...
on the BIS label. In 2005, Vänskä signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Orchestra through at least 2011. In September 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of Vänskä's contract through the 2014–2015 season. He announced his resignation on 1 October 2013, one year after management locked out the musicians in a longstanding labor dispute. In January 2014 Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra won a Grammy for best orchestral performance for the album of Sibelius' Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4. He was re-appointed music director of the Minnesota Orchestra in April 2014 with a two-year contract, which was extended in May 2015 to last until August 2019. In July 2017, the orchestra announced a further extension of Vänskä's contract through the 2021–2022 season. In December 2018, the orchestra announced that Vänskä is to conclude his music directorship of the Minnesota Orchestra at the close of the 2021-2022 season.
Vänskä is subsequently scheduled to take the title of conductor laureate with the Minnesota Orchestra.
In May 2008, an orchestral piece composed by Vänskä titled ''The Bridge'' was premiered by the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, led by William Schrickel, assistant-principal bassist of the Minnesota Orchestra, with Vänskä in attendance.
In April 2019, the
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Vänskä as its next music director, effective January 2020, with an initial contract of 3 years. Vänskä stood down as music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the end of 2022.
Personal life
Vänskä has been married twice. He and his first wife Pirkko, a freelance drama critic, have three grown children, one of whom,
Olli
Olli is a Dutch children's book character and a stuffed toy. The character Olli was created in 2004 by Dutch designer and film director Hein Mevissen and writer Diederiekje Bok as a character for a bottled mineral water. Olli was one of the many ...
, plays
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
in the Finnish
folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exam ...
band
Turisas
Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish god of war.
Turisas are a folk metal band, incorporating elements of power metal and s ...
. The couple separated in 2009. In April 2015, Vänskä married Erin Keefe, concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra. The couple reside in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...
.
[ In private life, one of his hobbies is riding motorcycles.]
References
Literature
* Michael Anthony: ''Osmo Vänskä: Orchestra Builder''. Kirk House Publishers.
External links
HarrisonParrott agency page on Osmo Vänskä
Minnesota Orchestra page on Osmo Vänskä
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160728173014/http://www.indigestmag.com/osmo1.htm David Luke Doddy (with Taya Mueller), "Seeing Anew: Osmo Vanska and the New Minnesota Orchestra". ''InDigest'' online magazine (retrieved page)]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanska, Osmo
1953 births
Living people
People from Savonlinna
Finnish classical clarinetists
Finnish conductors (music)
Musicians from Minneapolis
Prize-winners of the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors
Sibelius Academy alumni
Finnish expatriates in the United States
21st-century conductors (music)
21st-century clarinetists