Minnesota Orchestra wins Grammy post Lockout

On Sunday, January 26, the Minnesota Orchestra won the 2014 Grammy Award for “best orchestral performance.” The accolade was granted for the orchestra’s recording of Sibelius’ first and fourth symphonies on BIS records with its former music director, Osmo Vanska. The Orchestra recently ended a fifteen-month lockout, the longest work stoppage for any symphonic orchestra in U.S. history, and plans to return to work on February 1. The award was surely gratifying but stirred a pot of mixed emotions, as Vanska resigned from his position during the lockout, but will return as a guest, leading the orchestra in some Sibelius concerts in March. The award, “confirms where the musicians and our leader Osmo Vanska were as a symphony orchestra before the lockout,” says Tony Ross, the orchestra’s principal cellist, adding, “this is also why we need him to return and carry on with the projects and partnership that have brought this orchestra acclaim worldwide.” The lockout occurred in October of 2012, when members of the orchestra’s board and musicians reached a stalemate in financial bargaining. Musicians were locked out “after rejecting a proposal that would have cut some salaries up to 40 percent, according to the board’s figures. The entire 2012-13 season eventually was canceled, as well as the first five months of the current season,” writes Graydon Royce of the Star Tribune. Sources: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/240153421.html http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/27/minnesota-orchestra-rebuilding-after-lockout-celebrates-a-grammy-win/?ref=music Accessed January 28, 2014