Biography of Osmo Vänskä

About the Artist

Praised for his intense, dynamic performances, his compelling, innovative interpretations of the standard, contemporary and Nordic repertoires, and the close rapport he establishes with the orchestra musicians he leads, Osmo Vänskä is the Minnesota Orchestra's tenth Music Director as well as Music Director of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in Finland. He was until July 2002 Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow.

Vänskä first led the Minnesota Orchestra in 2000 and was appointed music director designate of the ensemble in May the following year. During his 2003-04 inaugural season in Minnesota, Vänskä leads the Orchestra in programmatic cycles focusing on the music of Beethoven and Nielsen, an eleven-city European Tour in February, and the first album in a three-year, multi-disc cycle intended to record the complete Beethoven symphonies. Establishing a new partnership between the Minnesota Orchestra and Sweden-based BIS Records, the inaugural disc in the series will feature Beethoven's symphonies Nos. 4 and 5. The album will be recorded at Orchestra Hall, the home of the Minnesota Orchestra, in May 2004.

With the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Vänskä has garnered international attention through its collection of ground-breaking Sibelius recordings on the BIS label, its worldwide touring programme including London, Birmingham, Tokyo and New York and its new 1,250-seat state-of-the-art, all-wood concert hall in Lahti, which opened in March 2000 as the world's only Sibelius Hall.

Vänskä recently stepped down as Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, a position he held from 1996-2002. During that time, he led symphonic cycles of Beethoven, Sibelius, Nielsen and Rachmaninov and conducted the orchestra at numerous BBC Proms, the Edinburgh Festival, on tour in Europe and the United States.

Internationally in demand as a guest conductor, Vänskä's US orchestra invitations include the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit, Houston and Saint Louis Symphony. In continental Europe he leads orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Czech Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Orchestre National de France, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; and reinvitations with the BBC Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Syphony Orchestra, Tokyo and the Sydney Symphony in Australia also feature in his cross-continental schedule. In Autumn 2003 he made his debut with the New York, and he leads the Berlin Philharmonic for the first time in Autumn 2004.

Vänskä has recorded several CDs for Hyperion and extensively for the BIS label. His ongoing cycle of Sibelius recordings with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra on BIS, part of a complete Sibelius Edition, have amassed many awards, including two Gramophone Awards (1991 and 1996), the Grand Prix du Disque (1993), and the Cannes Classical Award (1997 and 2001. In addition to the Sibelius collection, Vänskä has recorded numerous albums with the Lahti Symphony which feature twentieth-century composers, including Kalevi Aho, Sofia Gubaidulina, Joonas Kokkonen, Uuno Klami, Tauno Marttinen, and Einojuhani Rautavaara. His recordings with the BBC Scottish Symphony include discs of music by Bruckner and Pizzetti on the Hyperion label and contemporary Scottish composer James MacMillan on the BIS label. His more recent Nielsen Symphony cycle on BIS continues to win the highest critical and public acclaim.

Osmo Vänskä began his musical career as a clarinettist, holding the co-principal chair in the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982 and in the Turku Philharmonic from 1971 to 1976. Following conducting studies at the Sibelius Academy (1977-1979) with Jorma Panula, he took first prize in the 1982 Besançon International Young Conductor's Competition and three years later began his Lahti affiliation. Vänskä also served as Music Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (1993-96) and the Tapiola Sinfonietta (1990-92).

The many honors and distinctions awarded to Osmo Vänskä include an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow, a privilege given in recognition of his role as chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony. In May 2002, he was honored with a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to classical music during 2001.

Vänskä now divides his time between Riihimäki, Finland and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Despite his exceptionally busy conducting schedule, he still finds time to follow basketball and hockey, and to pursue his interest in motorcycles.

January 2004