Osmo Vänskä will take up the baton as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra once again.
The Finnish conductor resigned from the organisation in October last year during a much-publicised labour dispute, which saw the orchestra’s musicians locked out for 15 months.
At the time, Vänskä put his resignation down to the disruption caused by the lockout, which forced the organisation to cancel its entire 2012-13 season.
Read: Minnesota Orchestra lockout ends
‘Osmo Vänskä led the Minnesota Orchestra to great heights during his previous tenure as music director,’ said board chair Gordon Sprenger. ‘We are happy to be able to reunite Osmo and the orchestra to deliver outstanding musical performances for our community and to extend their celebrated musical partnership.’
Vänskä’s contract stipulates that he will lead the orchestra for at least ten weeks during 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. The conductor has also accepted a cut in pay equal to the 15 per cent reduction laid out in the musicians’ contracts, effective since February.
In a statement, the musicians of the orchestra said: ‘This is a major step in rebuilding the trust and collaborative spirit within our organisation as well as with our community.’
Image: Vänskä © Kaapo Kamu