In Tuesday’s (9/1) St. Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), Rob Hubbard reports, “This year’s Gramophone nominations have been announced, and the Minnesota Orchestra is on the list for the first time. The final CD in the orchestra’s complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies—featuring the Second and Seventh Symphonies—is one of three finalists in the category of best orchestral album. It’s up against recordings by the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. It would be quite an honor for the orchestra to win, but hometown rooters should be warned that the London-based Gramophones tend to be pretty Euro-centric in what they reward (extra credit if you’re English). However, the orchestra’s music director (and conductor of the nominated CD), Osmo Vänskä, has emerged as something of a judges’ favorite at the Gramophones: He’s won twice for recordings with Finland’s Lahti Symphony. The Gramophone Awards will be presented on Oct. 2.”
Photo of Osmo Vänskä by Ann Marsden
Posted September 2, 2009
