HS Culture 2.3.2004 - "The Orchestra on Wheels" arrives in Finland

By Vesa Sirén

Assuming all goes well, sometime this afternoon Dave Kamminga, French horn player with the Minnesota Orchestra will bellow out something resembling "La-bee-da-beeda dos-de-a-va!"

He will warble this apparent gibberish at the top of his lungs, to the tune of the second subject of the finale to Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, at the precise moment when the wheels of the aircraft carrying the Minnesota Orchestra touch the tarmac at Helsinki-Vantaa International, bringing them to the final stop on their European tour.

As if this were not enough, the entire 100-strong orchestra will then respond in antiphon with a loud tutti "Hey!", thereby scaring the wits out of any non-orchestra passengers who have not already been stunned by the first outburst.

The initial words are a sort of dog-Russian "tally-ho" call, which the musicians claim attempts to recreate the Russian word for "Enough!" - in other words, that's another flight disposed of.

It is a time-honoured Minnesota Orchestra ritual on every flight, a tradition going back decades and with the torch passed on to Kamminga from a former violinist in the ensemble.

As it happens, there will be no frightened fellow-travellers this time around, for the only way the Minnesotans could make it from Glasgow to Lahti in time for their next concert (tonight) was by chartering their own plane.

The Minnesota Orchestra celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first concert in November last year, so they have had plenty of time to develop their travel rituals. Already in its early years, the Minnesota Orchestra was dubbed "the orchestra on wheels" for its enthusiasm for touring. In the past century the musicians have performed in something like 670 cities, with Vienna, Berlin, and London included among the venues on this latest three-week adventure.

For all that, this is only the ensemble's second landfall in Western Europe, and the first was only as recently as 1998. And in spite of all the touring, the Minnesota Orchestra is a lot less well-known than you might think.

Not everybody knows, for example, that this is the same outfit as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, famed all over the world for its recordings under conductors like Eugene Ormandy and Antal Dorati. The orchestra gave up its well-known brand in the late 1960s in order to underline the fact that it was, after all, the orchestra of the entire state. The old name has stuck, however: only last week a Berlin critic called them the "Minneapolis Symphony" in a review.

For Finns, the biggest source of interest is of course that the orchestra's new Music Director is Osmo Vänskä. Hence the Sibelius Hall in Lahti is completely sold out and there are more than a hundred hopefuls in the line for cancellations and returns. Vänskä is definitely something of a favourite son hereabouts.

Even those without a ticket can console themselves that the event is being broadcast live on YLE's Radio One from 7.30 this evening. The soloist in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is Joshua Bell, who has featured in all but two of the European dates.

When the rented coaches drive the 10 kilometres from the airport up to Lahti today, it is probable that Osmo Vänskä will be somewhat emotional and in excellent spirits.

The emotional charge is guaranteed by the fact that the tour has wound up with visits to two of his "home towns". Yesterday it was Glasgow and the Royal Concert Hall, familiar enough from his years in the 1990s as chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. And today he is guesting on the home turf of his second orchestra, the Lahti Symphony, where he has been music director since 1988.

It is probably fair to use the term "second orchestra" these days, since Vänskä's present contract in Lahti only demands some six weeks of his services in the year. He does not take part in the planning of concerts other than those he is conducting.

"The situation with the Lahti Symphony is going to change, and my role is becoming smaller", said Vänskä when contacted in Scotland. "It's not exactly going to be a farewell appearance sort of thing, but it is obvious that the emotional charge at the evening's concert will be a powerful one."

Vänskä's good mood, on the other hand, is ensured by the fact that the critical response to the current tour has been thoroughly positive.

In its enthusiastic review of the Vienna Musikverein concert earlier this month, the London broadsheet The Daily Telegraph commented on Vänskä's move from Glasgow to Minneapolis as "Britain's loss is Minnesota's gain".

The Berliner Tageblatt noted its review of the Berlin concert that under Vänskä's direction the orchestra avoided the typical American cold steely wind brilliance. Hilary Finch in The Times gave the London appearance (at the Barbican Centre) four stars out of five, as did Andrew Clements in The Guardian, and Clements described Vänskä as "an exemplary Beethoven conductor; it's hard to think of anyone better at present".

As far as the orchestra itself is concerned, the general tone of the reviewers is one of wait-and-see. The Minnesota Orchestra is not being hoisted into the American Top 5 just yet, but it is regarded as a youthful, energetic ensemble that could well be on the way to the highest heights. One to watch.

At least this could be the outcome if Osmo Vänskä can repeat in the States his track record to date as an excellent builder of orchestras. Right now his work in Minneapolis is still in its very early stages.

Netizens have been able to follow the travels and travails of the orchestra on wheels from the perspective of a section violist, since Sam Bergman has carried his laptop along as well as his instrument, and he has sent back almost daily reports, often hilarious and always entertaining, in a blog on the ArtsJournal arts news digest site.

The link is given in connection with another article here, and comes warmly recommended.

Bergman describes the stresses and strains of touring, impossible deadlines, lousy sound balance in strange concert halls, and comments on difficult works that the rank and file musician believes should have been rehearsed even more than they were.

He also writes colourfully about the sense of community, the joking, and the near-rapture that the musicians feel when playing in musical shrines like the Musikverein in Vienna, the former stomping-ground of Gustav Mahler.

Sam Bergman believes Osmo Vänskä has done his best to make things work. The orchestra rehearse more than is their normal habit on tour, and the Finnish maestro is an analytical leader of his team and conducts in concert with real passion. He notes that Vänskä hasn't put a foot wrong up there on the podium, and that he has visibly relaxed the further the tour has progressed.

Vänskä himself initially feared it might be a risky exercise to take the orchestra on tour to Europe already only halfway through his first full season.

However, the offer made by the late Kenneth Dayton (1922-2003, the former CEO of retailers Dayton Hudson) was an irresistible one: the wealthy philanthropist and long-time friend of the Minnesota Orchestra offered to pick up the tab for the entire tour.

It appears to have been worth it. "The tour has succeeded beyond expectations", says a contented Vänskä. "The orchesta is playing exceptionally well, and there has been no shortage of audiences at all of the concerts."

Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 26.2.2004

Note: The article above appeared in the printed edition of Helsingin Sanomat on Thursday, the day of the concert. Among the linked articles below is an edited review of the concert and a piece on the more than hectic events of Thursday evening.