The conductor will now play clarinet
Osmo Vänskä will conduct the Iceland Symphony Orchestra tonight in Shostakovich 6.
Before that, for the first time in many years, he will play the clarinet in a performance of Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps during the same concert.
MacroV says:
He's played chamber music in Minnesota a few times, so not sure when that three-year layoff was. He sounds good.
He played for Matinee Musicale in Duluth, Minnesota on March 29, 2016 with members of the Artymiw-Keefe-Smith Trio.
Wobble says:
He played the Brahms quintet after a concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony just over a week ago… Sounded great!
J'aime la musique says:
Maestro Vänskä has performed on the clarinet twice in Philadelphia -once a few years ago (Mozart Clarinet Quintet) in a Philadelphia Orchestra "post-concert," and (on February 2, 2018) with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. The latter featured Vänskä with the AKS Trio (Lydia Artymiw, Erin Keefe – Vanska's wife – and Wilhelmina Smith). They played:
Beethoven: Clarinet Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 11
Milhaud: Suite for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, Op. 157b
Aho: Eros for Violin and Clarinet [Philadelphia Premiere].
Robert Larm says:
Before his career as a conductor, Vanska was rather well known as a clarinetist.
harold braun says:
he is a fabulous clarinet player…one time student of Karl Leister.
Wai Kit Leung says:
I wonder if he ever conducted the Berlin Phil when Leister was still there …