Around the Music Festival

Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä will return to performing on January 26, conducting a concert by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. Vänskä broke bones in his pelvis and shoulder late last year and continued rehabilitation following surgery.

Vänskä is now 69 years old. He suffered the fractures early last December when he fell from a ladder to the concrete floor while playing with his granddaughter at home; after a lengthy 10-hour surgery, he was diagnosed with a six-month recovery.

Vänskä was scheduled to retire as chief conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in 2022, and had planned a “farewell concert” with the orchestra at the end of last year, conducting Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but cancelled all of those concerts as well.

According to reports in Finland, he is still unable to move his arms and will conduct the Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s concert in a wheelchair, giving instructions to the orchestra with the movement of his wrists. 26th concert will include Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 “Eroica” as well as Vänskä’s own piece.

Photo：Star Tribune　/　Brian Peterson