Does Osmo Vänskä have a sense of humor? Was Sibelius Finnish?

Finally, Osmo Vänskä has broken his silence and given a full, on-the-record interview about his relationship with the Minnesota Orchestra. Of course, he didn't answer every single question the interviewer had: Vänskä declined to comment when asked, quite explicitly, whether returning to serve as a guest conductor with the orchestra would be like sex with an ex.

Vänskä's interlocutor, in a video interview just published on YouTube, is Nick Cannellakis, a cellist who satirically "interviews" the likes of Leon Fleisher; the Emerson String Quartet; and David Finckel and Wu Han.

In his interview with Vänskä, Cannellakis ascertains whether "Osmo" is short for anything (it's not) and confirms that Sibelius wasn't actually Norwegian.

Vänskä: "Don't try to tell me that he wasn't Finnish."

Cannellakis: "He wasn't finished with what?"

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