Introducing Minnesota Orchestra Music On Demand: Orchestra offers two free symphonic downloads to conclude season

Led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, performances of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 will be available for free download, beginning Friday, May 28

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Orchestra’s 2010-11 season will feature five additional downloads, drawn from live performances recorded by Minnesota Public Radio

(May 27, 2010) -- The Minnesota Orchestra will conclude its 107th concert season by offering its first-ever free symphonic downloads. As part of the organization’s new Minnesota Orchestra Music on Demand project, concert performances of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 will be available for free download exclusively at minnesotaorchestra.org/musicondemand, on May 28 and June 4, respectively. Next fall, the free downloads will be followed by five additional major works which will be offered as paid downloads—with the first movement available for free. All download material will be drawn from live Minnesota Orchestra performances led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, and recorded and produced for distribution by Minnesota Public Radio.

“The Minnesota Orchestra enjoys a distinguished recording and broadcasting history that goes back to the early 1920s,” says President and CEO Michael Henson. “Our Music on Demand project takes advantage of the latest music distribution tools to share Minnesota Orchestra performances, and we are especially pleased to launch the program with two free downloads—available to anyone in the world who would like to hear the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä perform this music.”

The first of the free downloads—Stravinsky’s Petrushka—will be recorded live by MPR on May 27 and available for digital download on Friday, May 28. The second, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7, will be recorded live on Thursday, June 3, and available on Friday, June 4. Both downloads will be available for free to any registered user at minnesotaorchestra.org/musicondemand through October 2010.

In November 2010, further works will become available for download, highlighting major works from the 2010-11 classical season. Each selection will be conducted by Osmo Vänskä, recorded live and available for download just days after each original Orchestra Hall performance. The repertoire will include Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique (November), Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, Jupiter (January), Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 (February), Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 (April) and Orff’s Carmina burana (June). Downloads of the first movement of each work will be free, with additional movements or parts available at standard download fees.

More information
The Minnesota Orchestra, recognized as one of America’s leading orchestras, has an illustrious recording and broadcasting history. The ensemble performed its first nationally broadcast concert under guest conductor Bruno Walter in 1923 and made its first recording a year later. Since then, the Minnesota Orchestra has issued over 450 commercially-recorded works and since 1974, hundreds of thousands of people have heard the Minnesota Orchestra each week through Minnesota Public Radio’s live regional Friday night broadcasts and millions more through subsequent national and international syndicated broadcasts, such as Performance Today and SymphonyCast. Led by Osmo Vänskä since 2003, the Orchestra offers nearly 200 concerts annually, heard live by 400,000 people.

Nearly 16 million listeners nationwide, including nearly 840,000 listeners in the region, tune in each week to programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio® | American Public Media.™ American Public Media is the United States’ second-largest producer of national public radio programs, with a portfolio including A Prairie Home Companion,® Performance Today,® Saint Paul Sunday,® Marketplace,® Marketplace Money,® The Splendid Table,® Speaking of Faith® and special reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks.® A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be found at www.mpr.org and www.americanpublicmedia.org. The partnership between the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Public Radio—yielding more than 35 years of continuous live weekly broadcasts—is unparalleled in the U.S.
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MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
MUSIC ON DEMAND AT A GLANCE

Free Downloads
STRAVINSKY Petrushka | available May 28, 2010
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 | available June 4, 2010

First Movement Free/
Additional Downloads available for Fee
BERLIOZ Symphony fantastique | available November 2010
MOZART Symphony No. 41, Jupiter | available January 2011
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 | available February 2011
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5 | available April 2011
ORFF Carmina burana | available June 2011

Downloads are DRM-free, which means they can be played back on any media device, and the 256 bps format ensures a high-quality recording.

Visit minnesota orchestra.org/musicondemand
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PRESS CONTACT:
Gwen Pappas, Director of Public Relations
(612) 371-5628 • gpappas@mnorch.org