Minnesota Orchestra Presents Beethoven Symphony Cycle

The Minnesota Orchestra's critically acclaimed recordings of the Beethoven symphonies-conducted by Music Director Osmo Vänskä-are now available as music downloads on all the major Internet music sites, including iTunes®, eMusic and Rhapsody, among other sites. The available symphonies include Beethoven's Third, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and, the most recent release, the Ninth.

Three years ago Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra launched a five-year, five-disc initiative to record the complete Beethoven symphonies on the Swedish BIS label. Released in January 2005, the first album-featuring the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies-received extensive praise, with the London Financial Times calling it the "modern Beethoven recording par excellence." The second album, showcasing the Third and Eighth Symphonies, was released to critical raves in May 2006, and the Ninth debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard charts when it was released in October 2006.

"The enthusiasm with which the public has responded to this Beethoven series has been very gratifying," says Minnesota Orchestra President and CEO Tony Woodcock. "We're enormously pleased that we can now make the symphonies available to listeners in whatever format works best for them. This sort of flexibility allows us to reach a broader and, in many cases, new audience with this music, which is very important to the Orchestra."

Says BIS founder Robert von Bahr: "As a record producer it is extremely gratifying that a series like the Minnesota Orchestra/ Osmo Vänskä Beethoven cycle is now available over the net, thereby enabling anyone, anywhere with an Internet connection to freely enjoy these sensational results. This is a case where technique actually serves people rather than the other way around."

All future releases in the Minnesota Orchestra Beethoven cycle will be immediately available through online music retailers. Vänskä and the Orchestra will record the First and Sixth Symphonies for a fourth album in the cycle this June. -- www.minnesotaorchestra.org