Osmo Vänskä resigns from Minnesota Orchestra

1 October 2013, 14:23 | Updated: 1 October 2013, 14:35

The music director of the Minnesota Orchestra since 2003 has left his post, effective immediately.

Conductor Osmo Vänskä was due to remain on the podium with Minnesota Orchestra until 2015, but threatened to resign back in July if financial issues were not settled. The orchestra has been locked in a bitter dispute over pay for more than a year.

After reconciliation talks in Minneapolis ended abruptly last night, two concerts in Carnegie Hall were pulled, and new proposals from the musicians were rejected. Vänskä had previously warned that the cancellation of the concerts - where the orchestra were due to play music by Sibelius -  would result in his resignation.

"It is a very sad day for me," Vänskä said in a statement. "I send my deepest thanks to everyone involved for what we have achieved together and I wish the Minnesota Orchestra all the very best for its future."