Minnesota Orchestra
In 2003, Vänskä became the music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. He and the orchestra have received critical praise, and he is regarded as having enhanced the quality of the orchestra. In 2004, Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra began a five-year project to record the complete on the BIS label. In 2005, Vänskä signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Orchestra through at least 2011. In September 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of Vänskä's contract through the 2014–2015 season. He announced his resignation on 1 October 2013, one year after management locked out the musicians in a longstanding labor dispute. In January 2014 Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra won a Grammy for best orchestral performance for the album of Sibelius' Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4. He was re-appointed music director of the Minnesota Orchestra in April 2014 with a two-year contract, which was extended in May 2015 to last until August 2019. In July 2017, the orchestra announced a further extension of Vänskä's contract through the 2021–2022 season. In December 2018, the orchestra announced that Vänskä is to conclude his music directorship of the Minnesota Orchestra at the close of the 2021-2022 season.