Esa-Pekka Salonen

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Esa-Pekka Salonen (pronunciation (help·info)) (b. June 30, 1958) is a prominent Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP or LA Phil), the orchestra with which he made his US debut in 1984.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Salonen, born in Helsinki, Finland, studied horn and composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, as well as conducting with Jorma Panula. His conducting classmates included Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Osmo Vänskä. Another classmate on the composition side was the composer Magnus Lindberg and together they formed the new-music appreciation group Korvat auki and the experimental ensemble Toimii ("Ears open" and "It works" in the Finnish language). Later, Salonen studied with the composers Franco Donatoni, Niccolò Castiglioni and Einojuhani Rautavaara.

His first experience with conducting came in 1979 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, though he still thought of himself principally as a composer. In 1983, however, he undertook a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London at short notice, and it launched his career as a conductor.[1] He was subsequently principal guest conductor of the Philharmonia from 1985 to 1994. In November 2006, Salonen was announced as its next Principal Conductor as of 2008.[2]

Salonen was principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1984-1995.

He made his U.S. conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1984, and has conducted the orchestra every season since. In 1989, he was offered the title of Principal Guest Conductor by Executive VP Ernest Fleischmann and was to take the orchestra on a tour of Japan; however, controversy ensued when Andre Previn, the orchestra's Music Director at the time, was not consulted on either the Principal Guest appointment or the tour, and objected to both. Continued friction between Fleischmann and Previn led to Previn's resignation in April 1989[3]. Four months later, Salonen was named the orchestra's tenth Music Director, officially taking the post in 1992 and holding it ever since. It was recently reported that he and the orchestra have extended the "evergreen" clause in his contract to 2009. At the end of the 2008-2009 season, he is scheduled to relinquish his Los Angeles post to Gustavo Dudamel.[4][5][6][7]

In November 2006, the Philharmonia Orchestra announced that Salonen will take up the position of Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor at the beginning of the 2008-9 season.[8]

Salonen is renowned for his dedication to performing and recording contemporary music. His 1985 recording of Witold Lutosławski's Symphony No. 3 won the 1985 Gramophone Award for Best Contemporary Recording. Salonen later recorded Lutosławski's Symphony No. 4 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, once for Sony Classical, and later in a live recording at Walt Disney Concert Hall for Deutsche Grammophon.

Among Salonen's compositions are ...auf den ersten blick und ohne zu wissen... (1980, a saxophone concerto with a title taken from Franz Kafka's The Trial), Floof for soprano and ensemble (1982, on texts by Stanisław Lem) and the orchestral L.A. Variations (1996). In order to devote more time to composition, Salonen took a year's sabbatical from conducting in 2000, during which time he wrote a work for solo horn (Concert Étude, the competition piece for Lieksa Brass Week), Dichotomie for piano, Mania for the cellist Anssi Karttunen and sinfonietta, and Gambit, an orchestral piece that was a birthday present for fellow composer and friend Magnus Lindberg.

In 2001, Salonen composed Foreign Bodies, his largest work in terms of orchestration, which incorporated music from the opening movement of Dichotomie. Another orchestral piece, Insomnia, followed in 2002, and another, Wing On Wing, in 2004. Wing On Wing includes parts for two sopranos and distorted samples of architect Frank O. Gehry's voice as well as a fish.

As is apparent with his interpretations of such avant-garde works as Jan Sandström's Motorbike Concerto, Esa-Pekka Salonen voices a distaste for ideological and dogmatic approaches to composition and sees music creation as deeply physical. In the liner notes for Deutsche Grammophon's release of Wing On Wing, he is quoted saying "Musical expression is bodily expression, there is no abstract cerebral expression in my opinion. It all comes out of the body." A recurring theme in his music is the fusion of or relationship between the mechanical and the organic. He has also stated that his time in California has helped him to be more "free" in his compositions.[9]

Salonen and his wife Jane, a former musician with the Philharmonia Orchestra, have three children, two daughters, Ella Aneira and Anja Sofia, and one son, Oliver.[10]

Career highlights

[edit] Selected compositions

  • 1982 Floof (chamber ensemble)
  • 1996 LA Variations (orchestra)
  • 1999 Five Images after Sappho (soprano, chamber ensemble)
  • 2000 Dichotomie (piano)
  • 2001 Foreign Bodies (orchestra)
  • 2002 Insomnia (orchestra)
  • 2000 Mania (cello, orchestra or ensemble)
  • 2004 Wing on Wing (two sopranos, orchestra)
  • 2005 Helix (orchestra)
  • 2007 Piano Concerto (piano, orchestra)

[edit] Selected recordings

  • Concerto for Alto Saxophone; Floof; Meeting; Mimo II; Yta I; Yta II; Yta IIb; Yta III – Pekka Savijoki; Anu Komsi; Kari Krikku; Jukka Tiensuu; Jorma Valjakka; Mikael Helasvuo; Tuija Hakkila; Anssi Karttunen; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Avanti! Chamber Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Finlandia 0927 43815 2
  • Five Images After Sappho; Gambit; Giro; LA Variations; Mania – Dawn Upshaw; Anssi Karttunen; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; London Sinfonietta; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Sony SK89158
  • Foreign Bodies; Insomnia; Wing on Wing–Anu Komsi; Piia Komsi; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375
  • Red Violin – Joshua Bell, solo violin; Philarmonia Orchestra; Sony Classical.

Complete list of Esa-Pekka Salonen's recordings with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

[edit] Selected world premiere performances

In addition to conducting his own compositions, Salonen has actively championed other composers' music, most notably Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, and Steven Stucky. Many noteworthy compositions have even been dedicated to Salonen. Below is a list of some of the world premieres that he has conducted:

John Adams (composer)

  • "Naïve & Sentimental Music," Los Angeles Philharmonic (February 19, 1999)
  • "The Dharma at Big Sur," Tracy Silverman (electric violin), Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 24, 2003)

John Corigliano

Franco Donatoni

  • “Esa (in Cauda V),” Los Angeles Philharmonic (Feb 16, 2001)

Anders Hillborg

  • “Eleven Gates,” Los Angeles Philharmonic (May 2006)

Oliver Knussen

  • Horn Concerto, Barry Tuckwell (horn), Philharmonia Orchestra (August 13, 1996)

William Kraft

  • English Horn Concerto, Carolyn Hove (English horn), Los Angeles Philharmonic (January 2003)

Peter Lieberson

Magnus Lindberg

  • “Kraft” for solo ensemble & orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra and the TOIMII-ensemble (September 4, 1985)
  • “Campana in Aria” for horn and orchestra, Hans Dullaert (horn), Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland (June 1998)
  • “Fresco” for orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, (1998)
  • Cello Concerto, Anssi Karttunen (cello), Orchestre de Paris (May 1999)
  • “Chorale” for orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (2002)
  • “Parada” for orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (2002)
  • “Sculpture” for orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, (October 6, 2005)

Larry Lipkis

  • "Harlequin" for bass trombone and orchestra, Jeffrey Reynolds (bass trombone), David Weiss (musical saw), Los Angeles Philharmonic (May 23, 1997)

Steven Mackey

  • "Deal" for electric guitar and large ensemble, Bill Frisell (guitar), Joey Baron (drums), Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group (April 17, 1995)

Colin Matthews

  • Horn Concerto, Richard Watkins (horn), Philharmonia Orchestra (April 2001)

David Newman (composer)

Gabriela Ortiz

  • “Altar de Piedra,” Concerto for percussion ensemble & orchestra, Kroumata (percussion), Los Angeles Philharmonic, January 2003

Bernard Rands

  • Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic (February 24, 1994)

Roger Reynolds

  • “Symphony (The Stages of Life),” Los Angeles Philharmonic (April 29, 1993)

Kaija Saariaho

  • “Du Kristal,” Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (September 1990)
  • “Graal Theatre” for violin and orchestra, Gidon Kremer (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra (Sept 1995)
  • “Adriana Mater,” Orchestra & Choir of the Paris Opera (April 2006)

Rodion Shchedrin

  • Piano Concerto No. 5, Olli Mustonen (piano), Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 21, 1999)

Roberto Sierra

  • "Con madera, metal y cuero" for percussion soloist and orchestra, Evelyn Glennie (percussion), Los Angeles Philharmonic (January 21, 1999)

Steven Stucky

  • Concerto for Two Flutes, Ann Diener-Zentner (fka Ann Diener-Giles) and Janet Ferguson (flutes), Los Angeles Philharmonic (Feb 23, 1995)
  • “Ancora,” Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 5, 1995)
  • “American Muse,” Sanford Sylvan (baritone), Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 29, 1999)
  • Second Concerto for Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic (March 12, 2004) (Winner: 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Music)
  • “Radical Light,” Los Angeles Philharmonic (Oct 18, 2007)

Augusta Read Thomas

  • “Canticle Weaving: Trombone Concerto #2,” Ralph Sauer (trombone), Los Angeles Philharmonic (March 29, 2003)

Mark-Anthony Turnage

[edit] Interesting Stories

  • When Igor Stravinsky's former Beverly Hills residence at 1260 North Wetherly Drive was put up for sale, Salonen strongly considered buying the property; however, after visiting the house and, among other things, noting that indentations from Stravinsky's piano were still visible in the carpet, he was intimidated by the prospect of trying to compose in the same house where Stravinsky had written many important works, including Symphony in Three Movements, the Concerto in D for Strings, The Rake's Progress, Orpheus, Agon, the Cantata, and Mass. He ultimately decided not to buy the house.[11][12][13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Nicholas Wroe. "LA Variation", The Guardian, 27 Jan 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  2. ^ "Philharmonia Orchestra Announces Salonen As Principal Conductor", Philharmonia Orchestra, 21 Nov 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  3. ^ Martin Bernheimer. "The Tyrant of Philharmonic", Los Angeles Times, 8 October 1989. 
  4. ^ Mark Swed. "Maestro will pass baton to up-and-comer in '09", Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  5. ^ Matthew Westphal. "Gustavo Dudamel to Replace Esa-Pekka Salonen at LA Philharmonic in 2009", Playbill Arts, 8 Apr 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  6. ^ Diane Haithman. "L.A. Philharmonic warms to Gustavo Dudamel", Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  7. ^ David Mermelstein. "Salonen passing L.A. Phil baton to Dudamel", Los Angeles Daily News, 9 April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  8. ^ Philharmonia Orchestra Announces Salonen As Principal Conductor. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  9. ^ Ivan Hewett. "A compulsion to compose", Telegraph, 2 November 2005. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  10. ^ Anthony Tommasini. "Classical Music Star Grabs, and Holds, the Imagination of Fickle Los Angeles", New York Times, 2 Jun 2005. Retrieved on 2007-04-13. 
  11. ^ Bernard Holland. "Stravinsky, a Rare Bird Amid the Palms; A Composer in California, At Ease if Not at Home", The New York Times, 11 March 2001. 
  12. ^ Richard S. Ginnell. "The Los Angeles Stravinsky Festival", American Record Guide, 1 July 2001. 
  13. ^ Alex Ross. "The Anti-maestro; How Esa-Pekka Salonen transformed the Los Angeles Philharmonic", The New Yorker, 30 April 2007. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Herbert Blomstedt		 Principal Conductor, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
1984–1995		 Succeeded by
Evgeny Svetlanov
v • d • e
Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Directors

Walter Henry Rothwell (1919) · Georg Schnéevoigt (1927) · Artur Rodziński (1929) · Otto Klemperer (1933) · Alfred Wallenstein (1943) · Eduard van Beinum (1956) · Zubin Mehta (1962) · Carlo Maria Giulini (1978) · André Previn (1985) · Esa-Pekka Salonen (1992)