Originally published on Wed October 17, 2012 11:42 am
After 17 years molding the Los Angeles Philharmonic into one of the smartest and most adventurous U.S. orchestras, music director Esa-Pekka Salonen called it quits in 2009. Among his reasons for leaving the ensemble was to devote more time to composing.
David Patrick Stearns profiles acclaimed Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. As a composer, Salonen is quoted saying "Musical expression is bodily expression, there is no abstract cerebral expression in my opinion. It all comes out of the body." As a conductor he has simply stated that the primary reason he took up conducting was to ensure that someone would conduct his own compositions. He is currently principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
