Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

Last Night in LA--Salonen the Composer

Yesterday�s LA Philharmonic program was part of a three-program focus on compositions by the Phil�s Music Director, Esa-Pekka Salonen. All three programs will then be taken by the Phil and Salonen to performances in Cologne in March. The first program returned �Wing on Wing� (2004)-- written in honor of Frank Gehry and Walt Disney Concert Hall -- and grouped it with the Debussy �Fantasie� for piano and orchestra and Stravinsky�s �The Rite of Spring� which has become a signature piece for the Phil. The third program, in two weeks, will pair �Insomnia� (2002) with the Bruckner 7th.

The second program, yesterday, began with Stravinsky�s �Pulcinella Suite�. This was a great opening, witty but with a punch, a perfect martini. Then Salonen�s school friend and compatriot, the virtuoso cellist Anssi Karttunen, joined musicians for Salonen�s �Mania� (2000), a fantasy concertante for cello and orchestra. Salonen, a horn player, and Karttunen met in the junior orchestra of the Sibelius Academy, and �Mania� is the second piece Salonen has written for his friend.

In this work the cello part frequently shifts from that of soloist to that of member of a chamber ensemble. The instrumentation is that of a chamber orchestra with only the solo cello to join two basses, a trombone, a bassoon, and a piano to provide the low voices. Orchestral color is provided by a harp, vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, gongs, and conga drum joining the violins, violas, and other winds. The "mania" of the title is represented by continuous motion; there is an almost obsessive-compulsive scurrying and a resistance to quiet and peace. A new direction starts before the other has ended; statements overlap. The work requires a virtuoso player and Karttunen is certainly that. He and Salonen have recorded this piece with the London Sinfonietta.

The final work on the program was the Berlioz �Symphonie fantastique�. The Phil�s performance sounded much better than my memory of the performance last year in the Berlioz cycle, but last year�s performance was probably constrained by the well-intentioned but disappointing dramatization with visuals. Concentrating just on the music, this was a stirring performance. Salonen used the Disney acoustics to great effect, positioning the oboe in the right balcony for the third movement�s shepherd�s duet with the English horn, and positioning the chimes in the top back balcony for the final movement. This was one of those occasions when standing ovations might be both truly felt and truly deserved.

posted by Jerry Zinser 2/14/2005