OK, I realize this is off my usual NYC beat, but the news that Esa-Pekka Salonen will leave the L.A. Philharmonic in 2009 to devote more time to composing reminds me of another conductor-composer a bit closer to these shores. Bernstein always struggled with his identity, wishing he would be remembered as a composer even as his career as a conductor skyrocketed to unprecedented heights. Call me negativo, but my hunch is that instead of becoming a composer of real renown, Salonen will end up – like Bernstein – as a "permanent guest conductor" of all the majors (Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, etc.)Salonen made his bargain long ago, when he chose to pursue the cushioned conductor’s life of high pay and deluxe hotel suites over the solitary struggle of a full-time composer. Any talk you hear of him using his celebrity to further the cause of contmporary music (including his own) is pure hindsight.
As for that poor kid Dudamel – one can only hope he has twice the mettle folks seem to think he has, or he’ll be fried before his first season is out.