When Esa-Pekka Salonen left his post as music director of the LA Phil in 2009, he said that he wanted to devote more of his time to composing and guest conducting. New York benefited from Salonen's newfound freedom last week, where he conducted no fewer than five performances with the New York Phil, as well as a CONTACT! performance devoted to his works at SubCulture.
I attended the fifth and final performance last Tuesday, which, remarkably, was nearly sold out—a testament to Salonen's ongoing star wattage as a conductor. He led things off with Ravel's lush, exotic Mother Goose Suite, which, while adequate, came across as little more than a warmup exercise for the Phil. I suppose if I were playing this piece for the fifth time in a row, I'd be a bit slumped in my chair, too.
Their posture changed dramatically for Salonen's own Violin Concerto: a remarkable achievement written while still leading the LA Philm, and for which he won the 2012 Grawemeyer Award. Salonen was inspired to write the concerto for the American violinist Leila Josefowicz, who—along with Hilary Hahn—has become this country's leading exponent of contemporary violin music, having premiered concertos by John Adams, Ollie Knussen, and Thomas Adès, among others.
Salonen's concerto is an incredibly demanding work, in no small thanks to Josefowicz who, according to Salonen, pushed him to make it even more difficult than he originally dared. ("She knows no limits," he says, "she knows no fear.") The sunny first movement ("Mirage"), with its dramatic sonorities, gives way to the creepy second movement ("Pulse I") and its Bartok-like air of dissonant doom. None of this is adequate preparation for the wild, propulsive third movement ("Pulse II") in which Josefowicz plays at staggering, manic speed for what seems like an eternity.
Instead of ending there, Salonen adds a slow, pensive fourth movement ("Adieu") in the mode of Tchiakovsky's "Pathetique" Symphony. In his program notes, Salonen says he sees this movement not as a farewell, but as the start of something new; nevertheless, it came across as a bit of a downer, as if he didn't want us to offer up our ovation too easily. No matter: he and Josefowicz got one anyway.
The concert ended with the Fifth Symphony of Salonen's fellow countryman Jean Sibelius. After a bit of a shaky start, Salonen righted the ship, allowing the broad textures of Sibelius' music to wash over the hall like a mineral bath. He held the reins tight right up until the iconic final six chords, which Salonen unleashed with fierce energy. Sometimes, I wonder how much of a difference a conductor can make; when he knows his stuff, the answer is: a lot.
More pics on the photo page.