Salonen "does" LA

Synopsis

On today's date in 1997, the Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted the premiere performance of one of his own works, entitled "L.A. Variations," in Los Angeles with (who else?) the Los Angeles Philharmonic. "I wrote 'L.A .Variations' specifically for the players of the L.A. Philharmonic," said Salonen.

This piece marked a shift from Salonen's earlier work. "I had an interesting discrepancy in my life because I was writing serial, or post-serial music, but conducting Mahler, Strauss, Stravinsky, Debussy, Sibelius, Bruckner -- this sort of repertoire with the big sonority and a lot of color and a lot of visceral impact. It was only much later when I came to a point in my own life and work where I was ready to move towards the kind of music I was imagining all along but didn't quite know how to reach.

"For some reason," Salonen continued, "it took me quite a lot of time to create a kind of 'one-ness' between the performing side and the composing side, so that both would be reflections of the same temperament."

The music is also a tribute to L.A. itself, a place Salonen describes as being "open."

"The way L.A. functions, at least in my experience," says Salonen, "is that people give you a forum. They say, 'OK, here it is. Show us what you can do.' There is a pioneering spirit there that still stems from the reason people went out there in the first place - to find something new, to create something new."

Music Played in Today's Program

Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958) LA Variations Los Angeles Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen, cond. Sony 89158

On This Day

Births

• 1728 - Italian opera composer Niccoló Piccinni, in Bari;

• 1905 - Spanish composer Ernesto Halffter, in Madrid;

• 1934 - American composer Richard Wernick, in Boston, Massachusetts;

• 1943 - English composer Gavin Bryars, in Goole, Yorkshire;

• 1943 - English composer Brian Ferneyhough, in Coventry;

Deaths

• 1886 - Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli, age 51, in Milan;

• 1891 - French ballet composer Leo Delibes, age 54, in Paris;

• 1957 - Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, age 89, in New York;

• 1969 - Russian-born American composer and songwriter Vernon Duke (Vladimir Dukelsky), age 65, in Santa Monica, Calif,;

Premieres

• 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 155 ("Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange") performed on the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24);

• 1739 - Handel: oratorio, "Saul," in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Jan. 27);

• 1745 - Handel: musical drama "Hercules" (Julian date: Jan. 5);

• 1800 - Cherubini: opera "Les deux journées," in Paris at the Théatre Feydeau;

• 1869 - Borodin: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 4);

• 1876 - Tchaikovsky: "Serenade mélancolique,"in Moscow (Gregorian date: Jan. 28);

• 1905 - d'Albert: opera "Tiefland" (The Lowlands) (2nd version), in Magdeburg at the Stadttheater;

• 1916 - Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite (Gregorian date: Jan. 29);

• 1933 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 11, in Moscow;

• 1936 - Frank Bridge: "Ovation (Concerto elegiaco)" for Cello and Orchestra, in London, by the BBC Symphony conducted by the composer, with Florence Hooton the soloist;

• 1942 - Britten: "Diversions on a Theme" for Piano Left Hand, by pianist Paul Wittgenstein, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting;

• 1969 - Babbitt: "Relata II," by the New York Philharmonic, with Leonard Bernstein conducting;

• 1983 - Daniel Asia: "Why (?) Jacob" for piano, by Sanford Margolis;

• 1997 - Esa-Pekka Salonen: "L.A. Variations" for orchestra, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting.