Esa-Pekka Salonen: Goes Multimedia with the Philharmonia

February 8th 2008, by Tobias |

Esa-Pekka Salonen has made the intended highlights of his upcoming 2008/2009 concert season with the Philharmonia orchestra public. Multidiscplinary projects in combination with contemporary digital technology are said to be an important aspect of his upcoming residency. Part of these endeavours is the Philharmonia Orchestra’s decided effort of having all of their music available both in the physical world and on the web. Esa-Pekka Salonen was especially happy about the inclusion of modern technology in a partneship which relies on a great deal of trust from both sides. “I am very much looking forward to returning to London to undertake this next stage of the artistic journey that the Philharmonia and I began in 1983”, Esa-Pekka Salonen said, “What I find especially attractive about the Philharmonia’s approach is that almost everything the Orchestra does has its counterpart on the web. Some of the numbers I have seen – hits per day, The Sound Exchange numbers – are staggering. And this tells you that classical music is well and truly alive; it just needs to be accessible and out there.” The way it looks right now, Esa-Pekka Salonen will begin the first season with the Philharmona Orchestra with two concerts featuring Stravinsky, Berlioz and Beethoven.

Next to continuing to work on the proliferation and performing of contemporary music, in direct contact with the composers themselves, the Philharmonia Orchestra will embark on a 18-month excursion deep into the music and culture of Vienna from 1895-1935 together with Esa-Pekka Salonen. This will include joint projects with galleries and musea and extend into art, craft, design, architecture, literature, philosophy and science of the period. Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra will play in over 20 cities all around the planet as part of the project – as well as contributing to a major series of online resources.

Alistair Mackie, the Philharmonia’s Chairman and Co-Principal Trumpet, put the enthusiasm of the orchestra into words: “This is an enormously exciting moment for the Philharmonia Orchestra”, Mackie stated on the announcements by Esa-Pekka Salonen, “Many of our most ambitious and important projects over the last 25 years, from Clocks and Clouds (Ligeti) in 1996 to Related Rocks (Magnus Lindberg, 2001-2) have taken place under Esa-Pekka’s artistic leadership, and this new era, combined with the opportunities that digital technologies open up to us, offers us the chance to expand both our own horizons and those of our audiences, with projects that look beyond the boundaries of the orchestral score.”

Picture by Stefan Bremer

Homepage: Esa-Pekka Salonen
Homepage: Philharmonia Orchestra