Finnish conductor and composer. Currently Salonen is Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and was Music Director from 1992 to 2009. Each year the festival encourages artists to work towards Baltic unity and a greater understanding of ecology.
Esa Pekka Salonen studied composition and played the French horn at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. He also studied conducting privately with Jörm Panul and E. Rautavaara. In 1977 he founded the Ears Open collective with J. Kaipainen, M. Lindberg and K. Sariaho. He is also a member of the experimental ensemble "Toimii!" founder. He attended conducting courses in Siena and Darmstadt. His professional debut was in 1979 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1983, together with Juka Peka Saraste, he founded the chamber orchestra "Avanti!"
1985-1994, Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since 1984, guest conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, 1984-1995, guest conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. He has also conducted the New Stockholm, Avanti! Chamber Orchestras and London Sinfonietta. In 1984 he made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming its Music Director in 1992.
His concert programmes in Los Angeles have been controversial, as his music combines new works with masterpieces of the early 20th century. Although his output is not extensive, it is rare to confuse it. The music has evolved from a loose tonal romanticism into a much more modern language with many different and complex aspects. The works are influenced by American minimalism, as well as by Stravinsky, O.
The composer has received a number of important awards: the UNESCO Rostrum Prize in 1992 for Floof and the Siena Prize in 1993, awarded by the Accademia Chigiana (he is, incidentally, the first conductor to receive such an award). In 1995 he received the Royal Philharmonic Opera Award and two years later the Conductor's Award. In 1996, the composer was awarded the King of Sweden's Litteris et Artibus Medal, one of the highest honours of the Swedish King. In 1998 he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government. He was also awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal and the Helsinki Medal. In 2014, he was awarded the Nemmers Composition Prize, which led to a residency at the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University and a performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, the composer was recognized by Musical America as Best Musician of the Year, and in 2010 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
