Esa-Pekka Salonen (pronounced [ˈesɑˌpekːɑ ˈsɑlonen]; born June 30, 1958) is a Finnish conductor and composer. He has been named the principal conductor of Orchestre de Paris and the creative director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has also held the title of conductor laureate for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. From 2020 to 2025, he served as the music director of the San Francisco Symphony.

Life and career

Esa-Pekka Salonen was born in Helsinki, Finland. He graduated from Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu (SYK), one of Finland’s top high schools, in 1977. He then studied horn and composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and learned conducting from Jorma Panula. His conducting classmates included Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Osmo Vänskä. On the composition side, his classmate was Magnus Lindberg. Together, they formed a group called Korvat auki (“Ears open” in Finnish) and an experimental group called Toimii (“It works” in Finnish). Later, Salonen studied with composers Franco Donatoni, Niccolò Castiglioni, and Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Salonen first conducted in 1979 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. At that time, he still considered himself mainly a composer. He said he started conducting to ensure that someone would perform his own music. In 1983, he replaced a sick conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, to lead a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. He had never studied the score before, but this performance began his career as a conductor. He became the Philharmonia’s principal guest conductor from 1985 to 1994.

Salonen was the principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1984 to 1995. In 2003, he co-founded the Baltic Sea Festival with Michael Tydén and Valery Gergiev. This music festival shares new classical music and aims to unite countries around the Baltic Sea while raising awareness about environmental issues in the region. The festival is held every year in one of the region’s countries.

Salonen made his U.S. conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1984. In 1989, he was named Principal Guest Conductor by Ernest Fleischmann, but this caused disagreement because the orchestra’s music director, André Previn, was not consulted. This led to Previn’s resignation in 1989. Four months later, Salonen became the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s tenth music director, a role he held until 2009.

Salonen’s time with the Philharmonic began with a residency at the 1992 Salzburg Festival, where the orchestra performed concerts and worked as the pit orchestra for an opera by Olivier Messiaen. This was the first time an American orchestra had this opportunity. Salonen led the Philharmonic on many tours in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He also led residencies at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, The Proms in London, and a festival in Cologne featuring his own works. In 1996, during a residency in Paris, key Philharmonic board members heard the orchestra perform in better acoustics and were inspired to raise money to build the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Under Salonen’s leadership, the Philharmonic became known for its progressiveness and high quality. Alex Ross of The New Yorker praised the orchestra’s achievements. In 2007, Salonen and the Philharmonic announced that his music directorship would end in 2009, with Gustavo Dudamel taking over.

Before his final concert as music director on April 19, 2009, the Philharmonic named him its first Conductor Laureate. They also created the Esa-Pekka Salonen Commissions Fund to support the creation and performance of new music. At its start, the fund had $1.5 million. During his time as music director, the Philharmonic introduced 120 pieces to the world or the United States for the first time and commissioned over 54 new works. Salonen led the orchestra in 973 concerts and 23 tours, more than any other music director in the orchestra’s history.

In November 2006, the Philharmonia Orchestra announced Salonen as its Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor for the 2008–2009 season. His initial contract was for three years. He recorded music by Berlioz and Schönberg with the Philharmonia. In 2010, his contract was extended to 2014, and in 2013, it was further extended through the 2016–2017 season. In 2018, the Philharmonia announced that Salonen would finish his role as principal conductor after the 2020–2021 season.

Salonen made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in November 2009, conducting a production of Leoš Janáček’s From the House of the Dead. In 2012, his violin concerto for Leila Josefowicz won the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. In 2014, he received the Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Musical Composition from Northwestern University, which included a $100,000 prize, a residency at the school, and a performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. That same year, he was named to a creative chair at the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, which included commissioning a new piece and performing other works.

In 2015, Salonen began a three-season role as composer-in-residence with the New York Philharmonic. He also advises The Sync Project, a group studying music’s effects on brain health. In 2016, he became the first artist associated with the Finnish National Opera and Ballet.

Salonen first conducted the San Francisco Symphony in 2004 and returned in 2012 and 2015. In 2018, the SFS announced that Salonen would become its next music director, starting in 2020. In 2024, he announced he would leave after his contract ended in 2025, saying he did not share the same goals for the orchestra’s future as the

Honours and awards

In April 2010, Salonen was elected a Foreign Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In May 2010, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern California and later that day gave a speech at the graduation ceremony for the USC Thornton School of Music. On July 26, 2012, Salonen carried the Olympic flame during the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay. In December 2020, he was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his contributions to music and UK-Finland relations. In 2023, he conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the Nobel Prize Concert. In 2024, he was awarded the Polar Music Prize along with Nile Rodgers. In 2025, he received a Grammy Award for the San Francisco Symphony's recording of the opera Adriana Mater by Kaija Saariaho.

Career highlights

• 1981 – Finished the first large work titled "…auf den ersten Blick und ohne zu wissen…"
• 1983 – Helped start the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in Finland with Jukka-Pekka Saraste
• 1985 – Named main conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
• 1992 – Received the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers award
• 1992 – Became Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
• 1993 – Became the first conductor to win the Siena Prize from the Accademia Chigiana
• 1995 – Appointed Artistic Director of the Helsinki Festival
• 1997 – Conducted Ligeti’s opera, Le Grand Macabre, at the Salzburg Festival with the Philharmonia Orchestra
• 1997 – Performed the world premiere of LA Variations in Los Angeles
• 1999 – Served as Music Director of the Ojai Music Festival
• 2000 – Took a break to focus on composing
• 2001 – Served as Music Director of the Ojai Music Festival
• 2003 – Led opening concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which were shown on PBS Great Performances in the United States
• 2005 – Performed his own compositions in festivals in Los Angeles and Cologne with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
• 2006 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America
• 2007 – Performed The Tristan Project in Los Angeles and New York
• 2007 – Conducted the world premiere of his Piano Concerto with Yefim Bronfman (piano) and the New York Philharmonic
• 2008 – Began working as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra
• 2009 – Conducted the world premiere of his Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowicz (violin) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
• 2011 – Won the 2012 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for his Violin Concerto
• 2014 – Won the Nemmers Prize in Music Composition
• 2014 – Appointed Creative Chair at the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
• 2015 – Named Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic
• 2017 – Conducted the world premiere of his Cello Concerto with Yo-Yo Ma (cello) and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• 2018 – The Colburn School named Salonen to lead the Negaunee Conducting Program
• 2020 – Began working as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony
• 2022 – The Berlin Philharmonic named Salonen Composer-in-Residence for the 2022/23 season
• 2024 – Won the Polar Music Prize.

Composing

Esa-Pekka Salonen has written several musical works, including his Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (auf den ersten Blick und ohne zu wissen) from 1980, which uses a title from Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. Other compositions include Floof for soprano and ensemble (1982, based on texts by Stanisław Lem) and the orchestral piece L.A. Variations (1996).

Salonen has said that his time in California influenced his music, allowing him to feel more "free" in his creative choices. Mark Swed, a music critic for the Los Angeles Times, noted this connection.

To focus more on composing, Salonen took a year off from conducting in 2000. During this time, he created several works, including Concert Étude for solo horn (a competition piece for Lieksa Brass Week), Dichotomie for pianist Gloria Cheng, Mania for cellist Anssi Karttunen and sinfonietta, and Gambit, an orchestral piece written as a birthday gift for composer Magnus Lindberg.

In 2001, Salonen composed Foreign Bodies, his largest orchestral work, which included music from the first movement of Dichotomie. He later wrote Insomnia in 2002 and Wing on Wing in 2004. Wing on Wing features parts for two sopranos, distorted recordings of architect Frank Gehry’s voice, and a fish.

Salonen is known for interpreting experimental works, such as Jan Sandström’s Motorbike Odyssey. He believes that music should not be limited by strict rules or ideas and views musical creation as deeply connected to the physical body. In the liner notes for Wing on Wing released by Deutsche Grammophon, he wrote, "Musical expression is bodily expression. There is no abstract cerebral expression in my opinion. It all comes out of the body." A common theme in his music is the blending of mechanical and organic elements.

Salonen is planning to compose an opera based on the novel The Woman and the Ape by Peter Høeg.

Compositions

World premiere details are shown where available. Salonen conducted unless otherwise noted.

• Giro (1982, revised in 1997) – premiered by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland on November 27, 1981
• L.A. Variations (1996) – premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Los Angeles on January 16, 1997
• Foreign Bodies (2001) – premiered by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste, at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Kiel, Germany, on August 12, 2001
• Insomnia (2002) – premiered by the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo on December 1, 2002
• Stockholm Diary (2004) – premiered by the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stockholm Composer Festival on October 27, 2004
• Helix (2005) – premiered by the World Orchestra for Peace, conducted by Valery Gergiev, in London on August 29, 2005
• Nyx (2010) – premiered by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris on February 19, 2011
• Gemini (2018/2019) – premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Los Angeles on October 26, 2019. This work is made up of two originally independent pieces, Pollux and Castor

• Saxophone Concerto (1980) – premiered by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, with Pekka Savijoki on saxophone, in Helsinki on September 22, 1981
• Mimo II for oboe and orchestra (1992) – premiered by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, with Jorma Valjakka on oboe, in Helsinki on December 14, 1992
• Mania for cello and orchestra (2002) – an orchestral version of Mania for Cello and Chamber Ensemble
• Piano Concerto (2007) – premiered by the New York Philharmonic, with Yefim Bronfman on piano, in New York on February 1, 2007
• Violin Concerto (2009) – premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Leila Josefowicz on violin, in Los Angeles on April 9, 2009
• Cello Concerto (2017) – premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with Yo-Yo Ma on cello, in Chicago on March 15, 2017
• Sinfonia concertante for organ and orchestra (2022) – premiered by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, with Iveta Apkalna on organ, in Katowice on January 13, 2023

• Floof (Songs of a Homeostatic Homer) (1988) for soprano and chamber ensemble – premiered by Toimii Ensemble, with Anu Komsi as soprano, in Helsinki on August 27, 1988
• Five Images after Sappho (1999) for soprano and chamber ensemble – premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, with Laura Claycomb as soprano, in Ojai, California, on June 4, 1999
• Wing on Wing for two sopranos and orchestra (2004) – premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Jamie Chamberlin and Hila Plitmann as sopranos, on June 5, 2004
• Dona Nobis Pacem (2011) for SATB chorus – premiered at the Chatelet Theatre on February 4, 2011
• Karawane (2014) – premiered by the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and Zurich Singing Academy, conducted by Lionel Bringuier, at Tonhalle Zürich on September 10, 2014

• Nachtlieder for clarinet and piano (1978)
• Meeting for clarinet and harpsichord (1982)
• Yta I for alto flute (1982)
• Yta II for piano/harpsichord (1985)
• Yta III for cello (1986)
• Mania for cello and chamber ensemble (2000) – premiered by Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, with Anssi Karttunen on cello, at Summer Sounds in Porvoo, Finland, on July 2, 2000
• Dichotomie for piano (2000) – premiered by Gloria Cheng on piano in Los Angeles on December 4, 2000
• Lachen verlernt for violin (2002) – premiered by Cho-Liang Lin on violin at La Jolla SummerFest in La Jolla, California, on August 10, 2002
• Three Preludes for piano (2005)

Selected world premiere performances

In addition to conducting his own music, Salonen has actively supported the work of other composers, including Anders Hillborg, Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, and Steven Stucky. Many important compositions have been dedicated to him. Below is a list of some of the world premieres he has conducted:

• Naïve and Sentimental Music, Los Angeles Philharmonic (February 19, 1999)
• The Dharma at Big Sur, Tracy Silverman (electric violin), Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 24, 2003)
• Chamber Concerto, Karen Gomyo (violin), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (May 2018)
• Haags Hakkûh (The Hague Hacking) – Double Piano Concerto, Katia and Marielle Labèque (pianos), Los Angeles Philharmonic (January 16, 2009)
• Within Her Arms for string orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic (April 7, 2009)
• The Red Violin (motion picture score), Joshua Bell (violin), Philharmonia Orchestra
• Esa (in Cauda V), Los Angeles Philharmonic (February 16, 2001)
• Violin Concerto, Janine Jansen, Orchestre de Paris (December 17, 2008)
• Clang and Fury, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
• Celestial mechanics, Stockholm Chamber Orchestra (October 31, 1986)
• Liquid marble, Orkester Norden (Tampere, 1995)
• Meltdown Variations, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group (1999)
• Dreaming Rivers, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic (1999)
• Piano Concerto (revised version), Roland Pöntinen and the AVANTI! Chamber Orchestra
• Eleven Gates, Los Angeles Philharmonic (May 4, 2006)
• Flood Dreams, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Brussels, 2009)
• Sirens, Anne Sofie von Otter and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (2011)
• The Grand Encounter, English Horn Concerto, Carolyn Hove (English horn), Los Angeles Philharmonic (January 16, 2003)
• Neruda Songs, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (mezzo-soprano), Los Angeles Philharmonic (May 20, 2005), winner: 2008 Grawemeyer Award (Music Composition)
• Kraft for solo ensemble & orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra and the Toimii ensemble (September 4, 1985)
• Campana in Aria for horn and orchestra, Hans Dullaert (horn), Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland (June 1998)
• Fresco for orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic (1998)
• Cello Concerto No. 1, Anssi Karttunen (cello), Orchestre de Paris (May 1999)
• Chorale for orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (2002)
• Parada for orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (February 6, 2002)
• Sculpture for orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 6, 2005)
• Cello Concerto No. 2, Anssi Karttunen (cello), Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 18, 2013)
• "Harlequin" for bass trombone and orchestra, Jeffrey Reynolds (bass trombone), David Weiss, Los Angeles Philharmonic (May 23, 1997)
• "Deal" for electric guitar and large ensemble, Bill Frisell (guitar), Joey Baron (drums), Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group (April 17, 1995)
• Horn Concerto, Richard Watkins (horn), Philharmonia Orchestra (April 2001)
• Tales from 1001 Nights with film by Yoshitaka Amano, Los Angeles Philharmonic (April 30, 1998)
• Altar de Piedra, concerto for percussion ensemble & orchestra, Kroumata (percussion), Los Angeles Philharmonic (January 2003)
• Symphony No. 4, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic (January 10, 2009)
• Rivers to the Sea, Philharmonia Orchestra (June 22, 2012)
• Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic (February 24, 1994)
• Symphony (The Stages of Life), Los Angeles Philharmonic (April 29, 1993)
• Du Cristal, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (September 1990)
• "…a la fumée," Petri Alanko (alto flute) and Anssi Karttunen (cello), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (March 1991)
• Graal Théâtre for violin and orchestra, Gidon Kremer (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra (September 1995)
• Adriana Mater, Orchestra & Choir of the Paris Opera (April 2006)
• Piano Concerto No. 5, Olli Mustonen (piano), Los Angeles Philharmonic (October 21, 1999)
• Prologue to Orango (orchestration by Gerard McBurney), Ryan McKinny (Veselchak, bass-baritone), Jordan Bisch (Voice from the Crowd/Bass, bass), Michael

Recordings

Salonen is known for his work in performing and recording modern music. His 1985 recording of Witold Lutosławski's Symphony No. 3 received the 1985 Gramophone Award, the Grammy Award, and a Caecilia Prize for Best Contemporary Recording. Later, he recorded Lutosławski's Symphony No. 4 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Sony Classical and in a live performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall for Deutsche Grammophon. He also recorded all of György Ligeti's works with the Philharmonia Orchestra for Sony Classical, but the project was not completed because of limited funding.

• Esa-Pekka Salonen: Concerto for Alto Saxophone; Floof; Meeting; Nachtleider; Mimo II; Yta I; Yta II; Yta IIb; Yta III – Pekka Savijoki; Anu Komsi; Kari Krikku; Jukka Tiensuu; Jorma Valjakka; Mikael Helasvuo; Tuija Hakkila; Anssi Karttunen; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Avanti! Chamber Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Finlandia 0927 43815 2
• Bartók: Piano Concertos 1, 2, and 3 (Yefim Bronfman, piano) (Grammy Award); Sony Classical SBK89732
• Esa-Pekka Salonen: Five Images After Sappho; Gambit; Giro; LA Variations; Mania – Dawn Upshaw; Anssi Karttunen; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; London Sinfonietta; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Sony SK89158
• Esa-Pekka Salonen: Foreign Bodies; Insomnia; Wing on Wing – Anu Komsi; Piia Komsi; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375
• John Corigliano: Red Violin – Joshua Bell, solo violin; Philarmonia Orchestra; Sony Classical SK63010
• Arnold Schoenberg: Violin Concerto in D Minor, Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto – Hilary Hahn, solo violin; Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra – Deutsche Grammophon B0011WMWUW – Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)
• Henri Dutilleux: Correspondances; Tout un monde lointain; The shadows of time – Barbara Hannigan; Anssi Karttunen; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Deutsche Grammophon 0289 479 1180 7
• Esa-Pekka Salonen: Out of Nowhere; Nyx and Violin Concerto; Leila Josefson; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Finlandia 0927 43815 2
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Prologue to "Orango" (World Premiere Recording) and Symphony No. 4 – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375
• Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9 – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375
• Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6 – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375
• Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375

• Frank Zappa: 200 Motels: The Suites – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375

• Esa-Pekka Salonen: Gambit; Giro; LA Variations – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375
• Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Yefim Bronfman, piano; Thomas Stevens, trumpet); Piano Concerto No. 2 (Yefim Bronfman, piano); Quintet for piano and strings, Op. 57 (Yefim Bronfman, piano, Juilliard String Quartet) – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen – Deutsche Grammophon 477 5375
• Sibelius: Finlandia; The Swan of Tuonela; Valse Triste; Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Joshua Bell, violin); En saga; Kullervo Symphony, Op. 7 (Marianna Rorholm, mezzo-soprano; J