Esa-Pekka Salonen

Esa-Pekka Salonen is the tenth conductor to head the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is currently in his 13th season as music director. He made his American debut conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in November 1984, and has conducted the orchestra ever since. His current tenure is the second longest in Philharmonic history. Alongside his activities as conductor, Salonen has won acclaim for his work as a composer.

After studies at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, Salonen came under the tutelage of composers Franco Donatoni and Niccoló Castiglioni in Italy, and later made his conducting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1979. His compositions are considered modernist, emphasizing solo virtuosity, leavened with expressive humor, and have garnered critical acclaim throughout the U.S. and Europe. In 2003, after numerous recordings for Sony Classical, Salonen signed an exclusive four-year recording contract with Deautsche Grammophon, with releases to include a new disc of his recent works.

Salonen is the recipient of numerous awards, and in 1993, he became the first conductor to be awarded the Siena Prize from the Accademia Chigiana. He received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Opera Award in 1995, and in 1997, their Conductor Award; in 1998 he was awarded the rank of Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and in 2003 received an honorary doctorate from the Sibelius Academy in Finland.