Esa-Pekka Salonen’s L.A. Variations: A “Dionysian Hymn to the Orchestra”

Esa-Pekka Salonen has said that composing and conducting are “two sides of the same coin.”

The Finnish maestro, who has been music director of the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, follows in a long tradition of composer-conductors which includes: Mendelssohn, Weber, Wagner, Mahler, Strauss, Bernstein, and Boulez.

For some, the two equally demanding roles have led to conflict, and to the exasperating feeling that there are not enough hours in the day. (Mahler conducted during the concert season and was forced to compose mostly in the summer months). Salonen has commented on the challenges of juggling the “intensely non-social” world of composing with musical collaboration on the podium, and has admitted that “the actual process of becoming a conductor does change you as a composer.”

It was the distinct sound of the Los Angeles Philharmonic that inspired Salonen’s L.A. Variations, completed in 1996. (Salonen served as the orchestra’s music director from 1992 until 2009). The glittering, virtuosic showpiece has been called a “Dionysian hymn to the orchestra.” Shortly after the premiere, Antti Häyrynen wrote, “the different characters of the variations also reflect the diversity of the multicultural megacity, the ethnic varieties and cultural contrasts – the sham and charm of Hollywood, Arnold Schöenberg playing tennis with the Marx brothers.”

Salonen felt immediately at home with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, following his 1984 debut performance. He said,

I had no idea what to expect. But the one thing that I didn’t expect was when an older player came to talk to me after the first concert and said, “Consider this your future home”. Something was going on, because I felt the same. I sensed with an absolute certainty that this orchestra, in whatever way, was going to be a very important part of my life. Always.

From Schöenberg, Stravinsky, and Heifetz, to emigrant refugee film composers such as Korngold, Waxman, and Rózsa, Southern California has a long, rich musical history. At a time when numerous Los Angeles musicians are facing hardshipL.A. Variations showcases the distinct sound of a great American orchestra:

Here is the composer’s program note:

LA Variations is essentially variations on two chords, each consisting of six notes. Together they cover all twelve notes of a chromatic scale. Therefore the basic material of LA Variations has an ambiguous character: sometimes (most of the time, actually) it is modal (hexatonic), sometimes chromatic, when the two hexachords are used together as a twelve-tone structure.

This ambiguity, combining serial and non-serial thinking, is characteristic of all my work since the mid-eighties, but LA Variations tilts the balance drastically towards the non-serial.

This piece, some nineteen minutes of music scored for a large orchestra, including a contrabass clarinet and a synthesizer, is very clear in its form and direct in its expression.

The two hexachords are introduced in the opening measures of the piece together in the chromatic phenotype. Alto flute, English horn, bass clarinet, and two bassoons, shadowed by three solo violas, play a melody which sounds like a kind of synthetic folk music, but in fact is a horizontal representation of the two hexachords transposed to the same pitch.

Some of the variations that follow are based on this melody, others are the deeper, invisible (or inaudible) aspects of the material. There are also elements that never change, like the dactyl rhythm first heard in the timpani and percussion halfway through the piece.

This is a short description of the geography of LA Variations:

1) The two hexachords together as an ascending scale. Movement slows down to

2) Quasi folk-music episode (which I described before).

3) First Chorale (winds only).

4) Big Chord I. The two hexachords are interpreted three times in three different ways in a very large chord.

5) Scherzando, leggiero.

6) A machine that prepares the even semi-quaver movement of

7) Variation of the melody in trumpets and Violin I.

8) Fastest section of the piece, q = 150. First woodwinds in the highest register, then bass instruments in the lowest register. An acrobatic double bass solo leads to

9) Variation for winds, percussion, harp, celesta.

10) Canon in three different tempos. Scored for a chamber ensemble.

11) A tutti string passage leads to

Big Machine I. Percussion prepares the mantra rhythm: q q q ‰ q q q ‰

Brass chords in the Big Machine are my hommage to Sibelius.

12) Second Chorale.

13) A new aspect of the melody in unison strings.

14) Tempo q =125. Canon à 3.

15) Big Machine II. Probably the most joyful music I’ve ever written.

16) Big Chord II. This time two different interpretations of the hexachords.

Repeated mantra rhythm in timpani, roto-toms, and log drums grows to maximum power.

17) Coda. Two hexachords together as in the beginning. Scored for eight muted cellos, eight muted violins, and piccolo.

I wrote LA Variations specifically for the players of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. I’m very proud of the virtuosity and power of my orchestra.

Recordings

  • Salonen: L.A. Variations, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Los Angeles Philharmonic Amazon 

Featured Image: Walt Disney Concert Hall, the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic 

About Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa.

The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States.

A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals.

In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

1 thought on “Esa-Pekka Salonen’s L.A. Variations: A “Dionysian Hymn to the Orchestra””

  1. I can attest to the symbiotic relationship between Salonen and the LA Phil. A routine performance they did in the 2000s at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall of Beethoven’s 7th literally knocked my socks off! Astonishing power and mastery.

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