If you look at the biographies of Magnus Lindberg and Esa-Pekka Salonen, you’ll notice the similarities quickly stacking up.
The two Finnish artists — both composers, performers and, in Salonen’s case, one of the world’s greatest conductors — were 64 years old and attended the same music school. Premiere of Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
well they are not Exactly same year. “Magnus is four days older than me,” Salonen said in a joint video interview with Lindbergh.
Lindbergh laughed.They’re friends, of course, and this week’s premiere is Salonen’s Lindbergh first piano concertoa 1994 work loosely inspired by Ravel but with a wholly modernist bent.
of Piano Concerto No.2was the New York Philharmonic’s 2012 debut, a product of Lindbergh’s residency and conducted by Alan Gilbert. It is a magnificent and deceptively mundane piece, in three movements he performs for nearly half an hour. When reuniting with Gilbert three years ago in Hamburg, Germany, Lindbergh saw Yuja Wang perform two of Shostakovich’s piano concertos at the NDR Elbphilharmonie.
“We noticed something interesting, had dinner, and started talking about this and that,” Lindbergh said, recalling his first meeting with Mr. Wang. “I said I wanted to do another piano concerto one day and that became the project.”
During the interview, Lindbergh and Salonen talked about their history and the project. go to the new york philharmonic In January, under the direction of fellow Finn Santu Matthias Roubary. Below is an edited excerpt of the conversation.
how did you meet
Esa Pekka Salonen We met when I was 15 in the music theory group of the pre-college department of the Sibelius Academy.
Magnus Lindbergh We were kicked out of music theory after two weeks because we were trying to know everything better than anyone else. I became a teacher. During that time, we basically spent every Saturday morning together.
Salonen We had a cardinal rule to always be there on Saturday morning, no matter what happened on Friday night, party or whatever.
Lindbergh Usually the three of us played on two pianos and six hands. I studied Scriabin’s Symphony No. 1, analyzed it, checked the harmonies and played it. Also, playing 4 hands resulted in Esa-Pekka conduction. At least for me, it was kind of a life saver because music theory was always around this teacher’s music.
Salonen During that time, we experienced not only the canons of Western music, but all sorts of things that don’t belong in the canons. developed a very unpopular party trick of playing Hauer’s music.we played “Apocalyptic Fantasy” It wasn’t very popular, but I thought the best thing I could give my friends was to expand their horizons, so I did it anyway.
and to the public. You were the founder of a group called Corbat Auki.
Salonen There was a group of composers and instrumental students interested in contemporary music who felt that Finnish musical life needed something new and that a window to the latest in Europe was needed. So, along with other friends and fellow students, I started Corbat Auki. That is how we met Kaija Saariaho at the first meeting of the Congregation. In fact, our first meeting took place at Kaija’s then-boyfriend’s apartment.
The idea was to bring people new music. So we played concerts in schools, hospitals, etc. — outside gas stations in the middle of nowhere and in snowmen. I organized one of his concerts at my alma mater and it went perfectly well, except I forgot to announce it. No one knew that this concert took place. I also started studying conducting, but we had to bring someone from our own circles, mainly because no one seemed interested.
Lindbergh We founded a group called Toimii, no doubt out of great respect for what Stockhausen was doing. Besides playing written music, I also improvised a lot. I thought it should be a natural way to express musical thoughts.
Salonen Once upon a time there was such a group playing music in ojai in a bunny suit. It was a children’s concert. Kids seem to like it.
Children have the most open ears.
Salonen exactly. They are definitely the best audience.
How did those years affect your career?
Salonen As for Magnus and me, the mutual influence is huge. We’ve spent countless hours discussing orchestration, notation, form, this and that. It was, and still is, a lifelong school in a way. Tomorrow morning I am preparing to rehearse his piano concerto, which is a style I am familiar with. But the joy here is what I see. It’s code you’ve never used before. “
I tell my young conducting colleagues and students: Build relationships with composers. Because, in the best case scenario, you can find a partner for the rest of your professional life. Because it was a statistically unusual situation for like-minded composers to study or hang out together. Despite our different stylistic approaches, we stayed completely true to his one composer. another.
Lindbergh And we’ve continued our tradition of getting together to listen and give feedback whenever someone writes a new piece. Being a composer in this strange world is surprisingly lonely. It’s important to have someone you trust talk to you about your thoughts.
Salonen The funny thing is that as you get older and famous, your compositions get lonely. Because few people dare to say anything. After all, there are old friends and colleagues.
Magnus, what new direction did you take with this new piano concerto?
Lindbergh I’m kind of free You don’t have to invent the concerto as a kind of individual and collective setup. This work, in three movements, is more like his three concertos. I put a lot of time into it.Last winter, when I was completely unprepared, Yuja and I made it through and inspired her to write. Her technical characteristics and piano approach is very nice.
What should the audience hear?
Salonen When I read this score for the first time, I found some old friends. It’s a very fleeting moment with strong references to existing piano pieces. There is a point where the orchestra falls silent and the piano begins playing the first bar. “Ondine” It’s like a hallucination, and it’s gone in no time. This is the technique Magnus has been using since the beginning. It’s like bumping into someone in a crowd on the subway. It’s a familiar face — “I must know that person” — and that’s it.
Lindbergh You think you invented something. Instead of giving it up, you can give a compliment and walk away from it for a moment.
Salonen These moments, incidental moments, happen to every composer, at least every composer who respects and is aware of the history of music. It’s nice to be able to go back to your ancestors from time to time. It is a sign of love and respect.