Salonen calls Estonia one of music’s most interesting places

Conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen told Estonian radio station Klassikaraadio that Estonia is currently one of the most interesting places in the world musically, ERR reported.

Salonen said the Nordic and Baltic countries have an open and supportive musical climate, where musicians are not weighed down by the legacy of major past masters.

On July 25, Alisson Kruusmaa’s composition Mesmerism was performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival after Salonen selected it for a programme presenting music by Generation Y composers.

Salonen said he had spent the summer working with young musicians and was inspired by their talent, commitment and technical skills.

“This is very encouraging, because it shows that music as an art form has a great future,” he said.

Salonen said that, at a certain point in life, people begin to think more about endurance and continuity. Having led major musical institutions, he said he believed Western culture’s biggest problem was its short-term perspective.

“Business talks about quarters, politics about elections roughly every five years, and people very rarely think further ahead,” Salonen said. Music, however, is an old art form, as are some musical institutions, so they require a very different perspective, he added.

“I want to be sure that the future of music is as brilliant as it has always been,” Salonen said.

He said institutions often make the mistake of asking creative people to adapt to existing musical institutions or performance models. Instead, creators should bring forward their ideas and institutions should help realise them, he said.

“Institutions should be more flexible. Stagnation is dangerous in every field,” Salonen said.

Salonen, known for his innovative approach, recently accepted the position of creative director with a Los Angeles orchestra. He said his most enjoyable experiences had involved collaboration across cultures and with theatre, dance and video.

He plans to commission new works and develop projects combining music with digital possibilities. “I hope I can be part of creating something completely new. I do not see myself as a revolutionary; I simply ask questions,” he said.

Salonen also described classical music as a relatively environmentally friendly field because it does not use vast amounts of energy.

He said the Nordic and Baltic countries had a particularly open environment for music. Unlike German composers, who face the legacy of Beethoven, Bach and Brahms, or the French with their kings and idols, Nordic composers were less constrained by the weight of the past, he said.

Salonen said he had heard about Kruusmaa through musician friends whose opinions he valued. He praised her individual voice, identity and distinctive way of expressing herself.

He added that the standard of music-making was higher than ever, but that considerable work was needed to maintain it. More and more musicians around the world are technically excellent, he said, citing the remarkable skills of young musicians coming from China.