Finnish conductor-composer Esa-Pekka Salonen joins the Houston Symphony on March 26, 27 & 28 for a concert featuring J.S. Bach arrangements by Webern, Berio, and Klemperer, plus a solo violin piece by Bach, Salonen’s own 2019 composition, Fog, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 round out the program of treasured classics presented with a contemporary twist.
Before Salonen make his Houston debut this weekend, get to know the man behind the podium.
- Salonen currently serves as the music director of the San Francisco Symphony. After serving as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1992–2009, Salonen replaced Michael Tilson Thomas as the music director of the San Francisco Symphony in 2020.
- In addition to being a world-renowned conductor, Salonen is also an accomplished classical composer who has written more than 20 compositions. We’ll play Fog, written in 2019, this weekend.
- Salonen studied French horn, conducting, and composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 1973–1977. He made his conducting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1979.
- On July 26, 2012, Salonen carried the Olympic flame as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay. He ran 300 meters with the torch on the penultimate day of the relay.
Join us for the concert on March 26–28. In-person tickets are available online, or you can watch the performance from home via livestream on Saturday, March 27, at 8 p.m. Learn more & get tickets.
