Accidental Blogger

Last month, Alex Ross contributed a worthy and encouraging account of Salonen's long career with the LA Philharmonic and his recent departure from the musical leadership of the orchestra. Salonen really is a marvelous musician, composer, and conductor, but as Ross' story suggests, his decision to end an era was perfectly timed and exquisitely executed. I rarely attended full-on LAP performances, but I made it to several Green Umbrella programs over the years while it was "a sparsely attended specialty offering" at the Japan America Theater in Little Tokyo. The JAT has to be one of the best musical venues for small and chamber ensembles in the world. I appreciated its pristine acoustics and the intimacy of the house and stage. When Salonen performed there, sometimes featuring his own compositions, I could tell he was as eager to explore challenging new (experimental, avant-garde, noisy…) music as the attendees were to hear the result.

He'd hang out with the audience during breaks. In fact, the GU series was a wonderful opportunity for an amateur to rub elbows with masters of contemporary music. I recall hearing a world premiere of a piece by Harrison Birtwistle, at which the British composer was in attendance, seated directly behind me. Once Betty Freeman, patron of the arts and dedicatee of John Cage's impossible and intense Freeman Etudes, thought she recognized me and asked if I had recently attended such-and-such a party. "Uh, no, I think you've mistaken me for somebody else." But the music was enthralling and it kept us renewing our subscriptions.

I no longer live in LA, but while Salonen remained at the helm I suspect the GU was not compromised, despite its growing popularity. I hope the program continues to flourish during Dudamel's tenure with the orchestra. Still, I'm no special fan of Disney Hall as an architectural design–Gehry's late work is gaudy–and I can't speak to its acoustics. Ross complains of the sound system, which was not an issue at JAT. I think I'm finding myself happy for Ross' recognition of LA's longstanding contributions to contemporary classical music, while at the same time I'm missing the good old days of new music.