Salonen: Foreign Bodies; Wing On Wing; Insomnia

Salonen: Wing on Wing

About the Composer: Aside from his extensive conducting career, Finlander Esa-Pekka Salonen (1958- ) has spirited away to his writing desk on several occasions and has cemented his reputation as one of the most significant modernist composers.

About the Music: Shortly after Vince began exploring various Naxos Lutosławski recordings and discussed them in an earlier post, I picked up a Sony Classical disc featuring Salonen’s recordings of wise old Witold’s third and fourth symphonies. Salonen was mentored extensively by the late symphonist, and since I found Lutosławski’s work to be rather compelling, I became curious and wanted to see how the young man’s approach to composition was influenced by his collaboration with the Polish giant. Wing on Wing, Salonen’s most recent compilation of original music on the Deutsche Grammophon label, features the titular soprano-driven work (2004), along with two orchestral pieces, Foreign Bodies (2001) and Insomnia (2002). The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra accompanies Salonen for the voyage.

Foreign Bodies - This work emphasizes Salonen’s core belief that musical expression emanates from the human body, but it’s certainly not the sort of rigid, overly erudite exercise you might expect from an avant-garde composer. A grinding, mechanical fanfare begins the piece, only to give way to intricate performances from smaller groups of instruments before returning in numerous variations. The woodwinds and percussion are effectively used in the quieter moments of the work. The spirit of Lutosławski is clearly flowing throughout, although Salonen includes some very brief, cheerful passages that would seem out of place in Lutosławski’s symphonies. Foreign Bodies is extremely entertaining, and it’s no surprise that original choreography has been created for the work. I’d like to see original choreography for Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto, but I’m afraid that all of the performers will become so fatigued before the end of the first movement that they’ll begin tripping over each other.

Wing on Wing - Salonen’s most recent work in this collection, Wing on Wing was produced to commemorate the construction of Frank Gehry’s design for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The sister sopranos Anu and Piia Komsi propel much of the piece with their tremendously sharp vocals; they provide us with no lyrics, thus allowing the listener to ruminate about Salonen’s thesis as they skillfully navigate the higher octaves. The only spoken words that we do receive are those of Gehry himself, which are interspersed throughout the work and supposedly serve to highlight his philosophy of artistic design. The samples are very brief, and they’re not always very easy to discern on this disc; the recording quality is pristine, so I’m not sure if I can’t hear them because I’m not listening carefully enough or because the words were never intended to be perfectly comprehensible to the audience. There are some nice poetic instrumental passages in the middle of the work, but the orchestra doesn’t seem to get the chance to be as versatile as it does in Foreign Bodies.

Insomnia - Insomnia impresses me more and more with each subsequent listening. Salonen probes a surreal, yet highly agitated musical landscape with a broad variety of mesmerizing sounds. The music at the very beginning of the piece is reserved, innocuous, and intriguing, but there is a sudden twist in the action that changes the direction of the work and allows Salonen to construct a thrilling sense of urgency. I consider this piece to be the most exciting offering on the disc, and hope that it will continue to find its way into concert programmes.

These compositions are fantastic because they incorporate the most innovative elements of modernism while remaining accessible to most fledgling classical listeners. I am eagerly anticipating the release of Salonen’s next album, and once you become acquainted with his unique style, you probably will too!