I’m glad you enjoyed the review. I’ve been eying the LA Variations disc for some time now, and I’ll try to pick it up sometime before the recording of the Violin Concerto appears.

Just stumbled onto this blog through a link via Twitter and enjoy reading the reviews – particularly glad to see this one. I am a huge, huge fan of Salonen’s works and got to spend some time last year researching them for a conference presentation. I had a chance to spend some time with the score of the PC (as well as those of his other orch works)…fascinating stuff. His command of the possibilities of the orchestra is stunning to say the least – and there is much to share and say about his orchestral writing and how it has evolved.

The PC wears its influences well I think, while still further establishing Salonen’s individual voice as a composer. It’s truly a fun romp, though perhaps a headache for the pianist in sheer difficulty at times! I first heard it when the world premiere with NY Phil was broadcast, and admit I had a sense of not so much disappointment, but bewilderment – I felt the same when I heard his Violin Concerto lately – his concerti seem to be much more free-form in expression than his orchestral works. This takes a few listens to get the head around, but both have grown on me a lot since. I do think the 2nd mvmt of the PC is particularly beautiful, strongly echoing Ravel and also Lindberg’s PC 2nd mvmt, along with Rach at the heady climax. His adoration of Messiaen comes through often as well throughout the piece. The jazz element is strong too, and well integrated – when the piano first enters Gershwin is brought to mind.

I actually have not gotten around to this CD just yet – I heard this performance broadcast on KUSC, and neither Helix or Dichotomie are first releases – both performances have been available on iTunes for quite some time. I agree about Gloria Cheng’s performance, it’s splendid – each pianist brings something different and valuable to interpreting the piece. Was a little disappointed that his witty chamber work Catch & Release didn’t make it to this release – but perhaps it, the String Quartet (”Homunculus”) and Violin Concerto will comprise the next one? Hope the opera does finally comes to fruition – he’s made noises about it since his sabbatical in 2000 – if his Sappho Songs are any indication it would be invigorating indeed. Have you heard the disc w/ L.A. Variations on Sony? It includes the songs + his cello concerto Mania and is a must with a wide variety of material included – highly recommended!

No point in starting a fresh post for this observation. Our 3-year-old who is nearly a 4-year-old was trying to explain something to Mommy, she tried several times to pronounce the word “choices” (something my wife figured out only after the fact) before rephrasing to “ideas.”

The conversation went something like:

[Daughter] “Mommy, you have three c*** (choices)”

[Mommy] “I’m sorry dear, I don’t understand.”

[Daughter repeats her first phrase several times]

[Mommy continues to indicate a lack of comprehension]

[Daughter] “Three ideas, Mommy.”

While “ideas” isn’t a perfect synonym for “choices” – it’s the first time we’ve consciously noticed her reword to something she grasps as a synonym when unable to make herself clear.

The human mind’s ability to more or less automatically try rewording when we see we’re not getting through is pretty cool, eh?

“What’s Mommy’s name?”
“Mommy!”
“What’s your name?”
(she says her name)
“What’s Mommy’s name?”
(and maybe she’ll say my wife’s name)

Of course, I haven’t decided if I want to be known as “Vince” or “Daddy” – I do like the sound of Daddy