Sibelius: Symphony 7 clip (The Philadelphia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conducting. August, 2021).

Esa-Pekka Salonen guest conducts the Fabulous Philadelphians on the Digital Stage. I saw him when he came in 2012 to conduct his own violin concerto, and again in 2019 when he conducted Bartok’s “The Miraculous Mandarin.”

I’ve been a fan of Sibelius’s seventh symphony ever since hearing Simon Rattle lead the Berlin Philharmonic through it in 2010 via their Digital Concert Hall. I was very sad to miss Rattle do a concert with Philly in which he did Symphonies 5, 7, and 7 in one evening.

But this version with Esa-Pekka was outstanding. Which is fitting, given his shared Finnish heritage with Sibelius, and also that the piece received its American premiere in Philadelphia under Leopold Stokowski.

What struck music critic Peter Dobrin about this performance was “the finesse with which [Salonen] weaves together the parts — each distinct in mood, each highly detailed, but smoothly connected at critical junctures.

Salonen has another key quality that’s solid gold. He thinks of the orchestra as a single voice; he even refers to it as an instrument in comments to the audience. Not every ear is sensitive to Philadelphia’s incredible tradition of blended sound and homogeneity. Here is one. Let’s hope the quickening pace of his visits keeps up.” You can find his full review of the concert here (https://www.inquirer.com/author/dobri....

The clip I shared features a theme that doesn’t get much discussion in the program notes (https://www.philorch.org/globalassets....

Listen for the trombone melody at the start of the clip. In sketches of the piece, it’s labeled “Aino,” his wife’s name. It’s also been said to convey a bright moon emerging from behind moving clouds.

Anyway, the orchestra sounds incredible, and I hope you enjoy this! Do yourself a favor and subscribe to their Digital Stage concerts, or even attend one in person this fall! I sure will be.