There will have to be times when I’m not conducting because I’m composing. I haven’t solved that problem, and perhaps I never will. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
The players never think they project enough. In a hall that seats 3,300 people, it’s a very scary thing to play so quietly that you can barely hear yourself. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
With American orchestras, in particular, because they play in such huge halls, getting a true pianissimo is very hard. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
Once you get over the first hill, there is always a new, higher one lurking, of course. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
This continuity of sound and form was something that I became really interested in from working with Ligeti. He was always going on about how form has to be continuous. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
If the seams are showing, there is something wrong with the performance or the construction of the piece. This idea is completely at odds with our modern visual experience, because everything today is based on montage. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
As we watch TV or films, there are no organic transitions, only edits. The idea of A becoming B, rather than A jumping to B, has become foreign. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
I’m still disturbed if a chord isn’t together, but your priorities change as you get older. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
After working with Ligeti I began to hear Brahms and Beethoven differently. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
In the range of music that we play – roughly 300 years’ worth-there really are more similarities than differences. Esa-Pekka Salonen Read Quote
