Salonen Chosen Music Director of Philharmonic

Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen has been chosen to succeed Andre Previn as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Times has learned.

The appointment of Salonen, 31, is to be announced to members of the orchestra at a Hollywood Bowl rehearsal Monday morning, with a press conference to follow.

Salonen, who will be the 11th music director in the 70-year history of the orchestra, arrived in Los Angeles from Europe on Saturday after lengthy secretive negotiations with the Philharmonic management.

Insiders had regarded him as a prime contender for the post since Previn resigned in April. However, the acrimonious nature of Previn’s withdrawal and Salonen’s candidacy for other major orchestral openings had cast some doubt regarding his willingness to accept. Previn had contended that the orchestra’s managing director, Ernest Fleischmann, had usurped the music director’s duties.

Salonen has enjoyed special favor with the Philharmonic management and local audiences since his U.S. debut here in 1984. Ironically, he was to have been named principal guest conductor of the orchestra last season, but the plan was abandoned after a classic conflict of directorial interests.

Without Previn’s official approval, Fleischmann had signed Salonen to take the orchestra on a tour. When Previn objected, exercising his contractual prerogative, Salonen reportedly refused to serve as Previn’s primary associate.

Dramatic Figure

In taking over the musical leadership of the orchestra, Salonen is expected to please and appease the segment of the orchestra and public that found Previn highly competent but somewhat dull as a conductor and in his choice of repertory.

Blond, lean and athletic, Salonen cuts a dramatic figure on the podium. He can be flashy and picturesque, but he is a serious musician who savors introspective challenges. A composer in his own right, he champions contemporary music and, unlike his predecessor, supports avant-garde experiments.

“It’s very hard for me to understand,” he has said, “why everybody’s first priority isn’t music that has just been composed.”

Some observers believed that Salonen’s only serious rival for the Los Angeles post was British conductor Simon Rattle, who currently holds the title of principal guest conductor. He has repeatedly rejected similar offers from the Philharmonic, however, citing his devotion to the Birmingham Symphony and his desire to spend most of his time in Britain.

Salonen first attracted international attention in 1983 when, as a virtual unknown, he replaced Michael Tilson Thomas on five days’ notice to conduct the London Philharmonia in the daunting Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler.

Since then, he has led the orchestras of West Berlin, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Paris, Montreal, Minneapolis and Washington. He has assumed permanent assignments in London (principal guest with the Philharmonia), Stockholm (principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Orchestra) and Norway (principal guest of the Oslo Philharmonic).