Salonen Seeks a Balance Between Power and Art

Like the rest of the Los Angeles Philharmonic leadership, music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, 40, refuses to comment on the reasons for Willem Wijnbergen’s departure. Salonen will acknowledge that operating without a manager has dumped some new and not always welcome responsibilities into his lap. In a telephone interview earlier this week while vacationing in his native Finland, Salonen talked for the first time publicly about the current situation, the problems facing the world of orchestral music and his feelings about the changes instigated by Wijnbergen.

Question: Did Wijnbergen leave the Philharmonic at a time of crisis?

Answer: I don’t think the Phil is facing any major problems we haven’t been aware of before. I am absolutely certain we haven’t discussed anything new and threatening recently. And morale is very high despite the kind of turmoil there has been, and the orchestra is playing very well.

The major problems we have are shared by all large-scale classical musical institutions around the country and around the world. They have to do with the change in media culture, the change in people’s cultural habits, the sort of heaviness and inflexibility of these large institutions that is somewhat structural, and against which we have to constantly fight.

Society is very much more complex than it used to be. I saw very interesting statistics on American middle-class households right after World War II, on the order in which they started buying household items, and I think “piano” was No. 3--it was fridge, car, piano. I don’t think if you asked the same question today, piano would be in the top 10. I don’t see it as a hopeless fight at all, it just takes innovation and effort.

Q: Are you worried about declining ticket sales?

A: It would be a crisis if it was an isolated phenomenon. It’s not even a nationwide phenomenon; it’s a global thing. It is the exactly the same issue orchestras are fighting in London, Scandinavia, even in Germany--the Germans are totally stunned because it has never been the case before.

Q: When do programming decisions for the 2002-03 opening of Disney Hall begin? Will that task be more difficult for you without a managing director?

A: It is sort of happening already. We have placed a lot of commissions out to composers already, and invited artists. I think once Disney Hall is up and running we need somebody whose responsibility is Disney Hall programming. That also needs a different sort of expertise as well. Power, as such, is not very attractive to me. I want to keep the balance between power and art. I don’t want my desk to grow into some kind of overwhelming deluge, because I’m a musician--I can’t change it and I don’t want to change it.

Q: The need to raise the public profile of an orchestra often calls for its music director to become a “personality” as well as a musician.

A: It surprised me somewhat when I came to L.A. originally how much I became a spokesman for classical music in Southern California. I accept that part of the job and try to do it as thoughtfully as I possibly can, but I have to admit that there are moments that I feel it would be nice if I could have a couple days a week when I could just think of myself as a musician and not as a cultural personality. . . . To be completely honest, I find it difficult at times.

Q: Wijnbergen instigated many marketing changes, including repackaging concert series to cater to audience tastes for the old versus the new. How do you feel about it?

A: It has become clear to me that we cannot speak of an audience with a capital “A” in L.A., or almost anywhere anymore, because of the complexity of the audience base, tastes and background. Therefore, we decided to start repackaging. It seems to be working. Obviously, we are not going to stop presenting new music, because then we would have to say that classical music has no future. When there has been a problem [with new music], it has been about presentation and packaging.

Q: Do you also agree with Wijnbergen’s decision to stop papering the house?

A: Probably we were giving out too many tickets. But I do think that an organization like a local symphony orchestra has a social and civic responsibility to certain citizens who are not able to buy tickets. We have to be able to invite some people.

Q: When Wijnbergen’s departure was announced, you issued a statement saying your leadership of the Philharmonic will continue into the next decade . . .

A: There is no concrete extension of any contracts at the moment [Salonen’s current contract expires in 2002]. The managing director is the person you negotiate contracts with, and as long as there is no manager, to speak about extending contracts would be silly. I said what I said because I meant it. For me, L.A. has been very good, I’ve been treated very well and had a lot of support, and I really admire the orchestra tremendously, and the kind of achievements we have together make me very proud. I see no reason not to continue as long as the feeling is mutual. At this point, I have a very good vibe from the band.