Wiener Philharmoniker / Salonen

»This introduction makes me think of the movement of planets«, says Esa-Pekka Salonen about the beginning of Jean Sibelius' 5th Symphony. The Finnish conductor and composer leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of this popular work by his compatriot. He worked on the symphony for a long time and was only satisfied with its third version, which only has three movements and was first performed under his direction in Helsinki in 1919. The composer himself was inspired to write this work by the sight of 16 swans. »One of the greatest moments of my life«, he wrote. The first half of the concert features Claude Debussy's symphonic sketch »La mer«, written somewhat earlier, between 1903 and 1905, which miraculously sets various seaside moods to music rich in tonal colour. Witold Lutosławski's 4th Symphony from 1992 marks the beginning of the programme. »Music is music«, emphasised the composer, speaking out against extra-musical content. However, in his later works he was influenced by Debussy's wealth of tonal colours.