In Rehearsal, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Los Angeles Philharmonic (review)

Produced in 1997, this In Rehearsal program was recorded with Esa-Pekka Salonen in Los Angeles. He and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic are featured rehearsing Debussy's La Mer at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center of Los Angeles County. Featuring a cross-section of leading conductors in rehearsal, this series provides insight into the process of creating great music. The conductors' variety of styles, techniques, and methods; the dialogue between an orchestra and an inspired interpreter; the intensity of the preparations for a concert performance; and the striving for perfection are captured in these revealing documentaries. Most episodes include a full run-through of the work rehearsed; however, this installment does not and that, perhaps, is its greatest flaw. All include interviews with the conductor seen at work. (Other conductors featured in the series include: John Eliot Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, and Pierre Boulez.)

Salonen, a child prodigy and eminent Finnish composer and conductor, served as the Philharmonic's Music Director from 1992-2009. Under his creative leadership the orchestra was recognized as one of the world's finest ensembles, and the rapport Salonen established with his musicians has been widely acclaimed in the international press. Ever graceful and gracious on the podium, Salonen's clarity, efficiency, and sincerity fostered an environment of cooperation between himself and the orchestra which became evident in the rehearsal process. This program provides fascinating insight into Esa-Pekka Salonen's affinity with his fellow musicians and also into Debussy's masterpiece. Salonen discusses how texture is created in the score based upon motifs, particularly those executed by the harp and cello. Although there is no complete formal analysis of the work, the conductor does provide great detail by deconstructing the work to define the simple structural elements, then reconstructs it for the benefit of his musicians. As he describes it, this constitutes ". . . getting under the skin of the piece" and he goes on to describe Debussy as a radical and risk-taker with respect to orchestration. The camera work in this film is first-rate and includes marvelous angle shots of both the conductor and members of the orchestra, particularly the harps, principal woodwinds, concertmaster and members of the percussion section. Unfortunately, there are no subtitles identifying the members of the orchestra which, for posterity's sake, would be a welcome addition to the product. Salonen's clean, spare stick technique is featured sufficiently to provide the conducting student with enough material for study. In keeping with true Finnish stoicism, Salonen never breaks a sweat while rehearsing, even during the most demanding minutes of the score, and jokes with his musicians about the necessity of wearing the same clothing for the second day of filming!

The documentary opens at Salonen's Los Angeles home, where he briefly discusses Debussy, the sea as musical metaphor, and the challenges presented when performing this work. Salonen's personality and first-rate conducting skills feature in succeeding vignettes of him and the Los Angeles Philhar monic rehearsing an impressionistic set of symphonic sketches he considers one of the masterworks: Debussy's La Mer. Salonen also candidly discusses how his view of various works has changed during the course of time, and explains how that happened to him over the years with La Mer. The revealing rehearsal footage depicts Salonen at his best. His easy rapport and his generous flexibility with the musicians designate him as one of the generation's leading conductors.

There is a special connection between La Mer and the conductor, who is enthralled by the countless sound possibilities of the impressionistic work. He used some performances to experiment with the work's score, but admits that only due to long lasting and intense collaboration with the Los Angeles Philharmonic was he afforded the opportunity to analyze the different elements of La Mer and to elaborate the whole symphonic composition by assembling the single parts again. The marvelous sounds he and the L...