Esa-Pekka Salonen is renowned as both a composer and conductor. He was recently named creative director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, effective 2026/27, and creativity and innovation chair of the Philharmonie de Paris and principal conductor of the Orchestre de Paris, effective 2027/28. He is conductor laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm, and he formerly served as music director of the San Francisco Symphony. He also is founder of the Colburn School’s Negaunee Conducting Program. Salonen cofounded and served as artistic director of the annual Baltic Sea Festival until 2018.
In recent seasons, Salonen cofounded the statewide California Festival with Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare; led a synesthetic production of Scriabin’s Prometheus: The Poem of Fire in collaboration with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Cartier’s in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent; and conducted the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a Salzburg Easter Festival residency featuring Simon McBurney’s production of Mussorgsky’s unfinished opera Khovanshchina, with never-before-heard music compiled by Gerard McBurney from a recently rediscovered manuscript.
Salonen began the 2025/26 season on tour with the Orchestre de Paris, centered on the premiere of his new Horn Concerto, composed for Stefan Dohr. After a world premiere at the Lucerne Festival and performances in Berlin and Hamburg, he brings the piece to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala in Milan, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Other conducting highlights include centennial programs of music by Pierre Boulez at the New York Philharmonic and dates with the LA Phil, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Orchestre de Paris. He concludes the season at the Ojai Music Festival, which he curates as 2026 music director.
He leads several of his works this season, including Tiu and Dona Nobis Pacem with the Swedish Radio Symphony and his Sinfonia concertante for organ and orchestra with Olivier Latry and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
Salonen has an extensive and varied recording career. Recent releases include the Grammy Award–winning (Best Opera Recording) world premiere of Saariaho’s Adriana Mater on Deutsche Grammophon, Bartók’s three piano concertos with Pierre-Laurent Aimard on Pentatone, and Ligeti’s Clocks and Clouds, Lux aeterna, and Ramifications on Apple Music Classical. His concertos for piano, violin, and cello all appear on recordings conducted by Salonen himself.
Esa-Pekka Salonen was educated at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, where he founded the new-music appreciation group Korvat Auki and ensemble Toimii with classmates Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho. He is the recipient of Sweden’s Litteris and Artibus Medal; the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland, Helsinki Medal, and Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland; Poland’s Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture; and Commander of France’s Order of Arts and Letters. He was elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010 and appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020. In 2023 he led the Nobel Prize Concert and in 2024 received the Polar Music Prize. Salonen holds seven honorary doctorates in four countries.
January 2026
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
