Mitsuko Uchida & Esa-Pekka Salonen
Mitsuko Uchida, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mitsuko Uchida
Walt Disney Concert HallSouth Hope Street, Los Angeles 90012
Mitsuko Uchida joins Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for their first collaboration in more than 20 years. Salonen conducts while Uchida plays Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, the bright, jaunty work whose jazz inflections the composer said “dispense with drama and depth.” The program opens with Salonen’s Tiu, a 12-minute LA Phil commission, and closes with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, the feverish orchestral fantasy of an artist’s love-obsessed delirium and opium-fueled nightmares. A pre-concert Upbeat Live talk in the auditorium offers a guide to the music before the performance.
Uchida is described by the LA Phil as one of the most revered musicians of her time. For this concerto, Bachtrack has praised her “lightness of touch and purity of tone,” saying these qualities add “delicacy to a concerto more often known for its drive and high spirits.” Salonen leads the orchestra as its Conductor Laureate, and this program also puts his own compact, palindrome-style fanfare alongside two pillars of the French repertory: Ravel’s sharply profiled concerto and Berlioz’s kaleidoscopic symphonic vision.
Designed by Frank Gehry, this concert hall is a striking architectural landmark with sweeping stainless steel curves that catch the light outside, while inside, its acoustics are meticulously crafted to deliver rich, clear sound to every seat. The auditorium seats over two thousand people in a space where the audience is fully immersed in the music, surrounded by warm wood paneling and a stage that brings performers close to listeners. The venue hosts ticketed performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and other ensembles, offering an evening focused on attentive listening rather than casual socializing. Nearby bars and restaurants in Downtown Los Angeles provide options for pre- or post-show dining, but inside, the experience centers on the music in a refined, elegant setting.