Requiem Esa-Pekka Salonen Conducts Mozart and Ligeti
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jennifer France, Beth Taylor, Laurence Kilsby, Michael Sumuel, Los Angeles Master Chorale
Walt Disney Concert HallSouth Hope Street, Los Angeles 90012
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale in a Rituals festival pairing of Mozart’s unfinished Requiem and György Ligeti’s Requiem. Soprano Jennifer France, mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor, tenor Laurence Kilsby, and bass-baritone Michael Sumuel join the performance. Mozart’s mass moves between fear and hope; after intermission, Ligeti’s “hysterical, hyperdramatic, and unrestrained” work brings its choral masses of sound and cosmic dread, familiar to some from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Salonen is the LA Phil’s Conductor Laureate and the festival’s Creative Director. He previously led the orchestra in its first performance of Ligeti’s Requiem in 1998.
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.