Finland's modern musical duo

Salonen and Lindberg: Want to "open" people's ears

The partnership between Finnish musicians Magnus Lindberg and Esa-Pekka Salonen has put them at the forefront of the country's contemporary music. They told BBC World Service's Meridian Music about their careers.

When the "new Sibelius" of Finland teams up with a "wunderkind", sparks are bound to fly.

Their most recent collaboration resulted in a UK festival of Lindberg's music, called Related Rocks.

It gave audiences a chance to hear their entire range, from chamber music through to orchestral works.

And it prompted leading conductor, Simon Rattle to comment that "Magnus Lindberg is one-man living proof that orchestral music is not dead".

Conductor

Magnus Lindberg and Esa-Pekka Salonen go back a long way, to the time when they were both students in the same class, at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

As a reaction to the traditional symphonic sounds that permeated Finnish culture, together they formed a society for new music, called Ears Open?

Salonen explained the impetus behind the group, saying: "It really was a healthy contra-culture idea.

"We felt that we had to open doors and windows to Europe, and also some ears in the process."

Difficulties

Salonen, a horn-player and experienced orchestral musician, was chosen to conduct the group.

Meanwhile, Lindberg, an accomplished pianist, adopted the role of composer.

He said the transition from playing music to writing scores followed a difficulties in his performing career.

"The problem as a professional player is the physical act, which is wonderful, and the day that you realise you are not up on that level anymore, you don't want to touch the instrument," he said.

Salonen's conducting career took off, and by the age of 25 he made his debut in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra at short notice, performing Mahler's Third Symphony.

Experimental

From then on he has claimed to make a living from performing an "emergency-service".

Throughout the 1980s Salonen held the post of artistic director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Meanwhile, his collaboration with Lindberg flourished.

Salonen conducted Lindberg's new works of the early 80s, spearheading the modernist movement, and together they founded the experimental Toimii Ensemble.

He said that being able to send a new score to a long-standing friend has contributed to the success of their work.

"Magnus Lindberg is one-man living proof that orchestral music is not dead"

Conductor, Simon Rattle

"One of the very nice things about having a long-term partnership is that the style and the language becomes familiar and in fact very little explanation is necessary," he said.

"We discuss details and there are always questions, but the basic idea - why the music behaves the way it does, it's absolutely clear."