Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the San Francisco Symphony. Photo by Cody Pickens.
In Thursday’s (3/14) San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman writes, “Esa-Pekka Salonen, the acclaimed Finnish conductor and composer who in 2020 succeeded Michael Tilson Thomas as music director of the San Francisco Symphony, will end his tenure with the orchestra when his contract expires at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. The news, made public on Thursday, March 14, coincided with the release of the schedule for Salonen’s final season. ‘I have decided not to continue as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, because I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does,’ Salonen said in a statement. ‘I am sincerely looking forward to the many exciting programs we have planned for my final season as Music Director, and am proud to continue working with the world-class musicians of the San Francisco Symphony.’… CEO Matthew Spivey attributed Salonen’s departure to the financial constraints the orchestra expects to face … Spivey cited the recent cuts to SoundBox, the orchestra’s 10-year-old experimental performance venue and concert series, as an example of the organization’s belt-tightening, and said there would be more such moves … ‘I have to stress that I personally, the board and the entire organization, continue to have the utmost respect for Esa-Pekka as a visionary artist and as an extraordinary leader,’ Spivey said…. The news comes … as the Symphony unveiled the details of a provocative and engaging 2024-25 season. It features a wealth of contemporary and more traditional programming, including no fewer than five commissioned world premieres … Salonen plans to open the season Sept. 19-21 with performances of Verdi’s Requiem … Mahler’s Second Symphony will conclude the season … The season’s commissions are from Berkeley composer John Adams, for a piano concerto …; Xavier Muzik, the most recent winner of the Emerging Black Composers Project; Nico Muhly, one of Salonen’s Collaborative Partners; Berkeley native Gabriella Smith …; and Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir.”
