Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony. Photo by Brandon Patoc.
In Monday’s (3/25) San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman writes, “In the face of growing public concern over the news that Esa-Pekka Salonen plans to part ways with the San Francisco Symphony after five years as music director, the orchestra’s board and management have attributed the development to the organization’s dire financial situation that has prompted them to cut several programs and artistic initiatives. ‘We would love nothing more than to be able to immediately restore the number of SoundBox performances, semi-staged productions, and new commissions; to resume touring; and to reinstate Concerts for Kids,’ the orchestra’s leadership said in a statement … ‘The limiting factor … is solely a lack of immediate financial resources.’ The unsigned four-page statement, released Monday, March 25, goes into detail about ‘the mounting financial pressures that the Symphony is facing due to the cumulative impact of operating deficits stretching back more than a decade … The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and accelerated problematic trends …’ Salonen, 65, has not provided any detailed explanation for his decision, saying only, ‘I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does.’… The coming 2024-25 season would be his last as music director…. Symphony musicians … have initiated a campaign to bring public pressure … on leadership [to get] Salonen to change his mind … and to reverse the cuts.”
