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Salonen, Varèse and Shostakovich

Los Angeles Philharmonic/Dudamel

Gustavo Dudamel conducting the LA Phil

Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic begin their 2018 Barbican residency with music by Shostakovich, Varèse and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and Varèse’s Amériques offer radically different perspectives on 20th-century musical history; both could have been written for the powerhouse partnership of Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil. And a brilliant new work by our featured composer Esa-Pekka Salonen actually was.

'I’m very proud of the virtuosity and power of my orchestra’ said Esa-Pekka Salonen, back when he was himself music director of the LA Philharmonic; and that tradition has been renewed under his successor Dudamel. This high-octane programme should demonstrate the full artistic dynamism of this uniquely forward-looking conductor-orchestra team.

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Esa-Pekka Salonen rehearsing in london

Barbican Meets: Esa-Pekka Salonen

As the subject of our 2017–18 Composer Focus, Esa-Pekka’s music is at the core of our programme celebrating 100 years of Finnish independence. Ahead of his concerts, we put the focus on him to find out more about his career to date.

olaf breuning smoke installation at the barbican centre in london

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Subscribe to our YouTube channel for artist interviews, trailers and exclusive video content from across our programme plus short films inspired by the Barbican.

a black and white photo of philip glass in london at the barbican centre

Listen: Philip Glass at 75

For this rare interview, the great American composer chats to Ben Eshmade in a London cab, ahead of the celebrations for his 75th birthday at the Barbican Centre in London. 

With thanks

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Barbican Hall