Esa-Pekka Salonen honored as the 'Musician of the Year' by the Musical America

The 'Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts' honored Finnish conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958) with a prestigious 'Musician of the Year' award.

Photo: Nicho Södling

The Musical America honors for the year 2006 were announced in New York on Dec 12, 2005.

Says the jury of the award that his "dynamic leadership of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and his own distinguished compositions have captivated critics and audiences alike. Under Esa-Pekka Salonen's 12-year tenure as music director, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has become one of America's foremost orchestras and he has found his voice as one of the most compelling of contemporary composers."

The honor categories include also the composer of the year, instrumentalist of the year, vocalist of the year and ensemble of the year. The ensemble honor was given to the prestigious Ensemble intercontemporain, Paris-based contemporary music group with Finnish Susanna Mälkki as its chief conductor.

Salonen, the second Finnish 'Musician of the Year' in a row

'Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts' and 'MusicalAmerica.com' are owned by Commonwealth Business Media, which publishes directories, databases and magazines in the transportation, international trade, classical music and commercial credit markets.

The top 'Musican of the Year' is awarded to a very remarkable musician in the American music scene. Last year the honor was given also to a Finnish artist, the Metropolitan star soprano Karita Mattila.

Source: Musical America press release on Dec 12, 2005

Finnish Music Information Centre(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)

Musical America(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)