Leading the San Francisco Symphony tonight for the first time, Esa-Pekka
Salonen gave the impression of a lifelong association with the orchestra.
Seldom have I seen a conductor so much at home, rarely have I heard a
visitor bring out the best from the Symphony so effortlessly.

At 45, and looking much younger, Salonen drives the music with startling
physical force, even while his demeanor, his communication with the
musicians appears cheerful and collegial.  The forceful part came handy
because the Salonen brought with him an explosive, mostly manic program:
Mussorgsky's "A Night on Bald Mountain," his own "Insomnia," Prokofiev's
Piano Concerto No.  1 (with Yefim Bronfman), and the suite from Bartok's
"The Miraculous Mandarin." There was hardly a pianissimo around all
night.

The orchestra, just returning from a national tour, responded with vigor,
sounding involved, alive, robust.  It's a concert to hear - repeating
Friday and Saturday, and broadcast on KDFC-FM (probably) on April 14.

"Night" kept punching the listener in the stomach, rather than sounding
spooky; the Prokofiev was authentically Russian, the Bartok more Magyar
(such syncopation!) than Finno-Ugric (if that sounds confusing, please
understand that it's a praise), but Salonen's own work, less than two
years old, was clearly the novelty item on the program.

Even with a mercifully limited acquaintance with the cursed thing,
my idea of insomnia seems to come from a world other than Salonen's.
Frustrating, bothersome, irritating, eventually maddening - that would
be a normal experience with the lack of sleep.

In Salonen's music, it's Wotan's threshing about in a sonic Walhalla
(four Wagner tubas employed, just to give credence to the image) or,
more, Godzilla on a dying romp.

Fascinating, eventful, mostly a fine soundtrack to a horror movie,
"Insomnia" has a great deal of aggressive ostinato (more Nielsen than
Glass), muscular, percussive music (with five full-time, fully busy
percussionists), even while every section, every instrument was given a
major workout.  The piece brings up a quaint question: how can you have
nightmares if you're not sleeping?

Still, a very good time was had by all, nobody fell asleep, sleep was
not an option.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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