Speaking to Klassikaraadio, Salonen — who recently conducted Estonian composer Alisson Kruusmaa's work "Mesmerism" at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival — said he follows Estonian music closely and had a lot of praise for younger composers and musicians, such as Kruusmaa, from both Estonia and elsewhere.

Conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen says Estonia's music scene is "very lively and one of the most interesting countries at the moment."

Speaking to Klassikaraadio, Salonen — who recently conducted Alisson Kruusmaa's work "Mesmerism" at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival — said he follows Estonian music closely.

Salonen first heard of Kruusmaa through musician friends whose opinions he trusts. "They mentioned her name already some years ago, like you should take a look. There's this young person in Estonia, and I did," he said. "She has got an identity. She's still young, she's going to develop further, obviously. But there's an identity and expression, and I happen to like her stuff."

On the broader Estonian and Nordic music scene, Salonen said: "There's an openness, there's a sort of supportiveness. We don't suffer under the weight of some massive masters of the past. In the north, we have our famous people, but it's still a very open environment. Music that comes out of the Baltic region and Scandinavia is free from any kind of ideology other than let's write some good music."

He added: "I follow the scene in Estonia with interest, because it's very lively and one of the most interesting countries at the moment."

Salonen also noted his personal connections to Estonia, including the Järvi family. "I met Neeme when I was a student in Helsinki, Paavo was a student at Curtis, Kristjan was my assistant in LA. It's very much like a family."

The conductor will next lead the closing concert of the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm on August 29, featuring the Swedish premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür's saxophone concerto, broadcast live on Klassikaraadio.

Salonen spoke at length about the importance of long-term thinking in music institutions, warning that short-term perspectives in business and politics threaten cultural continuity. He criticized institutions for being rigid and called for more flexibility to support creative ideas. He also discussed the Nordic-Baltic openness, the challenges facing young musicians today (economic insecurity, climate change, war in Europe), and his own work with young orchestras. He reflected on the changing nature of artistry and notation, and offered advice to young musicians: "Be decent." He will spend the rest of the summer working with youth orchestras before taking time to compose.

He will next lead the closing concert of the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm on August 29, featuring the Swedish premiere of Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür's saxophone concerto. This will be broadcast live on ERR's Klassikaraadio.

The rest of the interview included Salonen's view of the importance of long-term thinking in music institutions. He warned that short-term perspectives in business and politics threaten cultural continuity. He criticized institutions for being rigid and called for more flexibility to support creative ideas. He also discussed the challenges facing young musicians, and the rest of us, today, compared with his youth in Finland, which he noted seemed particularly secure and comfortable.

These challenges include economic insecurity, climate change and the fact there is a war on in Europe. He also reflected on the changing nature of artistry and notation, and offered advice to young musicians: "Be decent." He will spend the rest of the summer working with youth orchestras, work he finds particularly satisfying, before taking time to compose some more of his own works.

The original interview with Klassikaraadio (in Estonian and English) is here.

Born in Helsinki, Esa-Pekka Salonen, 68, is a Finnish conductor and composer, currently principal conductor designate of the Orchestre de Paris and creative director designate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is also conductor laureate of several major orchestras and served as music director of the San Francisco Symphony 2020-2025.

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