ECM Records will release a CD of a live recording of the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Esa-Pekka Salonen in the world premiere of Arvo Pärt's Symphony No. 4, "Los Angeles" on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. The recording is currently available for download at iTunes as part of the DG Concerts series. Pärt's Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles" was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and underwritten by Lenore and Bernard Greenberg. The concert was recorded live in Walt Disney Concert Hall on January 10 and 11, 2009.
Until Symphony No. 4, "Los Angeles", Arvo Pärt had not composed any orchestral work that could be called symphonic in scope or structure for almost forty years. Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic long desired to commission a new work by the composer. Pärt took the commission partly because he was inspired by "the idea of seeing this work performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic...under its music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, and in
Walt Disney Concert Hall, one of the most exciting concert buildings of our time," as a note for the score indicates.
Also featured on the CD is Fragments from Kanon Pokajanen, originally recorded in 1997 by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir led by conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, a piece which Pärt feels is closely related to the symphony. "To my mind, the two works belong together and form a stylistic unity."
