Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
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After the show: Usually I have concerts on Friday. They end at 10 or 10:30 p.m. Sometimes I go out to eat or take soloists out to entertain. L.A. is a very early town, so it’s difficult to find restaurants that serve after 11 p.m. Some Japanese and Chinese restaurants downtown do, or we go to Spago, which is open late. I also love Drago on Wilshire and Toscana for Sicilian specialties.
With the kids: If I don’t have a rehearsal on Saturdays, I try to spend some time with my kids, Ella, 5, and Anja, 3. We quite often go to the beach, and they like to go to Santa Monica Pier.
Reading: I’m a compulsive reader. I live very close to Dutton’s Bookstore in Brentwood, where I spend a lot of time. It’s full of people who read books in a culture where reading is increasingly rare. I like historical books and biographies. I’m reading a biography of Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Peace and quiet: In L.A. my schedule is very hectic. If I want to relax, I have to cut myself off from my work, my fax machine and my phone. To rest, I usually have to go to another country. I’ll go to Finland to our country house there, which is in the middle of a forest.
More music: I get hundreds of CDs every month in the mail that I don’t have time to listen to, so I really don’t shop for music at all. In fact, I’m not a very big fan of canned music. I prefer it live.
Museum hopping: I go to MOCA quite frequently because it’s close to the Music Center, and I like to see exhibitions when I have time. I also like to go to the L.A. County Museum.
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