The Concerto is the result of a collaboration between Salonen and Canadian violinist Leila Josefowicz, when his position as the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic was coming to an end after 17 years.
[1] In the Concerto, Salonen tries to sum up everything that he has learned as the music director of the orchestra.
[2] The concerto was premiered on April 9, 2009, only a few days before the Los Angeles Philharmonic appointed Salonen as its first ever Conductor Laureate.
The premiere was performed by Leila Josefowicz and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Salonen.
The movement list is as follows: In addition to the solo violin, the work is scored for three flutes (2nd doubling alto flute, 3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, one cor anglais, two clarinets, one bass clarinet, one contrabass clarinet, two bassoons, one contrabassoon, two horns in F, two trumpets in C, two trombones, timpani, a medium-sized percussion group formed by a vibraphone, a bass drum, a glockenspiel, a high-pitched log drum, a marimba, four tom-toms, one tam-tam, tuned gongs, and one large drumset, harp, celesta, and the usual set of strings, made up of twelve first violins, twelve second violins, ten violas, eight cellos, and eight double basses Among the most well-known recordings of the Violin Concerto is the version by violinist Leila Josefowicz, with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.