Wing on Wing

The work was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for their inaugural season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and was premiered June 5, 2004 by the orchestra under Salonen.

The title and composition of the piece are inspired by the architecture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which architect Frank Gehry likened to the appearance of a sailboat with its foresail and mainsail opened to a 180-degree angle.

At the same time it celebrates the efforts of every man and woman whose dedication, skill, and faith made a fantastic vision into reality.

[2] Alex Ross of The New Yorker said it "meditates mesmerizingly on the architectural ideas of Frank Gehry, assembling high-tech orchestral-electronic textures that gleam and shimmer like the wings of Disney Hall.

"[4] Arnold Whittall of Gramophone wrote:Understatement was clearly not an option, and Salonen's overblown hymn of praise aims to celebrate 'a fusion between instrument and body, nature and technology'.

Wing on Wing was inspired by the design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall by the architect Frank Gehry .