Salonen's "LA Variations" was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1997. The piece is Salonen's tribute not only to the orchestra but also to Jean Sibelius, a fellow Finn whose musical influences are heard throughout. "LA Variations" is not a traditional theme and variations, but rather an examination and expansion of two thematic hexachords. Each of the work's twenty sections evinces a distinctive character of its own.
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