HALL'S ANGEL L.A. PHIL'S SALONEN WORKS ON THIS SEASON, BUT KEEPS LOOKING NEXT DOOR.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

It's difficult not to contemplate the future when, directly across the street from your place of business, the future is taking shape - girder by magnificent girder - practically before your eyes.

Admittedly, no music will be heard from the state-of-the-art Walt Disney Concert Hall until fall 2003, when the Los Angeles Philharmonic begins its first season at its new home. Nor is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, current home of the L.A. Philharmonic, exactly silent ...

The Philharmonic begins its 83rd season tonight with a tribute to Duke Ellington, featuring Audra McDonald and Quincy Jones. The coming months will welcome pianists Emanuel Ax, Leif Ove Andsnes and Jean-Yves Thibaudet; sopranos Hildegard Behrens and Christine Brandes; and violinists Sarah Chang, Joshua Bell and Hilary Hahn.

``Just to have those three violinists alone, that could take place anywhere in the world and be top-of-the-line, but it's happening here,'' said managing director Deborah Borda.

'Completely new territory'

The schedule includes new works and old warhorses, from Beethoven and Mozart to Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin. A celebration of Arnold Schoenberg - who died in L.A. 50 years ago - is Friday, and, in January, the Philharmonic will begin a five-year cycle to perform the complete symphonies and string quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich. It's an endeavor that music director Esa-Pekka Salonen calls ``completely new territory for myself.''

``I've basically gone through the repertoire of 20th-century composers, but Shostakovich very little,'' said Salonen during an interview a few weeks before the season opened. ``I thought that was one area still to be discovered and that it was nice, at this sort of midpoint in my life, to discover something that has always been there.''

But as exciting as the immediate future must look (and company officials insist that the final two seasons at the music center are anything but ``afterthoughts'' before the new venue fireworks), ask Salonen whether he's lent a thought to the opening of Disney Concert Hall and the 43-year-old music director replies, ``I'm thinking of little else these days.''

``This will, I hope, change the position of classical music in Los Angeles, and it will put the Los Angeles Philharmonic in perhaps a national position that we really deserve,'' continues Salonen. ``I see this as the main event of my tenure.''

The tenure began with Salonen's appointment as music director in 1992, although he first came to Los Angeles in 1984 at the urging of the Philharmonic's former general manager, Ernest Fleischmann. Fleischmann recalls meeting the then-24-year-old Helsinki native, ``this kid with a short-sleeve shirt, holding a can of beer. I thought he must be OK.'' Salonen conducted the orchestra many times in the next few years before taking the top position in 1992.

``When we had the opening, he was the obvious choice, and he's certainly justified every bit of faith we have all had in him,'' said Fleischmann, who serves as the artistic director of the Ojai Music Festivals. ``I hope Los Angeles realizes how fortunate we are to have him.''

Added Borda, Fleischmann's successor: ``The reason I moved here from New York was - in no particular order - the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the terrific musicians from the L.A. Philharmonic. All three are wonderful.''

Despite job offers from leading companies and invitations to conduct and compose around the world, Salonen reaffirmed his commitment to L.A. With Disney Hall in smelling distance, the company's leader - who recently completed a one-year composing sabbatical - says he isn't going anywhere.

``I cannot imagine a better conducting job anywhere in the world, at least for me,'' Salonen said. ``I'm lucky to be here. Why would I be very eager to go anywhere else?''

And then - perhaps playing devil's advocate - Salonen answered his own question, addressing the notion of perception and prestige. Does a classical musician enhance his career by directing a symphony orchestra based in a movie town?

Unquestionably, says Salonen, who in addition to building the orchestra over the past decade, has seen the reputation for classical companies shift westward. New York, he affirms, is no longer the American center of musical creativity.

``In terms of old-fashioned prestige, the West Coast of the United States is not as prestigious as, say, Vienna would be,'' said Salonen, who will conduct the American premiere of his composition ``Foreign Bodies'' with the L.A. Philharmonic at season's end. ``But I don't think we can think in those terms anymore. I think Los Angeles is one of the most important cities in the world, certainly one of the most visible.''

From time to time, the bemused conductor notes, the European press makes reference to the Americanization of Esa-Pekka Salonen. Salonen - who had a blast collaborating with Wynton Marsalis over the summer on ``All Rise'' at the Hollywood Bowl and who is looking forward to the Ellington program as well - shrugs it off.

``A lot of it, I see now, is based on the Eurotrash prejudice which automatically assumes there is no important culture in the States, and the West Coast, from this point of view, is much worse than the East Coast,'' says Salonen. ``We're kind of in a double-challenge position. Not only do we have to convince the Europeans, we have to convince the East Coast. I find it very stimulating.''

The West Coast gets to answer back with a resounding roar once Disney Concert Hall opens. The venue, which will have a seating capacity of 2,273 (approximately 1,000 less than the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion), is designed to greatly enhance the sound quality for Philharmonic audiences.

``The greatest halls in Europe only seat 1,800 to 2,000,'' says Brent Assink, executive director of the San Francisco Symphony. ``That's really the direction that Disney is going.''

``There is no question the eyes of the music world are focused on L.A.,'' added Assink. ``We're all looking at what the Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka have accomplished in less-than-ideal acoustical conditions, and we're now looking to see what steps they take when they play in a hall specifically designed for them.''

Phil 'er up

Titled ``Music That Changed Me,'' the 83rd season of the Los Angeles Philharmonic will include:

Pianist Emanuel Ax performing Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. (Friday through Sunday)

Pianist Leif Ove Andses performing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3, the piece which - as cinematic legend has it - drove ``Shine's'' David Helfgott over the edge. (Oct. 18-21)

The Schoenberg Prism - four orchestral programs highlighting the works of Arnold Schoenberg and continuing a Philharmonic series focusing on composers who lived in Los Angeles. (Friday through Sunday, Oct. 25-28, Jan. 11-13, March 22-24)

The Shostakovich Cycle - the beginning of a five-year survey of the complete symphonies and string quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich. (Jan. 16-19, Jan. 25-27)

Mozart Festival - a set of concerts highlighting the works of Mozart (April 11, 13-14, April 18-21), performed in tandem with the L.A. Opera's production of ``The Magic Flute.'' Conductor Andreas Delfs makes his Philharmonic debut.

On Location Artist Residency Program - featuring Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov, whose ``Last Rounds'' will be performed Nov. 2-4; and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who performs Nov. 23-25 and Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

Zubin Mehta conducts Stravinsky's ``The Rite of Spring'' (Dec. 13-16) and Verdi's ``Requiem'' (Dec. 20-22).

Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the premiere of his ``Foreign Bodies'' (May 16, 17 and 19).

- E.H.

``DUKE ELLINGTON TRIBUTE''

What: Gala opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 83rd season.

Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

When: 7 tonight.

Tickets: $15 to $103. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 3) ``I cannot imagine a better conducting job anywhere in the world,'' says Esa-Pekka Salonen, here leading the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer