Esa-Pekka Salonen and San Francisco Symphony Release Four New SFS Media Recordings on Apple Music Classical

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony are releasing four new SFS Media digital-only spatial audio recordings via the Apple Music Classical app in the coming months, beginning with Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia, recorded live in concert March 14–16, 2024 and available for listening today.

Additional upcoming recordings include Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements (to be released July 4), recorded live in concert November 11–12, 2023; Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 (to be released August 15), also recorded live in concert March 14–16, 2024; and Salonen’s Cello Concerto (release date to be announced), recorded live in concert October 18–20, 2024, with Rainer Eudeikis, SF Symphony Principal Cello and Philip S. Boone Chair, as soloist. 

The San Francisco Symphony began its partnership with Apple Music Classical when the classical music streaming app launched in March 2023. Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Orchestra have previously released 11 spatial audio recordings through Apple Music Classical, including Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Anders Hillborg’s Kongsgaard Variations, György Ligeti’s Clocks and Clouds and Ramifications, Elizabeth Ogonek’s Sleep & Unremembrance, Sergei Prokofiev’s Music from Romeo and Juliet, Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5, and Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and The Firebird, which were each nominated for the Grammy Award® for Best Orchestral Performance in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The San Francisco Symphony Chorus and former Chorus Director Ragnar Bohlin’s recording of György Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna, which was nominated for a 2024 Grammy® Award for Best Choral Performance, was also released through Apple Music Classical.

With Apple Music Classical, Apple Music subscribers can easily find any recording in the world’s largest classical music catalog with fully optimized search; enjoy the highest audio quality available and experience many classical favorites in a whole new way with immersive spatial audio; browse expertly curated playlists, insightful composer biographies, and descriptions of thousands of works; and more. Apple Music Classical is available on the App Store and is included at no extra cost with nearly all Apple Music subscriptions. The combination of Apple Music Classical and Apple Music provides a complete music experience for everyone, from longtime classical fans to first-time listeners, and everyone in between. 

Jason O’Connell is the producer, editing engineer, and mixing engineer for these four new recordings. Jon Johannsen is the recording engineer.

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