Esa Pietilä – Soloist with Orchestras & Ensembles

Esa Pietilä is committed to expanding the concerto repertoire of the saxophone through commissions, collaborations, and partnerships with orchestras and composers. In 2014 Pietilä premiered his concerto Graffiti Play for saxophone, improvising contemporary jazz trio and chamber orchestra, premiered by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. In 2016 Pietilä premiered the Tenor Saxophone Concerto from Finnish composer Kalevi Aho, who composed and dedicated the concerto to Pietilä. In 2013 Pietilä  premiered a saxophone concerto “Grounds” by Eero Hämeenniemi. The Concerto was performed by Se ensemble with conductor Santtu Matias Rouvali. The piece was also composed and dedicated to Pietilä, taking advantage of Pietilä´s improvisational skills.