Whether Los Angeles has displaced New York as America ' s cultural capital , as the New York Times recently suggested in a profile of conductor Esa - Pekka Salonen , is open to vigorous debate . But hearing Salonen , music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1992 , conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Thursday night made one wonder if there might be something to it . His Symphony Center program opened with a nearly hourlong , wonderfully boiling cauldron of an orchestral piece , " Naive and Sentimental Music '' by John Adams . Salonen commissioned it in 1998 from Adams , a fellow Californian , though of the northern California - San Francisco - Berkeley stripe . Adams led the CSO in performances of the work in 1999 , and it remains the best kind of contemporary composition : challenging , engaging and entertaining . As we listened to " Naive and Sentimental Music '' and watched the 47 - year - old Salonen shape the concert , which also included a vigorous Mozart Horn Concerto No . 4 , K . 495 , and a probing Sibelius Symphony No . 5 , it seemed plausible that the very California air might be ambrosia for musicians . Salonen has put out the word that he will stay in Los Angeles for the rest of his conducting career , taking himself out of the running to succeed Daniel Barenboim , CSO music director since 1991 , who steps down in June . Salonen ' s current contract keeps him at the L . A . Philharmonic through 2007 - 08 , and its evergreen clause may be renewed regularly . If he were to leave the philharmonic , he has said , he would devote more time to composition rather than take another music director post . ( Salonen is a respected composer ; last week the CSO performed his " L . A . Variations '' under guest conductor Alan Gilbert . ) In Los Angeles , Salonen has managed the difficult feat of blending contemporary music with standard repertoire in a way that attracts rather than alienates audiences . Thursday ' s concert offered a few hints of how he works such magic . Pairing Adams and Sibelius , two masterful but very different orchestrators , was an inspired choice . " Naive and Sentimental Music '' uses the modern orchestra in all its glorious colors , from growling tubas and clanging anvil to the homey sound of a plucked guitar . The atmosphere of the three - movement work shifted from edgy calm in the opening pages to cheery clamor in the finale . one of Adams ' signature devices , a strong , steady rhythmic pulse , gave the piece a strong shape and sense of purpose . Though his palette was more somber , Sibelius ' familiar Fifth Symphony is a densely textured , expansive work . A native of Finland , Salonen emphasized the symphony ' s taut lines and tightly wound urgency . We were aware of the orchestra as a mighty , concentrated force , as mysterious yet alluring as the sight of a dark Finnish forest under an icy , starry sky . Mozart ' s Horn Concerto No . 4 , with its bouncy final movement , acted as a kind of palate cleanser between the two symphonies . CSO associate principal Daniel Gingrich brought a rich , rounded tone to Mozart ' s demanding solo line . CLASSICAL NOTES : Salonen will conduct the CSO ' s MusicNOW contemporary chamber music concert at 8 p . m . Monday in the Harris Theater for Music and Dance , 205 E . Randolph . The program features his own " Memoria '' for wind quintet and " Continuum , '' a work for voice and large ensemble by British composer Colin Matthews . The soloist will be mezzo - soprano Janice Felty .