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Reviews
Salonen's Ojai 2026, Part I
OJAI, CA – Like Brigadoon, the small California town of Ojai comes to life once a year on a single weekend in June with an improbably durable, world-class music festival. This time, it was observing its 80th year, part of a continuous streak interrupted only by the COVID shutdown in 2020 (they count that fully planned, but never performed, season in the tally anyway). It was a festival of remembrance, but also one of transition, to a new and possibly quite different leader in Teddy Abrams.
The Libbey Bowl, Ojai’s main venue located in the town park, was packed over the four days (June 11-14), with all of the evening concerts sold out. Small wonder, given the talent on hand, starting with Esa-Pekka Salonen in his third time around as Ojai music director.
Three other former music directors—John Adams, Vijay Iyer, and Peter Sellars—were lurking in the crowd; four more music directors of the past—Lukas Foss, Pierre Boulez, Patricia Kopatchinskaya, and Mitsuko Uchida—held silent court along the park’s walkways in the form of life-sized, cardboard cutout photos.
Past, present, and future music directors were also on hand in, respectively, Thomas Morris, Ara Guzelimian, and Abrams. This was his first visit to the Festival, and he wandered the grounds wide-eyed, amazed that everything he had heard about Ojai being a fantasyland of experimental programming and open-eared audiences was indeed true.
This year, the programming links were so extensive and so tightly, and at times obliquely, connected that the whole Festival could have been considered as a single composition, albeit a rather eclectic one.
Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, a common late-night choice in Ojai Festivals past, turned up on opening night, and its “Abyss of the Birds” movement for solo clarinet popped up two more times on Saturday and Sunday mornings as meditations for the dynamically subtle solo clarinet of the New York Philharmonic’s Anthony McGill.
Salonen devoted a lot of programming time to remembrances of friends, colleagues, teachers, classmates at the Sibelius Academy, influences, and career landmarks. Oliver Knussen, a familiar guest at the LA Phil during Salonen’s term as music director, was remembered with his lyrical composition for violin and piano, Reflection. It was followed by Salonen’s own tribute, Arabesques for Olly (Knussen’s nickname), where a hidden cellist (Andrew Yee) droned and trilled away at a low volume level underneath an elegy played onstage by another cellist, Jay Campbell.
Friday night found Salonen leading a delightful string orchestra piece, Colburn Variations, by the late Steven Stucky, who became a close friend of Salonen’s when he was the composer-in-residence at the LA Phil. I hear this 12-minute piece as a tour through 20th-century music for the benefit of the young musicians at the Colburn School where Salonen heads the conducting program. Stucky was a master at clever pastiche, a trait that he put to use at Ojai in 2014 in his hilarious opera, The Classical Style. Starting with a lush texture ripped out of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, the Colburn Variations then paraphrases the ostinatos of Nielsen’s Fifth Symphony, speeds up into the style of Shostakovich’s Eighth Quartet, evokes the thick sonorities of Honegger’s Second Symphony, and finally goes out the door with neo-classical Stravinsky.
Anthony McGill, among Ojai's featured soloists, performing Messiaen's “Abyss of the Birds”
Two Salonen classmates from Finland, Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho, were represented by the entirely dissimilar Related Rocks and Sept Papillons, respectively. The former tumbles along in an abstract exploration of timbres from a collection of gongs, mallet instruments, tom-toms, and other percussion items—allied with two pianos and two not-fully-audible synthesizers. Papillons, on the other hand, found Campbell’s extended techniques on solo cello quietly evoking the special atmosphere of a Libbey Park morning, accompanying an impromptu, realtime aerial dance by yellow butterflies (such is the magic of the Ojai setting).
Famed architect Frank Gehry, the late designer of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, received a spot on the list of tributes Sunday with a composer-conducted performance of Salonen’s Fog. (The title represents Gehry’s initials, not the piece’s texture). Written for Gehry’s 90th birthday, the work celebrates the first music ever heard in the then-unfinished hall, J.S. Bach’s Preludio from Partita No. 3 for solo violin. The luminously orchestrated fantasia on the tune was preceded by the original, played by violinist Geneva Lewis, as a reference point. Friday night, Salonen trotted out another of his compositions, kinema, a suite for clarinet (McGill) and string orchestra based on music salvaged from a film that he scored during the COVID shutdown. It’s probably the most immediately attractive thing Salonen has written to date.
Salonen’s Six Preludes for Piano—mostly consisting of gifts or elegies for friends and colleagues (Stucky, Paul Crossley, Steven Witser) and the equivalent of Leonard Bernstein’s “anniversaries” for piano—were reduced to four by pianist Conor Hanick; the U.S. premiere of Salonen’s Drømmelogikk for violin and cello on Thursday (as seen and heard on Ojai’s livestream) struck me as a passionately written and played episode of agitation that eventually fades to a nearly sentimental close.
Top: Mitsuko Uchida, one of several cardboard cutouts of former Ojai music directors positioned along the walkways.
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Every month, the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office releases a report of service calls broken down by townships. Here is a snapshot of calls received from Grant, Green Charter, Hinton, Martiny, Mecosta, Millbrook, Morton, Sheridan and Wheatland townships in May.
- Traffic Stops: 2
- Property Damage Crashes: 2
- Physical Arrests: 1
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ASSIST: At 8:14 p.m. May 25, deputies assisted Big Rapids Department of Public Safety at an address on Old Logging Road, where they arrested a 70-year-old man for a domestic assault that had occurred in Big Rapids.
- Traffic Stops: 23
- Traffic Tickets: 5
- Property Damage Crashes: 24
- Animal Control: 1
LARCENY: At 2:14 p.m. May 7, a deputy took a complaint from a caller who said her nephew has been mistreating her sister at a residence on Indian Drive and she would like him removed from the home. The caller said her sister is in hospice care and is being cared for by her 53-year-old son, who has a substance use disorder. She said the son has restricted the hospice nurse’s access to the home, and the nurse did not feel safe there. She said the nurse called her and said some of her sister’s medication was missing.
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The deputy spoke to the nephew, who denied wrongdoing or stealing any medication. The deputy asked the man’s probation officer to test the man. On May 11, the probation officer informed the deputy the man had been arrested on a probation violation. He said the man could not complete a drug test, but he admitted he had gone to Grand Rapids and bought some oxycodone. However, he did not admit to using or stealing his mother’s oxycodone.
TRAFFIC CRASH: Deputies responded to a high number of car crashes involving deer.
- Traffic Stops: 5
- Property Damage Crashes: 5
- Physical Arrests: 2
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TRAFFIC CRASH: At 11:28 p.m. May 28, deputies responded to a crash on 85th Avenue near Jefferson Road. They arrested a 31-year-old man for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.
- Traffic Stops: 32
- Traffic Tickets: 12
- Property Damage Crashes: 2
- Physical Arrests: 2
- Appearance Tickets: 4
TRAFFIC STOP: At 1:49 p.m. May 4, a deputy stopped a vehicle at 110th Avenue and 13 Mile Road and issued an appearance ticket to a 54-year-old man for driving without insurance. The deputy also arrested the man on an outstanding warrant.
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TRAFFIC STOP: At 11:33 p.m. May 5, a deputy stopped a vehicle on 14 Mile Road near 110th Avenue and issued an appearance ticket to a 44-year-old man for driving with a suspended license.
TRAFFIC STOP: At 3:25 p.m. May 12, deputies stopped a vehicle on Cleveland Road and issued an appearance ticket to a 45-year-old man for driving without insurance.
TRAFFIC STOP: On May 12, a deputy stopped a vehicle on 75th Avenue near 14 Mile Road and issued an appearance ticket a 48-year-old man for driving an unregistered vehicle without insurance and driving with a restricted license. The deputy also arrested the man’s passenger, a 28-year-old woman, on an outstanding warrant. In addition, the deputy located methamphetamine. A warrant request will be submitted for charges of possession of methamphetamine.
- Traffic Stops: 32
- Traffic Tickets: 6
- Property Damage Crashes: 18
- Physical Arrests: 3
- Animal Control: 3
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MALICIOUS DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: At 7:58 a.m. May 4, a deputy responded to the Davis Bridge Park Boat Launch on 8 Mile Road near 220th Avenue. The park superintendent said someone kicked in the restroom door, hit it with a hammer and ripped the screens out of the building. Photos were sent to law enforcement to help identify the person(s) involved. No suspects had been identified.
TRAFFIC CRASH: At 4:08 a.m. May 9, deputies responded to a crash on Northland Drive near 190th Avenue and arrested a 19-year-old man for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor. They also cited him for careless driving.
WARRANT: At 8:54 p.m. May 14, deputies arrested a 35-year-old man on an outstanding warrant on Northland Drive near Hayes Road.
TRAFFIC CRASH: At 2 a.m. May 23, deputies responded to a crash on U.S. 131 near mile marker 133, north of the White Cloud exit. Deputies said the driver, a 43-year-old woman, was intoxicated. Because of injuries, they submitted a warrant request to the prosecutor’s office for charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
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DOMESTIC: At 7:29 a.m. May 24, a 32-year-old man called 911 to report he was in a vehicle with his 33-year-old girlfriend. He said she was in a manic state and not letting him out of the vehicle. Phase 2 location data showed the call originated in the area of Old State Road.
Before a deputy arrived, at 7:59 a.m., the girlfriend called 911 and said the man had choked her, smacked her and spat on her. She said he had been drinking since 4 a.m. She woke up to him smacking her, choking her and breaking her glasses.
The man and woman had since separated. The man denied assaulting the woman, and deputies said she showed no visible injuries. A warrant request was submitted to the prosecutor’s office against the man for domestic assault.
BREAKING-AND-ENTERING: At 4:17 p.m. May 27, deputies responded to a residence on 11 Mile Road near 225th Avenue after a caller reported an unknown man had kicked in the door and broken into the house. He gave a description of the man, who was last seen walking west on 11 Mile Road. Deputies canvassed the area, but they were unable to find him.
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Later, the man was seen on trail camera footage at a residence on 230th Avenue near 11 Mile Road. Using the footage, deputies identified a 54-year-old man as the suspect. A warrant request has been submitted to the prosecutor’s office for a home invasion charge.
AREA CHECK: At 12:22 p.m. May 31, while conducting an area check on U.S. 131 near the White Cloud exit, deputies arrested a 33-year-old man on an outstanding warrant.
TRAFFIC CRASH: Deputies responded to a number of crashes involving deer last month.
- Traffic Stops: 20
- Traffic Tickets: 5
- Property Damage Crashes: 7
- Appearance Tickets: 1
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TRAFFIC STOP: At 8:56 p.m. May 3, a deputy stopped a vehicle on 60th Avenue near 5 Mile Road and issued an appearance ticket to a 40-year-old man for driving without insurance.
TRESPASSING: At 11:59 a.m. May 20, a deputy responded to an address on Jackson Road after a report of a person operating a motor vehicle on private property. The vehicle was later found in a driveway on 4 Mile Road. The deputy located a 37-year-old man believed to be the driver, but the man fled on foot near 70th Avenue and 5 Mile Road. The investigation continues.
- Traffic Stops: 16
- Traffic Tickets: 1
- Property Damage Crashes: 1
- Physical Arrests: 1
- Appearance Tickets: 1
- Animal Control: 1
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DOMESTIC: At 10:41 p.m. May 7, deputies responded to a complaint on 120th Avenue near 11 Mile Road and arrested a 23-year-old woman on a domestic assault charge.
TRAFFIC STOP: At 12:17 p.m. May 12, a deputy stopped a vehicle on Hammond Land and issued an appearance ticket to a 35-year-old woman for driving with a suspended license.
FRAUD: At 12:27 p.m. May 14, a deputy responded to a fraud complaint at Isabella Bank on 100th Avenue. A caller said a man dressed as a construction worker and wearing a reflective vest tried to cash a fraudulent check. The check was from a customer from the St. Louis, Michigan, area.
The deputy identified a 22-year-old man suspected in a similar incident in Grand Traverse County. After speaking with a detective there, it was decided that Grand Traverse County would handle the prosecution through a criminal enterprise charge.
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