Esa-Pekka Salonen's dynamic personality and first-rate conducting skills star in this terrific glimpse of him and the Los Angeles Philharmonic rehearsing a piece he considers one of the all-time great masterworks: Debussy's La Mer. With his keen intelligence and obvious love for music-making shining through, Salonen candidly discusses how his view of various works has changed over time. Repeating the oft-said truism that the greatest compositions reveal new facets with every performance, the conductor goes on to explain how that happened to him over the years with La Mer. But it's in the revealing rehearsal footage that we see (and hear) Salonen at his best. His easy rapport and his generous give-and-take with the musicians mark him as one of our leading conductors. And the rapturous sounds he and the L.A. Philharmonic make (we never get to hear a full performance, unfortunately, only extensive excerpts) are a suitable climax to this 1997 documentary. --Kevin Filipski
