"I know the musicians are very happy to be back here," says Salonen. "I think they have had some wonderful experiences in Shanghai and in this concert hall.
"Both the long and recent history has proved that the connection between countries through music can be an incredibly positive force for good in the world," he says.
A problem with international touring is that, Salonen says, "quite often you have the feeling that you play one concert or two, and then go to the next place, … (but) you haven't really made any kind of contact with or impact on the cultural life of the city".
But having a long-term relationship, "everyone really has the feeling that this is more than just importing a couple of shows from abroad. I think this is the way of the future, that we see music as cultural diplomacy, and we see an orchestra as a source of information and education".
In the past years, Finland has produced some of the world's most prominent conductors. Salonen is one of them. He attributed this to an effective art educational mechanism in his home country.
Finland is a small country, he says. The entire population is 5.5 million, about a quarter of Shanghai. "If a nation that small wants to maintain or create a musical life of high standards, they have to take care of their talents and make sure that the talents can be properly educated, trained, and have opportunities to grow."
In Finland, there is an accessible free communal music school system where kids learn to play, Salonen says. "They can borrow instruments if their parents don't have enough money to buy them. … It is easy to get a good musical education for the most talented youth."
Young musicians will also find role models in successful conductors from Finland, male and female, who show them "it is like a dream that can become reality", and they are ready to offer their helping hands to a younger generation of musicians, he says. Finnish orchestras are also very supportive of young conductors.
Young musicians, whether you are an instrumentalist, singer, composer or conductor, "it's like we are all together. Conducting doesn't become this weird thing where you have to be 'semi-godlike'", he says. "You are just one of them. We need a conductor because somebody has to conduct. I think that's pretty healthy."
