Written for cellist Yo-Yo Ma—in Salonen’s words “one of the most unique life-givers and communicators of our time”—the Cello Concerto was first heard in Chicago in 2017. This recording was made the following year with the Los Angeles orchestra that Salonen led for 17 years. The concerto’s language is wonderfully approachable and full of surprises: Sounds you’ve never heard before from a cello and orchestra, and colors that dazzle–thanks, in part, to a vast array of percussion instruments. It’s a journey from darkness to light, from chaos to rapture, that’s thrilling to undertake.