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Esa-Pekka Salonen and the L.A. Philharmonic were nearing the end of the third movement of the Lemminkäinen Suite by Sibelius this afternoon when Disney Hall erupted in wailing sirens and flashing lights. A false fire alarm, as it turns out, but during the ten or fifteen minutes needed to figure it out I'm told some in the audience left and never returned. Most of the orchestra players stayed near their chairs, but Salonen whiled away the episode out of sight backstage. When the sirens were finally turned off and he returned, he brought good news: the orchestra would skip ahead to the next movement rather than start over. At least there were no rats.
Bonus: You can listen to a selection from Sibelius on the L.A. Phil website if you have iTunes.