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Apple-ocracy: New iPad Air 2 Commercial Features Esa-Pekka Salonen Shaving, Leila Josefowicz Shilling for 'Violin Concerto'

The New Yorker has some strong opinions about the current status of orchestral works in popular culture (cf. the latest Apple advert for the iPad Air).

"Not surprising, given Apple's distinguished history of television propaganda," writes David Remnick's classical music critic Alex Ross.

The ad Ross is referencing features conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen drawing inspiration for a passage in his Violin Concerto--writ large on his brand new iPad 2.

We also see violinist Leila Josefowicz and Salonen's Philharmonia Orchestra of London getting involved in the score, too.

Salonen's partiality towards Apple products is no secret--which Ross duly notes--and this spot has yielded some 100,000 views on YouTube.

(N.B. It's also playing via Clite's A.V. Club right here.)

Most classical musicians aren't as fortunate to get an Apple backing, so Salonen's video serves as a kind of bridge, making his shilling just a bit less self-aggrandizing.

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