Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tero Saarinen’s choreography Zimmermann Trio received its world premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles on 19 January. The orchestra was led by Principal Guest Conductor Susanna Mälkki. The cello soloists of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Cello Concerto were Ben Hong, Eric Byers and Timothy Loo. Dance is by Tero Saarinen Company dancers Auri Ahola, Misa Lommi and David Scarantino. Set and lighting design is by Mikki Kunttu, and costumes by Erika Turunen. Choreographer’s Assistant is Sini Länsivuori. The performances on 19–21 January received acclaim from both audiences and critics.

At the same time, Tero Saarinen Company also performed in Paris: choreographed to music by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Morphed was seen at the renowed Théâtre National de Chaillot on 18–20 January. The creation interpreted by seven male dancers has risen to become one of the group’s notable international successes. It has already toured in countries such as Austria, Canada, Croatia, Finland France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Serbia, the United Kingdom and the USA. Morphed was premiered at Helsinki Festival, Finland in 2014.

The total of six performances in Paris and LA were seen by nearly 10 000 spectators.