Apple use classical music and Esa-Pekka Salonen in new iPad advert

28 May 2014, 11:16 | Updated: 31 May 2016, 16:28

Philharmonia Orchestra conductor shows off his composing skills on an iPad in ‘mini-documentary’.

Apple has finally caught on to the cool sophistication of classical music with a new advert for its iPad that shows Philharmonia Orchestra conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen using the tablet to compose his music.

The moody ad follows Salonen around London, and traces the composition of an orchestral number from its genesis as a whistle by the conductor in his bathroom to a full-blown performance by The Philharmonia (who also happen to be Classic FM's Orchestra on Tour).

Gallery: the best classical sci-fi movie soundtracks

Salonen and his iPad are seen deep in creative thought at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras station, on a jetty at a frozen lake in his native Finland, in several taxis and at the top of the Tate Modern in front of a pleasing London cityscape.

The ad is the latest in a series of mini-documentaries which show how professionals use the iPad – a strategy Apple is hoping will boost flagging sales of its premium tablet. With a quarter of a million views on YouTube already, it will also hopefully boost the profile of the Philharmonia.

In addition to the advert, Salonen takes us behind the scenes to see how he uses an app to turn his ideas into melodies and musical pieces.

The technology fraternity is suitably impressed by Salonen’s film. Mashable sees the conductor’s composition of an orchestral work as a “hearty, if unintentional, rebuke” to an ad last year for a rival Windows tablet that suggested the iPad was just a toy for playing the infamous piano ditty ‘Chopsticks’.