Olli Mustonen’s music mirrors the keen-eared, eagle-eyed, fidgety pianistic talent that we already know from his recordings of, say, Bach and Shostakovich. It’s fun, very approachable and, in one or two instances, rather beautiful. Years ago, I can remember falling in love with a piece by Michael Torke called Ash which, like most of the music programmed here, revisits baroque and romantic models for a quasi- minimalist romp. The trouble with Ash is that it’s at least five minutes too long, whereas Mustonen’s scores are lean, concise and distributed among relatively short movements. The opening Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra (1998) is a sort of concerto grosso that warms to post-minimalist rhythmic business with some baroque-style cadences. The Larghetto makes subtle use of quiet timpani rolls, and the finale starts out like a snippet from Petrushka.
Mustonen’s skill at weaving polyphony tells at the start of the First Nonet (1995, dedicated to Steven Isserlis). The same work’s Allegro sounds like updated Mendelssohn, but probably the most immediately appealing work on the disc is the Petite Suite for Cello and String Orchestra (1996), very nicely played by Martti Rousi and a potential hit with those who enjoy, say, Warlock’s Capriol Suite. The gently playful Frogs Dancing on Water Lilies (2000) grew from a commission for some educational material and the Second Nonet (also 2000) features a touching seven-minute Adagio, music that forms a warmly expressive arch.
Occasionally one senses the distant spectre of Sibelius, maybe even Rautavaara (with whom Mustonen studied composition). But the style is already very much its own – rhythmically alert, tonal and cut to the bone – with no pretensions beyond superior entertainment. That’s the state of play at the moment. And yet I have a distinct hunch that within a year or two Olli Mustonen will be up and away in another direction. As to where that might be, Mustonen wouldn’t be Mustonen if we had even the faintest idea. The performances and recordings are exemplary