Olli Mustonen
Pianist, composer, and conductor Olli Mustonen is an integral part of the classical music scene in his native Finland. He has led orchestras throughout the country and beyond as a guest conductor and has held several directorships. Mustonen has enjoyed a long partnership with cellist Steven Isserlis and is active as a recitalist and concerto soloist, appearing regularly with orchestras and in festivals around the world. In 2021, Mustonen became the principal conductor and artistic director of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mustonen began his studies at the keyboard at the tender age of five; his first teacher was the eminent pianist Ralf Gothóni. Beginning at the age of seven, Mustonen studied composition with one of Finland's most prominent voices in contemporary music, Einojuhani Rautavaara, and Mustonen shares a dichotomy with his compatriot Esa-Pekka Salonen: outside of Finland, Mustonen is more highly regarded as an interpreter of music, whereas in Finland compositions make his name. Mustonen's early composition Toccata for piano, string quartet, and double bass (1989) helped establish his reputation as a composer. He served as the music director of the Turku Music Festival from 1990 until 1992 and co-founded and conducted the Helsinki Festival Orchestra.
In 1991, Mustonen signed a contract with the Decca label and recorded Shostakovich's Preludes, Op. 34, with Alkan's Preludes, Op. 31. While the disc won the prestigious Gramophone Award in 1992 for Best Instrumental Performance, Mustonen did not wind up recording extensively with Decca and mainly records for the Ondine label. He is a well-known fixture on the concert circuit nonetheless and is particularly active in Europe and Australia. One of his lasting musical relationships is with Rodion Shchedrin, who dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 5 to Mustonen. Mustonen gave the world premiere of the concerto in 1999, with Salonen leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Mustonen served as the artistic director of the Tapiola Sinfonietta from 2003 until 2009.
Mustonen's compositions cover a range of styles and genres, from the Three Mysteries for orchestra (2002) to several concertos, piano solos, and chamber pieces, many involving the cello. The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned his first symphony, Tuuri (2012), and a second one, Johannes Angelos (2013), was commissioned by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Mustonen led the orchestras in the respective premieres. In interpreting the cello works, Mustonen has enjoyed partnerships with cellists Steven Isserlis and Daniel Müller-Schott. Mustonen's friendship with Isserlis began when the pair met at a concert in the early 1980s -- when Mustonen was just 16 -- and has continued since as the duo have regularly performed together. In 2014, they were heard on a recording of cello sonatas by Martinu, Sibelius, and Mustonen.
Mustonen received the 2019 Hindemith Prize of the City of Hanau, awarded for outstanding musical achievement in honor of composer Paul Hindemith. That year, he joined Isserlis to issue a recording of sonatas by Shostakovich and Kabalevsky. Commissioned by the Beethoven Festival Bonn for Beethoven's 250th birthday celebrations, Mustonen's String Sextett was premiered in February of 2020. Mustonen began his tenure as artistic director and principal conductor of the Turku Philharmonic in January of 2021.
© Uncle Dave Lewis & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Grieg: Piano Concerto / Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
Olli Mustonen, San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt
Classica - Pubblicato da Decca Music Group Ltd. il 1 ott 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Quatuor pour le fin du temps / Shostakovich: Piano Trio No.2
Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Olli Mustonen, Michael Collins
Classica - Pubblicato da Decca Music Group Ltd. il 5 mag 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martinů: Cello Sonatas Nos. 1-3
Steven Isserlis, Olli Mustonen
Musica da camera - Pubblicato da BIS il 1 mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart : Concertos pour violon n°3-5
Pekka Kuusisto, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Olli Mustonen
Classica - Pubblicato da Ondine il 1 gen 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Variations
Classica - Pubblicato da Decca Music Group Ltd. il 1 gen 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Olli Mustonen - The RCA Recordings
Classica - Pubblicato da Sony Music Classical International il 27 ott 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Diabelli Variationen
Classica - Pubblicato da RCA Red Seal il 1 gen 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Visions fugitives / Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis
Classica - Pubblicato da Decca Music Group Ltd. il 1 apr 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
ACO Originals – Olli Mustonen: Sonata for Cello and Chamber Orchestra (Live from Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2015)
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Timo-Veikko Valve, Olli Mustonen
Classica - Pubblicato da ABC Classic il 26 giu 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour piano n°4 & 5
Olli Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classica - Pubblicato da Ondine il 27 ott 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour piano n°1 & 2
Olli Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classica - Pubblicato da Ondine il 1 gen 2007
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
SHCHEDRIN, R.K.: Cello Concerto / The Seagull Suite
Marko Ylonen, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Olli Mustonen
Classica - Pubblicato da Ondine il 1 gen 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Piano Concerto in D major, Op. 61a (Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta)
Olli Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classica - Pubblicato da Ondine il 1 gen 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Music Vol. 2
Classica - Pubblicato da Decca Music Group Ltd. il 30 set 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonate op. 109/Themes And Variations On Folk Songs op.107
Classica - Pubblicato da RCA Red Seal il 2 apr 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2; 5 Melodies
Classica - Pubblicato da Decca Music Group Ltd. il 14 mar 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Violin Concerto in E/Beethoven: Violin Concerto (transcribed for keyboard)
Olli Mustonen, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Classica - Pubblicato da Decca Music Group Ltd. il 1 gen 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS, J.: 10 Little Pieces / 2 Serenades / The Tempest / 7 Songs (A Five-Star Sibelius Celebration)
Classica - Pubblicato da Ondine il 7 mag 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich & Kabalevsky: Cello Sonatas
Steven Isserlis, Olli Mustonen
Classica - Pubblicato da Hyperion il 1 feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Quintet: II. Quasi una passacaglia
Olli Mustonen, Engegård Quartet
Classica - Pubblicato da Lawo Classics il 7 set 2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo