Olli Mustonen – Symphonies 2 & 3
Ian Bostridge; Turku Philharmonic; Olli Mustonen
Ondine ODE 1422-2 (ondine.net)
As a pianist, Olli Mustonen performed several times with the Toronto Symphony under Jukka-Pekka Saraste, always bringing a fresh and creative approach (I remember a particularly bracing version of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto). On this disc, he displays his impressive abilities as a composer and conductor. After beginning his composition studies with Einojuhani Rautavaara at the age of eight, he has developed a style that is eclectic but quite conventional and expressive: think of a blend, perhaps, of Jean Sibelius and Benjamin Britten. It’s the sort of music that performers can really sink their teeth into and when his works are championed by the likes of Steven Isserlis and Ian Bostridge, one can rest assured that he knows what he is doing.
The disc opens with Symphony No.3, written in 2020 featuring the lustrous and sensitive voice of Bostridge. It portrays a legend, Taivaanvalot (“Heavenly Lights”) from the epic Finnish folk tale Kalevala and is sung in English except for a brief passage in the last movement. Symphony No.2, written in 2013, is subtitled “Johannes Angelos” and is based on the 1952 novel of that name by Mika Waltari which depicts the fall of Constantinople. Both works are compact in length (about 30 minutes) and both are full of picturesque and expressive music. Orchestrations are expert, the recording quality is superb and the players of the Turku Philharmonic are clearly enjoying themselves.
