Olli Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta - Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (2007/2015) [Official Download 24-bit/96kHz]

This is the first of three volumes featuring Beethoven's five piano concertos performed by Olli Mustonen, acting here as both soloist and conductor of the Tapiola Sinfonietta. The Finnish musician is known for delivering fresh, visionary readings of popular standard repertoire music, such as Beethoven's concertos which he had never recorded before. Mustonen has maintained a close relationship with chamber orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta, accompanying this ambitious recording project with acclaimed tour performances. Also a published composer, Mustonen is playing his own cadenzas in the First Concerto.

Based in Espoo, the Tapiola Sinfonietta is one of the top professional orchestras in Finland; its popularity has been swiftly on the rise ever since it was founded in 1987. The Tapiola Sinfonietta is structured as a typical Viennese Classical orchestra, with 41 musicians. The orchestra’s distinct sound and its interesting choice of repertoire are its long-established trump cards. The nucleus of the orchestra’s repertoire consists of music composed by Mozart and his contemporaries. Alongside the classics, the orchestra performs lesserknown works. Its repertoire includes both older music and works by contemporary composers, which the orchestra is keen to premiere.

Quirky is a word that might be applied to these performances of Beethoven's first two piano concertos – which isn't necessarily a bad thing, for they're quirky works. Moreover, the concertos are more quirky than rebellious, especially the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, and the tendency these days is to treat the young Beethoven as a rebel. Nevertheless, potential buyers of this CD should know what they're getting into. Mustonen, playing the piano and conducting the Tapiola Sinfonietta, sculpts a performance that's all his own, with maximal contrast between the piano's and the orchestra's statements of the same material. The orchestra plays the music straight, and even plainly – the emotional temperature of the entire disc is low, and the music is recorded at quite dynamic levels. Then, when Mustonen enters on piano, things get a little strange. Both finales are full of unorthodox accents, but the special treat, or outrage depending on your perspective, is the finale of the Piano Concerto No. 2, where the accents on the syncopated tonic B flats are unusually strong – and are then topped by an even stronger accent on the note on which the phrase comes to rest. The first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 1 loses its spacious, martial character and almost seems to drag in the orchestral exposition, but then it turns into an intriguing parade of little jokes. A major attraction of the disc for audiophiles is Ondine's Super Audio sound (auditioned on a good conventional stereo) – the engineers distributed quite a few microphones around the orchestra and created a transparency that reveals inner lines beautifully and complements Mustonen's subtle playing. The slow movements, where Mustonen drops his edgy approach, have a lovely richness in both performance and sound. There are things in this performance that would have baffled Beethoven, and it's probably not a good choice for a first recording of the concertos with which the young Beethoven wowed Vienna. But those who have heard the work many times will be either intrigued or irritated – not in the least bored.

Tracklist:

01 - Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15: I. Allegro con brio
02 - Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15: II. Largo
03 - Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15: III. Rondo: Allegro scherzando
04 - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19: I. Allegro con brio
05 - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19: II. Adagio
06 - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19: III. Rondo: Molto allegro

Musicians"
Olli Mustonen - piano
Tapiola Sinfonietta - Conducted by Olli Mustonen

This album was mastered using our 2xHD proprietary system. In order to achieve the most accurate reproduction of the original recording we tailor our process specifically for each project, using a selection from our pool of state-of-the-art audiophile components and connectors. The process begins with a transfer to analog from the original DXD master, using cutting edge D/A converters. The analog signal is then sent through a hi-end tube pre-amplifier before being recorded directly in DXD using the MSB Platinum Studio ADC plus. All connections used in the process are made of OCC silver cable.

2xHD Mastering: René Laflamme. 2xHD Executive Producer: André Perry.


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