Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Otto Virtanen, bassoon


Jouni Kaipainen is one of the most important Finnish composers active over the last 30 years, and he belongs to the same generation as Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho. This CD, to celebrate his 50th birthday, uses the same performers as the world première, all with close artistic ties to the composer (who is the Tampere Philharmonic's Composer-in-Residence), all with strong contemporary repertoire pedigrees. These two première recordings of Kaipainen's recent works, the Third Symphony and the Bassoon Concerto, exhibit the composer's classical and melodic style of the early/mid 2000s. Described by the Finnish press as "energetic, intense, virtuoso, ecstatic - abundantly voluptous", the Third Symphony is one of Kaipainen's finest works. The Bassoon Concerto is Kaipainen's latest in an extensive series of solo concertos.