Martinů • Rautavaara Martinů: Piano Concerto No. 3; Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No. 3, ‘Gift of Dreams’ Olli Mustonen (piano); Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Dalia Stasevska BIS BIS-2532 (CD/SACD) 56:19 mins
These two highly enjoyable concertos show their composers revelling in a free mix of tonality with more abrasive 20th-century techniques. The Finnish composer Rautavaara’s brief was that his concerto could be directed by the pianist, but practicality doesn’t get in the way of large-scale Impressionist orchestral textures in the first movement enhanced by coruscating piano figuration.
The Adagio offers greater contrast with more aggressive harmonies in the central section, a tendency taken up at the turbulent start of the finale. Dalia Stasevska and the Lahti Symphony understand that the strength of this concerto lies in a close partnership with the soloist, blending textures with consummate assurance. Olli Mustonen is an ideal soloist – poised in the more meditative sections and fearlessly assertive where required.
Martinů’s admiration for Brahms waxed and waned throughout his long career, but in 1947 when writing his Third Piano Concerto it was clearly on the up. The results are immediately apparent in the determinedly developmental character of the opening Allegro, although a more familiar Martinů shines through in blasts of heady affirmation which look forward to the Sixth Symphony.
The Concerto was dedicated to Martinů’s good friend, the virtuoso Rudolf Firkušný and the demands on the soloist are considerable. Mustonen revels in the challenges and captures the febrile volatility of mood in the outer movements superbly.
If The Lahti Symphony Orchestra players don’t seem entirely at home with Martinů’s sprung rhythms in the first movement, they certainly get the mood in the Andante poco moderato and finale in this rewarding performance.
Jan Smaczny
