Bassoon

Devil's Gate (Pirunportti) is a mountain pass in Finnish Lapland, a beautifully picturesque spot accessible only by a two- to three-day hike. A deep cleft between two nearly symmetrical fells, the approach to it can be seen from quite some distance, beginning...

All of Heininen's sonatas have different characters that are informed by the force fields created by classic solos and melodies in orchestral repertoire. There is also a certain encyclopaedic nature to the sonata cycle; many have been composed to various instruments...

Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838) is the best-known Finnish composer of the Classical period. He lived in Stocholm from 1791 onwards and played the clarinet at the Hovkapellet court orchestra. He also gained reputation as a soloist...

The air is heavy with flashy comments, when the flute, the bassoon and the piano start their debate in “Storm in a Teacup” (2014) by Kirmo Lintinen (b. 1967). Only 4'30'' of length, this virtuosic trio finds the piece after the grand rampage...

All of Heininen's sonatas have different characters that are informed by the force fields created by classic solos and melodies in orchestral repertoire. There is also a certain encyclopaedic nature to the sonata cycle; many have been composed to various instruments...

In Kirmo Lintinen's Rondo burlesque (2007-2008) for bassoon and piano , the qualitative elements of the bar, with their upbeats, accents and GPs, create a refined musical rhetoric and are very much to the fore...

The six movements of Aho's quintet (1977) focus on the dual nature of the bassoon - its ability to express both the comic and the tragic. The first two movements display explicit humour and parody but the work moves via an intense Scherzo towards its tragic fulfillment in the Epilogue...

A pioneer of Finnish modern jazz, Heikki Sarmanto (1939-) is renowned for his renderings of jazz numbers. No wonder, therefore, that broken chords and familiar keys resonate and sit well under the hand in the piano part of this Northern Dreams suite...

Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838) is the best-known Finnish composer of the Classical period. He lived in Stocholm from 1791 onwards and played the clarinet at the Hovkapellet court orchestra. He also gained reputation as a soloist...

The six movements of Aho's quintet (1977) focus on the dual nature of the bassoon - its ability to express both the comic and the tragic. The first two movements display explicit humour and parody but the work moves via an intense Scherzo towards its tragic fulfillment in the Epilogue...