JOUNI KAIPAINEN (b.1956): Symphony No. 3, Op. 72, Bassoon Concerto, Op. 74.

Description: Kaipainen joins the ranks of Scandinavian symphonists writing big-boned, post-romantic, predominantly tonal works with some adherence to conventional structural forms, which include such luminaries as Aho, Pettersson, and Kaipainen's teacher, Sallinen. Sallinen comes most immediately to mind in the restless and driven first movement of the symphony, and perhaps Rautavaara in the spare yet evocative slow movement. The finale rages through a wide diversity of material with elements of passacaglia form and sonata-recapitulation providing an unifying thread to the music's active yet unsteady progress. The concerto employs the same vocabulary and a strong sense of narrative; the soloist's dialogues with individual instruments or small groups within the orchestra produce an irresistible sense of 'characters' in a tragi-comic drama, perhaps those of the Commedia dell'arte. Otto Virtanen (bassoon), Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra; Hannu Lintu.