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Mustonen: String Quartet No. 1 / Piano Quintet

Olli Mustonen (piano), Engegard Quartet

Mustonen: String Quartet No. 1 / Piano Quintet

Awards:

Furious crossrhythms and accented repeated notes relent to hymnal lyricism in Olli Mustonen’s First String Quartet...Mustonen is the composer-pianist in the 2014 Piano Quintet, which opens with...

Mustonen: String Quartet No. 1 / Piano Quintet

Olli Mustonen (piano), Engegard Quartet

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Awards:

Furious crossrhythms and accented repeated notes relent to hymnal lyricism in Olli Mustonen’s First String Quartet...Mustonen is the composer-pianist in the 2014 Piano Quintet, which opens with...

About

The quartet's debut CD was praised as 'breathtaking' in The Strad, while their second release won Pizzicato magazine's 'Supersonic Award'. Their CD of works by Grieg, Sibelius, and Olav Anton Thommessen was praised by Tully Potter in Music Web International as 'what Grieg lovers have been waiting for'.

The Engegard Quartet has a busy concert schedule throughout Scandinavia and further afield. They have performed in some of Europe's finest venues including the Mozarteum in Salzburg and Prague's Rudolfinum, as well as performing in South America with concerts in Medellin, Bogota and Sao Paolo. Festival performances include the Delft Chamber Music Festival, SoNoRo Festival in Bucharest, and Heidelberg's Streichquartettfest.

Deeply committed to today's composers and to keeping the string quartet repertoire alive and developing, the Engegard Quartet has commissioned several works throughout their career. They have focused first and foremost on Norwegian composers including Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, Olav Anton Thommessen, Therese Birkelund Ulvo and Cecilie Ore, but also on the Finnish pianist and composer Olli Mustonen. The Engegard Quartet's acclaimed collaborations with the jazz violinist Ola Kvernberg and hardanger fiddler Nils Okland have lead to commissions including the Telemark Quintet from Nils Anders Mortensen, and Hypnagogia and Flukt from Ola Kvernberg. Several of these commissions have been recorded by the Engegard Quartet.

On the classical front, the Engegard Quartet has had the honour to work with (among others) Sir Andras Schiff, Leif Ove Andsnes, Christian Ihle Hadland, Paul Lewis, Kim Kashkashian and Emma Johnson MBE.

Contents and tracklist

I. Impetuoso, con passione e molto rubato (quasi senza tempo)
Track length6:04
II. Furioso e pesante
Track length2:33
III. Grave – Estatico e misterioso
Track length8:28
IV. Impetuoso, con passione e molto rubato (quasi senza tempo) – Con fuoco all’Ungharese
Track length4:45
I. Drammatico e passionato
Track length7:19
II. Quasi una passacaglia
Track length7:22
III. Finale
Track length7:12

Awards and reviews

  • Opus Klassik Awards
    2023
    Nominated - Composer of the Year

January 2023

Furious crossrhythms and accented repeated notes relent to hymnal lyricism in Olli Mustonen’s First String Quartet...Mustonen is the composer-pianist in the 2014 Piano Quintet, which opens with a Rite of Spring-ish Drammatico e passionato movement...Sensitive interplay between piano and strings lifts the quieter moments, which are well balanced in this recording.

March/April 2023

I greatly enjoyed listening to this album because my expectations kept being exceeded. I’d hear one texture and think that it spoke for the character of the piece, only to be surprised by the introduction of something that felt totally different musically and emotionally...this is music in which optimism comes bounding from behind to win the day. It was a pleasure to listen to.

November 2022

These performances could not be bettered given Mustonen’s prowess and the collective excellence of the Engegård Quartet.
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