Jouni Kaipainen

"One can almost listen to Kaipainen's three solo accordion works as a sonata, perhaps a super-sonata in view of the sheer intensity of the music."

"Although I am not a string player myself, the string quartet is inextricably intertwined with my early musical life. Later on, my own string quartets, which appeared regularly at intervals of exactly 10 years, became milestones in my private and working life."

"The microphones are going to take some time to catch up with the astonishing flood of Finnish instrumental concertos since the turn of the 21st century, so it’s good to be able to welcome the first recording of Jouni Kaipainen’s Trumpet Concerto, written in 2003 to a commission from the soloist here, Pasi Pirinen, to whom it is also dedicated."

Guitarists are unusually keen to commission new compositions. The guitarist, composer and audience all benefit, because the guitar, being a popular instrument, lowers the threshold to listening to new music. Finnish guitarists Petri Kumela, Otto Tolonen and Patrik Kleemola rank among the most active champions of new guitar repertoire.