Jouni Kaipainen first came to notice in the early 1990s with the premieres of his First Symphony, two-piano concerto Ladders to Fire and the clarinet concerto Carpe diem!. His musical style, while recognisably built on late-20th-century aesthetics, is advanced but not aggressive, postmodern tonal with much that is jovial and pleasingly lyrical. This new disc makes a good introduction to his sound world.
The Horn Concerto (2000-01) is cast in the usual three movements, a cadenza climaxing the opening Allegro maestoso, in which there is a delicious tension between Kaipainen's 21st-century harmonic language and the decidedly 19th-century expressive manner of the solo part. The serene Larghetto was still being written when its course, like that of Sallinen's Eighth Symphony, was irrevocably changed by the events of 9/11.
Kaipainen's jocular side comes to the fore in the ebullient, virtuosic final Vivace.
In the First Cello Concerto (2002) the orchestral colours are more autumnal, like Dvorák or Elgar, but the vigour of the outer movements is more Hindemithian. The 17-minute opening movement is really a conflation of two spans, a long Andante febbrile introduction which is recalled at the close of the succeeding Allegro conbrio. As if to balance this, the central Largo connects via a cadenza to the brilliant final Allegretto.
Esa Tapani and Marko Ylönen are exemplary soloists, playing with plenty of verve. Hannu Lintu and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra accompany expertly and everyone sounds as if they enjoyed themselves.

Jouni Kaipainen (b1956) first came to notice in the early 1990s… His musical style… is advanced but not aggressive, postmodern tonal with much that is jovial and pleasingly lyrical. Esa Tapani and Marko Ylönen are exemplary soloists, playing with plenty of verve. Hannu Linty and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra accompany expertly and everyone sounds as if they enjoyed themselves. And so did I.