Olli Mustonen, piano

Born in Helsinki in 1967, Olli Mustonen took his first harpsichord lessons at the age of five and was taught to play the piano by Ralf Gothóni at the age of seven. A year later he made his first composition attempts, and from 1975 he studied composition with Einoiuhani Rautavaara. Soon, Mustonen was much sought after, both as a conductor and as a concert pianist (studies with Eero Heinonen).

Since 1989, Mustonen has been playing an active role in the musical scene of his home country; first, he became Artistic Director of the Korsholm Music Festival and from 1990-1992 of the Turku Music Festival, as well. He is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Helsinki Festival Orchestra, and since 2003 Artist in Residence at the chamber orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta.

As a pianist, Mustonen has given concerts with numerous major international orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orkest, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonics, and others. In addition, he maintains close working relations with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez and Christoph Eschenbach. In 1999, he performed the world première of Rodion Shchedrin's Piano Concerto No. 5, which is dedicated to him, with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. For his recording of Preludes and Fugues by Dmitri Shostakovich and Preludes by Charles-Valentin Alkan, Mustonen received both the Edison Award and the Gramophone Award in 1992.