Som kunstnerisk leder og sjefsdirigent for Turku Philharmonic Orchestra har Olli Mustonen en unik plass på dagens musikkscene. I tradisjon etter store mestere som Rachmaninov, Busoni og Enescu kombinerer Olli sine komponist-, pianist- og dirigentroller på en eksepsjonelt balansert måte – ofte samler han dem i én fascinerende forestilling som en slags trippelmusiker. I løpet av sin strålende karriere har Olli tatt sin ekstraordinære musikalitet inn i mange av verdens mest betydningsfulle orkestre, så som Berlinerfilharmonien og New York- og Los Angeles-filharmoniene, Chicago Symphony og Royal Concertgebouw.. Ollis virke som komponist er kjernen i hans pianospill og dirigering.
Mustonen har en omfattende diskografi og har spilt inn alle Bartóks og Prokofjevs klaverkonserter. Som kammermusiker har han vært en fast partner med cellisten Steven Isserlis i over tre tiår.
Født i Helsinki, begynte Mustonen sin musikkutdanning som femåring, og studerte blant andre under lærere som Ralf Gothoni, Eero Heinonen og Einojuhani Rautavaara.
I sesongen 2025-26 har han spilt med Cremerata Baltica på Paliesius Manor i Litauen og har holdt en rekke konserter i hjemlandet Finland i alle sine tre roller – pianist, komponist og dirigent. Han har spilt solorecitals med fokus på Beethovens pianosonater og opptrer denne sesongen også med kammermusikk på Konvergencie-festivalen i Bratislava, Big Little Music Festival i De Bijloke Gent, String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, Stiftfestival i Nederland, i Sydney, på Klavier-Festival Ruhr og på norske FESTIVALTA!
Olli Mustonen is a pianist, composer and conductor. For him, it’s all one thing: he is quite simply a musician. It therefore makes no sense for him to separate these functions – and so he excels in all three disciplines, playing an extraordinary role
in today’s musical world. With boundless energy and a creative and highly reflective approach to music, he is one of the few pianists whose signature style is instantly recognisable. Known for the expressiveness and intensity of his playing and
his crystal-clear, almost percussive touch, his interpretations are characterised by the interplay between explosive outbursts and sensitive restraint.
During an illustrious career, Olli Mustonen has brought his extraordinary musical insight to many of the world’s most
significant orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orkest, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra,
the Orchestre de Paris, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and all the London orchestras. He has strong relationships with
orchestras across Finland, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic and Sinfonia Lahti,
with whom he released an album of Rautavaara and Martinu’s Third Piano Concertos conducted by Dalia Stasevska in
2023. At the beginning of 2023, he took over the position of Principal Guest Conductor with the Lapland Chamber
Orchestra. As a recitalist, Olli Mustonen has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, Diaghilev Festival Perm,
Dresden Festival, Lockenhaus Festival, New York Zankel Hall and Sydney Opera House. With Steven Isserlis, he has
performed as a duo for more than thirty years. 2019 saw the release of their album of Russian works for cello and piano on
the Hyperion label.
Olli Mustonen kicked off the 2025/26 season with Kremerata Baltica at Paliesius Manor in Lithuania and at the Helsinki
Festival. He can be seen in all three roles – pianist, composer and conductor – in numerous concerts in his native Finland.
In his three solo recitals at the Adelaide Festival, he focuses on Beethoven’s piano sonatas; he will also perform chamber
music at the Konvergencie Festival in Bratislava, the Big Little Music Festival at De Bijloke Gent, the String Quartet
Biennale Amsterdam, the Stiftfestival in the Netherlands, the Norwegian FESTIVALTA, in Sydney, the Klavier-Festival Ruhr
and in Denmark with flutist Janne Thomsen.
Recipient of the 2019 Hindemith Prize of the City of Hanau, Olli Mustonen’s life as a composer is at the heart of his piano
playing and conducting. Frequently bringing his own works to the chamber music stage, the world premiere of his work
Taivaanvalot (Heavenly Lights) for Tenor, Cello and Piano was performed at Het Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam by Olli
Mustonen himself, alongside Ian Bostridge and Steven Isserlis. Additional performances took place at London’s Wigmore
Hall and in Hong Kong. His string sextet, commissioned by the Beethovenfest Bonn, was premiered there in 2020. In 2022,
Apotheosis, in memoriam Pablo Casals was premiered at the opening gala of the Casals Forum in Kronberg and the
Sinfonia No. 3 Taivaanvalot with the Turku Philharmonic and tenor soloist Ian Bostridge, the latter was published in 2023
by Ondine together with his 2nd Symphony. The flute concerto Sadunkertoja (Storyteller) was premiered by Janne
Thomsen and the PKF Prague Philharmonia under Olli Mustonen at the Concentus Moraviae Festival in the Czech Republic;
the Finnish premiere will take place with the Jyväskylä Sinfonia in November 2025. His violin concerto was premiered in
Finland by Elina Vähälä and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas Collon on 6 December 2024, Finland’s
Independence Day.
Born in Helsinki, Olli Mustonen began his studies in piano, harpsichord, and composition at the age of five. Initially learning
with Ralf Gothoni, he subsequently studied piano with Eero Heinonen and composition with Einojuhani Rautavaara.