Peter Graneis Plays Olli Mustonen’s Sonata Jehkin Iivana

German guitarist Peter Graneis plays the sonata Jehkin Iivana by Finnish pianist, conductor, and composer Olli Mustonen (b.1967). This comes via Open Strings Berlin and their amazingly high quality Youtube Channel. Great playing here ranging from well paced contemplative momentum to virtuosic intensity. From Shott: “Mustonen’s Sonata for Guitar takes the listener to the legendary world of Finnish myths and epics, with courageous heroes guiding the fate of the northern country and wizards roaming the endless woods. The sonata was named after Jahkin Iivana. Iivana (1843-1911) was one of the last great representatives of the traditional runic chant and a master of the Finnish national instrument, the kantele. Mustonen has succeeded in imitating the sound of the Finnish national instrument for the guitar in a fascinating way and created an atmosphere which makes the magic of the mythical worlds almost tangible.” What is that musical quote at 7:27? Córdoba by Isaac Albéniz (from Chants d’Espagne, Op. 232, No. 4). – Thanks LD

Here’s a video of the composer talking about the piece:

Tags
Share
Bradford Werner
Bradford Werner

Bradford Werner is a classical guitarist and music publisher from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He originally created this site for his students at the Victoria Conservatory of Music but now shares content worldwide. Curating guitar content helps students absorb the culture, musical ideas, and technique of the classical guitar. Bradford also has a YouTube channel with over 94,000 subscribers and 13 million views. He taught classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for 16 years and freelanced in Greater Victoria for 20 years and now dedicates much of his time curating content online and helping connect the classical guitar community. See more at his personal website.

2 Comments

Ask a Question or Leave a Positive Comment

  1. Interesting piece and an impressive performance!

    The quote at 7:27 is from the not so Finnish “Córdoba” by Isaac Albéniz (from Chants d’Espagne, Op. 232, No. 4).

Related Posts