How does a sparsely populated country such as Finland bring forth such a great number of exceptional musical talents? Olli Mustonen proposes two clear explanations. On the one hand, the Finnish language features incisive rhythms and clearly colored vowels, and is thus closely associated with music. The other explanation can be found in Finland’s fascinating mythology, a world in which that country’s inhabitants have felt at home for many generations, and in which they can sense the origin of culture in nature. “That connection is an elementary condition for liveliness in music,” Mustonen remarks. A true multitalent, he also composes and conducts. Everything he undertakes is surprising, full of passion and imagination. Mustonen’s renditions are unconventional, refined, and particularly perceptive. As a visionary artist involved in a quest, he is willing to take risks. For his 13th concert at the Ruhr Piano Festival, Mustonen will pair the multiple emotional levels of expression in Bach’s Three-Part Inventions with Beethoven’s monumental last sonata No. 32, op. 111 in C Minor.