THE RESONANCE ATLAS
Otto Virtanen
Biography
Otto Virtanen is a Finnish bassoonist and composer who has served as principal bassoon of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2004. Previously he played with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and was principal bassoon of the Tampere Philharmonic. He studied at the Sibelius Academy with László Hara and Jussi Särkkä, later pursuing further studies with Asger Svendsen in Copenhagen and Pascal Gallois in Paris.
Alongside his orchestral career, Virtanen has been active as a soloist and chamber musician, championing contemporary repertoire and giving premieres including Jouni Kaipainen's Bassoon Concerto. He has also studied composition with Tapio Nevanlinna and orchestration with Leonid Bashmakov. His catalogue includes chamber and piano music as well as the song cycle Five Songs of Soundness, performed at the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra's MIND Chamber Music Festival in 2022.
Why this music interests us
Virtanen's writing reflects a bassoonist-composer's detailed knowledge of low reeds and their chamber possibilities. Mouvements dansants de Saint Stéphane (2007), for wind quintet and bass clarinet, is a substantial thirteen-minute sextet. Five Songs of Soundness (2020) combines soprano with flute, bassoon, viola and harp, while Sudoku toccata, Barcarole and Une brise d'Éole offer short bassoon-and-piano pieces. Controversi (2004), for four contrabassoons, shows the catalogue's more unusual side.
Selected works & listening
Mouvements dansants de Saint Stéphane (2007; wind quintet and bass clarinet); Five Songs of Soundness (2020; soprano, flute, bassoon, viola, harp); Sudoku toccata (2021; bassoon, piano); Barcarole (2023; bassoon, piano); Une brise d’Éole (2023; bassoon, piano); Controversi (2004; four contrabassoons)
Further information