He’s unconventional. But then he is Olli Mustonen. And he begins by conducting the opening phrase of the C minor Concerto with a firm upward curve, only to taper it downwards into a whimper. Momentum is slackened. He doesn’t repeat the tactic with the answering woodwinds and the rest of the orchestral exposition is notable for excellent instrumental balance and cumulative power. Enter Mustonen the soloist and the finicky, détaché runs, followed by an uneven melodic line with a near-inaudible left-hand accompaniment, dissipate the tension.

Mustonen the conductor is less radical than Mustonen the pianist, whose control of the keyboard is, nevertheless, complete. But his desire to accentuate lyrical themes at the expense of their harmony is odd. So is his reluctance to use the legato possible on a pianoforte, while his angular (sometimes very angular) playing suggests a self-conscious attempt to imitate a fortepiano. The slow movement is restless, the finale choppy; but expectations of an unsettled performance of the D major concerto are unfounded. Beethoven’s own transcription – with his marvellous cadenzas – dispels a yearning for the violin original. This is now piano music and Mustonen doesn’t forget the idiom. His style, though similar, is less abrasive too. Very good.

The instrument’s tuning is unconventional, the sound slightly grainy but ambient. Most irritating though is the stale, inartistic trick of editing in at a higher level all the cadenzas recorded separately with the piano occupying a wider stage. Ondine ought to have known better.