Pasi Pirinen is the Principal Trumpet for both the Helsinki Philharmonic and Avanti! Chamber orchestras, as well as a prize-winning soloist. His tone is bright and clear, and his playing has an easy virtuosity that reminds me of the other great Finnish trumpeter, Jouko Harjanne, though Pirinen’s tone is perhaps a shade lighter. On this new release he plays two concerto standards of the repertoire, plus one he commissioned and premiered.

Kaipainen’s Concerto was written for Pirinen in 2003. Its quiet opening Andante, the first of four movements, has the manner of a jazz nocturne, with nods to Miles Davis along the way. In a way it acts as a giant up beat to the cadenza-led Allegro, which has all the elements otherwise of a first movement. The succeeding Largo quieto returns to something of the manner of the opening before the ‘Neanderthal rock‘n’roll’ of the final Presto lets rip. It is without doubt a major addition to the repertoire.

However adroitly Pirinen plays a new work such as this, the measure of his stature will always depend on how he accomplishes standard repertoire, so the performances of the Haydn and Tomasi concertos are hugely informative. The Haydn (1796) is bright and full of brilliance (certainly on a par with Harjanne’s – nla – to which it is very close in tempi), the Andante’s hymn-like main theme beautifully phrased. The Tomasi Concerto (1948) is more varied stylistically but Pirinen takes its shifting moods effortlessly in his stride. Superbly balanced accompaniments from the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under Hannu Lintu and excellent sound from Alba make this a most attractive disc.