Any pop, rock, rap, or trance music fans out there who think classical music is just for staid over-50s fuddy-duddies clearly have never seen Andres Mustonen in full flow on stage. The 70-year-old Estonian violinist-conductor tends to blow his audiences away with his irrepressible joie de vivre and unbridled passion for music. A combination of Elvis Presley, Beethoven, and romantically-inclined jazz pianist Bill Evans springs to mind when trying to, somehow, put the man into some kind of definable aesthetic category. 

But truth be told Mustonen, a frequent visitor to these shores for some years now, defies any attempt to tie him down – in physical or marketing terms. That pliant ethic comes through not only in the way he conducts and plays music himself, it also informs his curatorial work when, for example, putting together the program for the MustonenFest Tallinn–Tel Aviv festival, the 11th edition of which takes place all around the country February 12-March 21.

It is a typically multifarious affair, taking in early music – Mustonen’s specialist field – through to classical, contemporary classical, works by living Estonian composers, and even the odd dab of jazz. 

Mustonen and jazz

As several seasoned stalwarts of the jazz world have told me over the years – if I ever committed the heinous transgression of talking about different genres of the art form’s timeline, such as bebop or fusion – music is just music. Mustonen embraces that inclusive, non-discriminatory school of thought. “The music in the festival is like my image, like the Mustonen image, with different styles,” he explains. 

“There is folk music, church music, symphonic, chamber music, and other music. It is not only early music or symphonic music.” It is, for him, as much about the individual elevated experiential side as the pure sonic fare the audiences get to hear. 

“It is in my spirit, about what is higher music. I feel like I am flying higher and higher with the music. I play many styles. It is about love.”

That is a sentiment that constantly courses through all of the Estonian’s endeavors, on stage and in his programming work. It also naturally leads his festival lineups in every which direction. The forthcoming offering takes in a slew of Baroque material, as well as Mozart, Prokofiev, Grieg, Bach, celebrated 88-year-old Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and 37-year-old compatriot Pärt Uusberg, and numbers by ragtime jazz songwriter Scott Joplin. And there are plenty of other stylistic seams to be mined betwixt.

In past years, MustonenFest patrons have enjoyed the unparalleled angelic choral outpourings of vocal ensembles from Estonia. This time around, the offshore contingent includes opera singer Elina Nechayeva, who came to broad attention in 2018 as her country’s representative at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. One of her two slots in the MustonenFest agenda sees her perform the soprano role in Verdi’s Requiem, joined by fellow Estonians mezzo singer Monika-Evelyn Liiv and tenor Mati Turi, and Israeli bass Yair Polishook. They will be supported by two local choral ensembles – the Ihud Choir conducted by Ronen Borshevsky and the Emek Hefer Choir and their conductor Shimon Levtov – with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mustonen himself. The multistratified date takes place at the Jerusalem Theater on February 28 (7:30 p.m.).

Eclecticism abounds across the program, wherever you look. The La Tempesta dei Solisti concert, which gets four airings during the course of the festival – in Rehovot, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, and Zichron Yaakov – spans expansive chronological and stylistic ground. The repertoire includes works by Sibelius, versatile 68-year-old Estonian composer Peeter Vähi, Uusberg, Haydn, Spanish Romantic period composer Sarasate, Prokofiev, and Vivaldi. That’s quite a spread, with violinist Anna-Liisa Bezrodny, oboe player Riivo Kallasmaa, and bassoonist Peeter Sarapuu coming over from Estonia for the occasion. Israeli cellist Marina Katz will also be on the stage, with Mustonen directing the instrumental efforts of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.

Mustonen is not one to dwell on the past, at least in musical terms. 

“We play Arvo Pärt to Joplin, salon music, and entertainment music, 18th-century and 19th-century music. We play all styles, but we always play it lively, like modern music,” he says. He is very much in the here and now, embracing the contemporary zeitgeist and fusing it with yesteryear charts. “We don’t do historical interpretations. We play works as if they are being played for the first time.”

That stands to reason. Didn’t Mozart write the popular music of the late 18th century? After all, I suggest, his concerts were where the music scene of the day was at. Mustonen goes along with that mindset. “That was the pop music of the 18th century and 19th century,” he chuckles. “I would say it was high-level entertainment.”

That feeds into everything the Estonian does. From his dynamic stage persona, wide lexicon of facial expressions, and body language on the podium, not to mention his snazzy footwear, the man is a beast of a performer. The ensembles and soloists he works with get that, as do his audiences. He is particularly keen to transmit that life-affirming vibe now. 

“The music must always be entertaining,” he states, “especially now. During the war we are pessimistic, but music gives us light and joy. Reality is sometimes tragic, but art must aim higher.”

Tel Aviv-based classical music lovers will, no doubt, be delighted to note the inclusion of Schubert’s Fifth Concert at the Tel Aviv Museum on February 27 (8 p.m.). 

“This is a special concert,” Mustonen enthuses. In addition to the intriguing, wide-ranging repertoire, there is plenty of sonic firepower lined up. “Schubert’s Fifth is the most popular classical symphony. And this connects with the Friedrich Gulda jazz concerto. We have [cellist] Kirill Mihanovsky from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for that.” Gulda was a celebrated Austrian pianist and composer who plied his craft in the classical and jazz fields, often delivering thought-provoking improvisational readings of classical works by the likes of Mozart. The February 27 gig also features a world premiere of the Symphonic Chronicles Suite by 49-year-old Russian-born Israeli composer Uri Brener, and Vähi’s To The Mother with Nechayeva in the starring vocal spot. Mustonen will, once again, be on the conductor’s dais.

If the aforementioned is not quite sufficient to whet the appetite of broad slabs of the music loving public here, on March 13 (8 p.m.) the Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem hosts the East-West Journey program which presents traditional music from Turkey, Persia, and Armenia and from Western climes. The trio format features Nissim Lugasi on vocals and tar (a long-necked waisted string instrument), Karen Lugasi on percussion, and Mustonen on violin. That date, like many of the other items in this year’s MustonenFest Tallinn–Tel Aviv should provide plenty of interesting stylistic twists and turns.

Mustonen says he is especially keen to offer the Israeli public quality entertainment at this trying time. “I have been part of the Israeli music scene. For 11 years Estonian people have been coming to Israel. Israel is also an important land in Estonia. We support Israel and Israeli culture.”

For tickets and more information: tallinntlv.co.il/eng