Hakan Hardenberger and Roland Pöntinen have enjoyed a fruitful artistic relationship for over forty years. They have played, toured and recorded together and put a lot of time and energy into repertoire ideas. "For us, creating a new program is an exciting, stimulating and fun process," says Pöntinen. "A process that often reflects our shared interest in jazz, film and other art forms. The idea of juxtaposing works with contrasting characters or those that are centuries apart can often shed new light on the music itself." Here we hear newly composed works, arrangements, favorite pieces by both musicians and standards from the "Great American Songbook". At the heart of the program is "Three Autumns" by Staffan Storm, an atmospheric reflection on elegiac autumn moods linked to the poetry of Anna Akhmatova. Among the contemporary composers are Mark-Anthony Turnage and HK Gruber, who have provided Hardenberger with more works than any other composer. Roland Pöntinen contributes two pieces, one of them a meditative work inspired by the simplicity and mood of Thomas Newman's masterful film music. Legend by George Enescu reflects the impressionistic style of the composer's teachers. The concert is also peppered with shorter pieces, arrangements and reinterpretations of classic American songs and includes the chanting of legendary jazzman Ornette Coleman, a popular encore in Hardenberger / Pöntinen programs - always improvised, always different.