The music of Finnish composer Kai Nieminen does not conform to any “isms”. He remarks: “I feel like I am a painter in music, who having seen or experienced something attempts to give that something a shape in music.” The flute concerto Palomar was written for Patrick Gallois, soloist and conductor on this disc. The clarinet concerto Through Shadows I Can Hear Ancient Voices was inspired by the Italian Antonio Tabucchi’s novel Notturno indiano. In Vicoli in ombra we meander through the misty alleys of Rome, encountering strangers.