This is an exemplary solo piano album, full of original twists made possible by a micro-tuning device trade marked by the pianist as The Maqiano. With it he can make a Steinway grand sound like a harp or a classical guitar, whistle up a whole range of microtonal effects and ‘bend’ notes to evoke a distinct Middle eastern flavour. The device has much potential for both composer and improviser, opening up a whole world of sounds that is a significant advance on the “prepared piano”. Thus Ikonen enters a whole new world of solo piano, with, so far, just one occupant. Ikonen does not overdo the effects, contrasting the various sounds he uses with the orthodox sound of the acoustic Steinway to good effect. At first the album fascinates with the sheer novelty of what is unfolding, but it soon becomes clear that this no novelty – it is a total reconception of an instrument that Bartolomeo Cristofori first introduced to the world in 1700. Since then the piano has been the workhorse of the music industry and while the electric piano came along in the 1960s and the piano keyboard has been used as a means to draw on a whole range of electrically generated sounds from the synthesiser to the MIDI interface, the Maqiano opens up a sort of acoustic middle ground through a range of possibilities that are suggested in the 12 compositions that comprise Impressions, Improvisations and Compositions, of which the evocative ‘Maqtu'ah on Maqam Rast’, ‘Rausch’ ‘Koto’ and ‘Trance Oriental’ are miniatures that suggest vast landscapes.