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The output of Ensemble Gamut! and its individual members showcases a trend where historically informed becomes the all-inspired.

This special issue is rich with fascinating examples of the many intersections of early music and early music instruments with other genres and contexts. Our playlist not only offers a convenient cross-section of the music and musicians discussed in the articles but also showcases the versatile contexts in which early music practices and instruments thrive – an aspect explored throughout the issue. Give it a listen!

What can early music have to offer to the culture of music performances at large that the latter does not already have? Quite a lot, as Vancouver-based choir conductor Kari Turunen and versatile soprano Tuuli Lindeberg discover when talking about performing early music, its special nature and its interfaces.

What happens when a composer turns away from the lush, uniform sound of the Romantic orchestra? In this column by composer Olli Virtaperko, the journey from early music instruments to contemporary orchestral challenges reveals a fresh perspective on navigating between different musical ideals.

An Indian-Italian composer studying Norwegian fiddling in Helsinki? It all comes naturally for Krishna Nagaraja, who traces parallels between far-flung genres, from Ars Subtilior and South Indian Konnakol to Irish folk and progressive metal.

Aino Peltomaa and Ilkka Heinonen are musicians who excel in the no-man’s-land between genres, organically shaping their music into something that defies labels. With backgrounds in both early and folk music, they challenge rigid expectations and the usual tendency to categorise. In this interview, they explore the power of collective creativity and embracing the unknown.

One of Finland’s most adventurous accordionists celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at the Helsinki Festival in August. In this article, Pohjonen reflects on his past and shares his current pursuits.

"In Finland, immigrant and Finnish musicians are slowly but surely creating a new musical culture based on shared experiences", wrote professor Erkki Pekkilä in this article in FMQ from 2002. Multiculturalism is a topic that sparks a lot of discussion in 2024. This article offers a glimpse into the perspective of the early 2000s and reflects Finland as it was twenty years ago.

The concerto remains a cornerstone of contemporary music. How do recent recordings reinterpret this classical genre? In this article, Jari Juhani Kallio reviews the latest concerto releases by Finnish composers.