War and violence: the dark side of music

This year marks the centenary of the Finnish Civil War. My Brother’s Keeper, a new opera by Olli Kortekangas, focuses on the tragic wartime events in Tampere.

The wars fought in the early decades of Finland’s independence cast a long, dark shadow far into the second half of the 20th century. The voice of war in works by Finnish composers speaks of victory, defeat, grief and reconciliation.

What is the societal function of music – and art in general – in addressing violence? Should art depict violence, and if so, how?

FMQ put together a playlist of opera scenes in which or as a consequence of which a woman dies.

The cultural cold war between the superpowers that began after the Second World War played a major role in shaping the international arts and culture scene as we know it today. This series of articles discusses the impacts of cultural diplomacy, particularly that of the USA, on Finnish music from the days of the Cold War to the present. The first part focuses on the years immediately after the war. Finnish music came back to life immediately after hostilities ceased, and a new international era dawned.

War, prison camps, famine and death are rather less than cheerful topics to feature at a music festival. Sibafest 2018, organised by the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, managed to find optimism within its chosen theme of #civilpeace – a message of peace, future, reconciliation and coexistence.

Finnish war films feature exquisite music. To help you get the most out of the music, here is a listener's guide to the cream of the crop — although that includes one film with no score at all.

Following the general European trend, musical meanings that could be interpreted as nationalistic were put to use in Finland during the first half of the 20th century. The propaganda and educational film industries used music by Sibelius, among others.

Music, too, can be used for malevolent purposes, as Arttu Tolonen reflects in his column.