Agnes Tschetschulin

"There are gems to be discovered in this repertoire, disdained by contemporaries and marginalised by history."

A pioneer of Finnish violin repertoire and a virtuoso of the school of Joseph Joachim – handsome epithets that apply to composer and violinist Agnes Tschetschulin (1859–1942). She was the first star student of the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy) and went on to create a prominent international career.

The history of Finnish music is unexpectedly rich in women who have written music. Nearly three dozen interesting personalities may be found in the 19th and early 20th centuries alone. The present series of articles discusses the lives and music of these women – an excellent opportunity for the reader to learn more about this largely unexplored group of Finnish classical composers. This first article serves as an introduction and also showcases a concert series given by violinist Mirka Malmi to give voice to this forgotten music.