FMQ 1-2/2015

"For some years jazz fusion (broadly defined) has seen something of a revival in Finland. Drummer and composer Mikko Hassinen’s new band and album Elektro GT evidently belongs in this rising stack."

"...Delivering wave-like walls of shoegaze-inspired guitar bliss and melodies filled with youthful yearning, Dominique is destined to break a vast number of hearts."

"After all the hype around HCE’s 2013 debut, the expectations were high for the follow-up. Luckily, the 11-member Finnish-Beninese collective manages to meet these high expectations..."

The concept of a national musical language made its way to Finland in the 1800s. One of the culminations of this new wave was the premiere performance of Sibelius’s Kullervo. The birth of this epic music historical tale was influenced by a number of endeavours, ideas and occurrences.

The Sibelius Academy, Finland’s only music university, has for the past two years been part of the University of the Arts trio, together with the Theatre Academy and the Academy of Fine Arts. What does the future sound like for the Sibelius Academy?

The latest Finnish examples of using multimedia to add to the way people experience music via use of new media are augmented reality application Arilyn, and SibHack, an event for programmers.

What happened when Jean Sibelius and Larin Paraske met? This is one way to imagine the scene, from the runo singer’s point of view.

What relevance does Sibelius – and his big anniversary – hold for the wider Finnish music and culture scene in 2015? Andrew Mellor asked five musicians from outside the classical music tradition.

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.

The International Minifiddlers distance-learning project is testing a new kind of learning environment for studying the violin. At the same time the East Helsinki Music Institute is searching for ways to bring high-quality music education within reach of even more people.

Jean Sibelius was a political person throughout his life, although this should be understood in the right way. He was never a member of any political party, nor did he participate in any such activities. He was politically active in a different way.

"Most of the time, I am far from Sibelius’s – and my own – homeland and on neutral territory, i.e. alone with my scores. But it is there, between the lines, that I am struck by something I cannot explain. I don’t, however, think it is just a national trait, because all over the world I meet people similarly affected by this remarkable music."

Soprano Soile Isokoski, one of Finland’s internationally most celebrated singers, has returned to her roots and begun a new chapter in her life. As of this year, her calendar features teaching and recitals.