From the Archives

"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 toughest yet most rewarding of all forms of musical expression, improvisation, has always thrived in Finland. Who knows, maybe the rigours of the freezing dark winter and the joys of the warm midnight sun form mental images that are easily translated into music. As far as the brave musicians adept in this discipline go, this article seeks to separate the wheat from the chaff. This article was originally published in FMQ 1/2003.

Children’s music boasts a surprisingly extensive history in Finland. In this article, originally published in FMQ in 2011, Anu Ahola provides an overview of the various phases of children’s music in Finland.

From the Archives: Hanoi Rocks, Children Of Bodom, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Negative, Amorphis, The 69 Eyes, Twilightning, Dreamtale... Finnish heavy rock and heavy metal acts have for years enjoyed great success in the Japanese market. But why Finnish music in particular, and why Japan of all places? What sort of figures and what sort of market are we talking about here? This article is originally published in 2004.

This year [1992] Finland becomes 75. Our years of independence are being celebrated with exhibitions, speeches and commemorative gold coins. The country has changed in many ways since 1917, but the period which has so far attracted most attention in the celebrations has been the war. This is not surprising. For the generation of Finns born soon after the country gained her independence, the war has been the most dramatic event of their lives. Now, nearly fifty years after armistice, veterans' organizations are playing a very active role in the independence celebrations. The music of the war years is enjoying a revival, and there are even new songs being written about the veterans and their memories.

On the subject of competitions, opinions are highly divided amongst the music fraternity, competitions are seen as furthering the careers of those who do well in them, but it is not always easy to reconcile art and a system of ranking according to marks or points awarded. The first International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition was organised in 1965. In this article, originally published in 1985, Veikko Helasvuo examines the various phases the competition has gone through from its modest beginnings to its present position as a prominent international event.