music competition

Music and sport are, one might imagine, completely separate worlds – but there are surprisingly many similarities between the work of a musician and of an athlete. One of these is the importance of competitions in their careers. Pianist Kirill Kozlovski and steeplechaser Topi Raitanen sat down to talk about the commonalities and differences of music and sports.

Competition is part of the fundamental nature of life, whether we like it or not. Just as animals compete for habitat, food, partners and status in a herd, people vie for study places and jobs, socioeconomic status and in many skill-related sports. Even if it’s not always an actual competition, the mind organises the surrounding world by comparing itself to others. At the same time, however, a significant proportion of the competitions in human life are waged against oneself.

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.