Musica nova Helsinki

"Could emphatic escapism in fact be the best reflection of the current time, where all of us wish that we were living in the past? Perhaps a symbolic farewell to that which is past is the best way to proceed to something new? Accordingly, the concerts at the Time of Music festival in summer 2021 will be memorial plaques of the future," writes artistic director, composer Johan Tallgren in his column.

The theme for the contemporary music festival Musica nova Helsinki this year (2–10 February) is Polytopia, referring to a plurality of locations and performance practices. The programme features world premieres, spatial art, evocative soundscapes and a societal dimension. Events with live audiences cannot be held due to the coronavirus restrictions still in place, but the festival is going ahead with a roster of online performances and radio broadcasts.

Collaborative composing is not common among Finnish composers of art music, and the approach raises several critical questions. Is it even possible to share musical creation and innovation with another person? Does group work inevitably lead to bland or incoherent compromises, or can it produce art of a high quality? Is the incentive for engaging in this that it is trendy or that commissioners want it that way, or do composers have other reasons for co-authoring works? Despite the numerous reservations, some composers have found collaboration to be an enriching aspect of writing music.

Musica nova Helsinki, Finland’s largest contemporary music festival, takes place 1-10 February 2019. Here's FMQ's selection of the concerts and events you should not miss!

Violinist, conductor, composer, arranger and music administrator Jaakko Kuusisto has been seeking to find more time for composing. His opera Jää [Ice], based on the novel by Ulla-Lena Lundberg, will be premiered at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet on 25 January.

We have come a long way from the days when audiences at concerts of contemporary music consisted of a tiny handful of dedicated professionals. This was the inevitable conclusion when looking at the size and structure of audiences at this year’s Musica nova Helsinki festival. There were several concerts where people actually had to be turned away, and the audience base ranged far beyond the diehard contemporary music enthusiasts.

Finland’s largest contemporary music event, Musica nova Helsinki, isn’t the product of one person’s vision, or even one organisation’s. It is an ecosystem that draws and depends upon most of Helsinki’s major musical institutions, which might explain why the German conductor André de Ridder was an astute choice to be the festival’s new artistic director.

The nature of contemporary Finnish music festivals is in transition. Festivals are adapting to the situation where they no longer are the only place to hear the latest in contemporary music. Each festival is now finding its own niche.