NordicMusicDays2017

The huge tide of humanity that almost overwhelmed the 2017 NMD was also its triumph: a characteristic gift from London, European capital of creative curiosity and of the big crowd.

In 1980, the Nordic Music Days were held in Helsinki but with some non-Nordic guests at the party: a deputation of composers from Great Britain. It has taken us Brits nearly four decades to return the favour, but in September 2017 we will do so in some style as the entire four-day festiva is transplanted to London.

How does the latitude of Finland affect creativity among musicians, aesthetically and politically? Andrew Mellor asked some Finns, non-Finns and almost-Finns…

In the heart of folk music is an idea of equality: professionals and amateurs playing the same repertoire, each at their own skill level, as valued members of the community. There is a natural curiosity about different cultures and any form of exclusion is discouraged. However, gender equality is an issue that still seems to need some fine tuning. What is the status of female folk musicians in the Finland of 2016?

In 2016 women are still under-represented in classical concert repertoire, never mind the canon. At contemporary music concerts, however, women appear as composers with increasing frequency. How should we address the issue of a composer’s (female) gender in this day and age? Are we really still talking about this, in Finland?

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.

Pekka Kuusisto is an explorer on whose world map music has no borders. He is equally at home in concert halls and cosy clubs. The joy of music is in interaction. For the rapidly ageing world of classical music, personalities like Kuusisto are oases in a desert.

"These days Esa-Pekka Salonen is a superstar who spends seven months of each year composing and the rest conducting some of the world’s finest orchestras. He has seen the music scene in Finland change fundamentally since the founding of the FMQ."