women composers

“If we wish to experience music as a genuinely questioning, searching, challenging and revitalising art form, should it not reflect the diversity of the world around it much better?” Kimmo Korhonen interviewed two proponents of diversity and plurality in music: a researcher, Docent Juha Torvinen PhD from the University of Helsinki; and a musician, violinist Linda Suolahti, artistic director of the Musequal festival.

"There are gems to be discovered in this repertoire, disdained by contemporaries and marginalised by history."

Sofie Lithenius (1847–1926) was a prolific and energetic primary school teacher and composer who played a unique role in the history of Finnish vocal music and music education.

Composer Alexandra Zheleznova-Armfelt (1866–1933) was a member of the Finnish community in St Petersburg and created her career outside Finland itself. A review of her life and work adds to our understanding of the cosmopolitan nature of our musical history and also lends a perspective on cultural life in St Petersburg and in the Baltic Sea region in general around the turn of the 20th century.

Issues of gender balance, diversity and cultural appropriation have become increasingly prominent in many areas recently, and art music is no exception. Lauri Supponen discusses these issues, using certain Nordic contemporary music festivals and projects as case studies.

Kaija Saariaho has been a frequent visitor to the USA in recent years, and her music has been widely performed in various concert series and at festivals there. The premiere of a new production of her first opera, L’amour de loin, at the Metropolitan Opera in December 2016 will be an operatic event such as has not been seen for decades, and it will be broadcast to cinemas around the world. Not only that, but she is also working on a new opera.

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?