Stories by

The Helsinki Flamenco Bienal festival is the latest blossoming of Finland’s passion for flamenco, which dates back to the 1960s. The Spanish style continues to inspire original cross-genre work by Finnish artists in its three main areas: guitar, vocals and dance.

‍Finland’s rich choral tradition continues to thrive in diverse forms. While choir albums are recorded less frequently than in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Finnish vocal music still garners international recognition – even earning Grammy Awards. This playlist presents recordings released since 2020.

Composer Mikko Sidoroff has been involved with choral music for the Orthodox Church for more than two decades. Can traditional sacred music be updated – and how? In this article, Sidoroff discusses the theological foundation for writing music and describes means by which the tradition can be enriched with new nuances.

"There is something profoundly human about the act of singing together. When voices, each carrying their own texture and timbre, come together, they form something greater than the sum of their parts," writes editor-in-chief Lasse Lehtonen.

Anna-Mari Kähärä is a musical force of nature not afraid to speak her mind. She is a composer, pianist, singer and all-round musician who believes in the power of song.

A mixed choir exploring the borderlands between musical theatre and multi-discipline art and performing almost exclusively the conceptual-art works of its conductor Petra Poutanen boldly blazes a trail of its own beyond the realm of conventional choral aesthetics.

I fire up YouTube and browse through the channels of Finnish choirs. In the past four or five years, I have noticed a new kind of content emerging alongside traditional concert recordings: separately produced, dedicated music videos with visuals that have nothing to do with a concert setting. What are choirs aiming at by producing videos like this?

In this column series, composers working in Finland ask each other questions on just about anything: their work, technique, philosophy or career. In this instalment, Minna Leinonen responds to a question from Mikko Heiniö. Next time, she will present a question to a composer of her choice.

The documentary series Conductors cannot help but enhance the very myth it seeks to dismantle. However, it creates a setting where Finland’s leading conductors appear as real people – an outcome that is not self-evident in the classical music world.