Archives of FMQ - Finnish Music Quarterly

Finland’s jazz underground teams up to go global

Finland’s jazz underground teams up to go global

Finland’s jazz underground teams up to go global

What is happening in a Finnish city that keeps producing jazz labels? We looked into how Tampere’s labels have learned not only to coexist, but to grow together.

Eero Koski

February 6, 2026

The Language Shifter: children’s opera between cultures

The Language Shifter: children’s opera between cultures

The Language Shifter: children’s opera between cultures

In Kielenvaihtaja (“The Language Shifter”), Opera Box invites young audiences to explore questions of language, place and identity.

Sakari Ylivuori

January 23, 2026

Keeping music criticism alive is also part of FMQ’s mission

Keeping music criticism alive is also part of FMQ’s mission

Keeping music criticism alive is also part of FMQ’s mission

Last autumn, there was a great deal of discussion in the Finnish media about criticism, its status and its future. What the various statements seemed to share was the idea that criticism is in a state of change.

Sakari Ylivuori

January 16, 2026

Editorial: Music, culture and community

Editorial: Music, culture and community

Editorial: Music, culture and community

We often assume culture quietly follows society, reflecting whatever changes politics, economics, or technology set in motion. But what if the opposite is true? This special issue explores the intersections between culture and society.

Sakari Ylivuori

December 28, 2025

Welcome to the Melody Bridge!

Welcome to the Melody Bridge!

Welcome to the Melody Bridge!

Music has the capacity to cross borders and build bridges. During the Cold War, the Estonian-Finnish radio programme Helisild – Sävelsilta (Melody Bridge) sought to prove that this idea was not merely a slogan but a practical example of musical diplomacy in action.

Janne Mäkelä

December 12, 2025

Queer folk music for everyone

Queer folk music for everyone

Queer folk music for everyone

Queer folk music is emerging in many parts of Finland. Folk singers Kuisma Asikainen and Paula Raitanen tell us about surprises they’ve discovered in archive materials – and why their queer folk songs have happy endings.

Amanda Kauranne

November 28, 2025

“I’m just a composer” – A discussion about gender and writing music

“I’m just a composer” – A discussion about gender and writing music

“I’m just a composer” – A discussion about gender and writing music

Can you hear the composer’s gender in their music? What does it actually mean to be a woman composer? Philosopher Hélène Cixous identified the concept of écriture feminine referring to the way women write – is there a similar thing in the way women write music?

Sonja Saarikoski

November 20, 2025

On my music and beyond: Journeys in sound

On my music and beyond: Journeys in sound

On my music and beyond: Journeys in sound

Maija Hynninen has long been fascinated by the nature of sound, how it unfolds, transforms and connects to the world around us. This column is part of the series “On my music and beyond”, where composers and other music makers write about their music.

Maija Hynninen

November 14, 2025

Sounding silences, inside and outside – new albums by Raasakka and Supponen

Sounding silences, inside and outside – new albums by Raasakka and Supponen

Sounding silences, inside and outside – new albums by Raasakka and Supponen

With their recent albums, Ville Aslak Raasakka and Lauri Supponen take the listener through everyday sounds and silences full of noises and make them rethink their conception of listening, sound and music.

Auli Särkiö-Pitkänen

November 7, 2025