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On the subject of competitions, opinions are highly divided amongst the music fraternity, competitions are seen as furthering the careers of those who do well in them, but it is not always easy to reconcile art and a system of ranking according to marks or points awarded. The first International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition was organised in 1965. In this article, originally published in 1985, Veikko Helasvuo examines the various phases the competition has gone through from its modest beginnings to its present position as a prominent international event.

It is often claimed that computer music is so technical and 'cold' that it has nothing whatsoever to do with live music-making. Kaija Saariaho is a composer using a computer to create music for musicians and sound tape so that man and machine are mutually supporting yet contrasting elements.

"In a small culture like Finland's, the presence of a sovereign master of his field like Sibelius is bound to have a very deep significance. At least two generations of Finnish composers completed their life's work in his enormous shadow," wrote composer Jouni Kaipainen in his article about Leevi Madetoja, published in FMQ in 1985.

The decision of the Finnish National Opera to produce The Phantom of the Opera turned out to be an opinion-divider. Musicals are a genre popular with the public at large, but many still do not consider them a serious art form.

"In diving into the world of microtones, I tried to make musicality my priority, listening as carefully and acutely as possible, in a natural relationship with other elements of music. A whole new world of harmony unfolded before me!"

"The best thing about the Finnish public grant system is the very existence of it. Even if the amount allocated for the arts in the state budget is minute, it has nevertheless been clear to the political decision makers for a long time that public funds must be invested in supporting the arts."

"The Émilie Suite is a half-hour condensation, to a 2011 commission, of Saariaho’s monologue opera Émilie of 2007–8, reduced to three vocal numbers separated by two orchestral interludes – a dramatic cantata in all but name, alternately formal and beguiling, intimate and angry, almost from gesture to gesture."

Composer, musicology Professor emeritus Mikko Heiniö's article on Jean Sibelius's historical significance was first published in FMQ in 1990.

"Pianist Kari Ikonen fuses fresh elements. On this second outing with bassist Ara Yaralyan and drummer Markku Ounaskari, not only Scandinavian and American sounds are heard. As the title reveals, this record has two distinctive sides: beautiful composed pieces and spontaneous collective takes."