Stories by

Every year brings round-number anniversaries that invite us to look back and listen anew. In Finland’s musical calendar, 2025 is rich with milestones from national icons to contemporary innovators. This playlist celebrates some of the composers, performers and institutions marking their special years.

Approaching his 90th birthday, Juhani ‘Junnu’ Aaltonen still radiates a disarming freshness that belies his age. Over a career spanning six decades, he has appeared on more than 3,500 recordings, worked with leading names and inspired a new generation of musicians.

Jean Sibelius’s incidental music is attracting growing interest. It was also the theme of the international Sibelius Congress in Hämeenlinna in early September. Erkki Salmenhaara’s article originally appeared in issue 1993/4.

An evening at Helsinki’s Kaapelitehdas (Cable Factory) unfolded as more than a concert. Juhani Nuorvala guided us through a kaleidoscope of sound. Charlie Morrow writes as Corno di Bassettino in the style of George Bernard Shaw’s nom de plume, Corno di Bassetto.

Round-numbered anniversaries of composers and institutions offer an invaluable uplift amid the harsh competition for attention, but organisers and musicians should always be aware of the motivations behind celebrations and what they seek to promote.

What is the difference between a demonstration and an opera performance? The question arose as I sat in Helsinki’s Kansalaistori (Citizens’ Square) watching an opera performance and a demonstration vying to be heard.

Watercolour-like shimmering timbres, sounds resonating in the body and addressing the past. On recent recordings, senses blend as we can see and feel sound in a landscape, as a landscape. Double bass and viola take centre stage.

One of Finland’s leading jazz accordionists – and its only active Braille music teacher – says that blind musicians still face tough challenges despite technological advances. Joose Ojala is blazing a unique path as a composer and accordionist in a world designed for the sighted.

What happens when a crisis term escapes its usual domain and enters the heart of a nation’s cultural conversation? This text traces how huoltovarmuus moved from warehouses and energy grids to theatres and artist studios, reshaping public discourse and raising urgent questions about the future of culture in a security-focused society.