Stories by

Third Practice, a new production by the Tero Saarinen Company in collaboration with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, is a hybrid artwork exploring change, remembering and forgetting, all to the tune of the music of Claudio Monteverdi.

The first episode of the FMQ Podcast deals with artist residencies. Ivor Stodolsky and Marita Muukkonen from the Artists at Risk institution tell us about their work with artists who have had to flee their home country due to pressing political situations.

One of the international guests at this year’s Time of Music festival in Viitasaari is the music theatre company La Chamber aux échos. Its mission is to explore subtle connections between the various branches of the arts. Co-founder, director-dramaturge Aleksi Barrière considers collaboration with contemporary composers to be a key element in his work. Recently, one of his principal artistic partners has been his mother, composer Kaija Saariaho.

His music is constantly being performed abroad. In Finland, he is known as a composer of choral music and an active singer. Regular readers of FMQ will recognise him as one of our house translators. Jaakko Mäntyjärvi is something of a musical outlier.

As the Mirjam Helin Competition in Helsinki names its winners, what awaits the next generation of singers who are hoping to repeat the success of their forbears – or simply earn a living? We assess their options and opportunities with the help of two established professionals.

One thing can be said with certainty: Kalle Kalima, born in Helsinki and now based in Berlin, plays the electric guitar. But a quick glance at his discography can lead to confusion, because the sheer volume of Kalima’s output – as a leader or collaborator – is overwhelming. Andreas Müller met Kalima in his home town, Berlin, to find out more.

"The Ondine recording with works for solo cello by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Kaija Saariaho presents powerful and straightforward interpretations by the US cellist Wilhelmina Smith."

"I knew Järnefelt for a fine composer and was looking forward to my encounter with this score, but I was taken aback by the sheer quality of the music."

"Jean Dubé’s virtues here are that he gives the music time to speak and that he reproduces its textures with commendable clarity, to which the recorded sound does full justice."