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What relevance does Sibelius – and his big anniversary – hold for the wider Finnish music and culture scene in 2015? Andrew Mellor asked five musicians from outside the classical music tradition.

Following the general European trend, musical meanings that could be interpreted as nationalistic were put to use in Finland during the first half of the 20th century. The propaganda and educational film industries used music by Sibelius, among others.

The International Minifiddlers distance-learning project is testing a new kind of learning environment for studying the violin. At the same time the East Helsinki Music Institute is searching for ways to bring high-quality music education within reach of even more people.

Jean Sibelius was a political person throughout his life, although this should be understood in the right way. He was never a member of any political party, nor did he participate in any such activities. He was politically active in a different way.

"Most of the time, I am far from Sibelius’s – and my own – homeland and on neutral territory, i.e. alone with my scores. But it is there, between the lines, that I am struck by something I cannot explain. I don’t, however, think it is just a national trait, because all over the world I meet people similarly affected by this remarkable music."

A study published by the Foundation for Cultural Policy Research Cupore in 2013 investigated the importance of central government transfers for Finnish orchestras, using as its research material the financial statements and annual reports of orchestras and a survey carried out among orchestra managers.

"Finnish actress Irina Björklund, now based in France, has been translating songs Finns love into French. Some songs on her second such album, La vie est une fête, are from the 1950s, but there are newer classics too."

"Olli Mustonen made his mark as both pianist and composer in his early teens, showing astonishing maturity in both capacities. But recordings have not kept up with his output promptly enough to allow the outside world to form a clear image of his development as composer: it has been 13 years since a CD of his music was last released, and he has written two symphonies in that time."

"The members of the AR Quartet are young. (-) Still, the touch is mature to a degree that makes their self-titled album one of the strongest jazz debuts from Finland in many years."