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"This gets very close to a masterpiece. Previously a New Yorker, now based in Finland, Nicole Willis with Helsinki band The Soul Investigators ooze respect for American soul. Don’t get me wrong: this is no mere pastiche or a case fetishising the past. Tortured Soul continues to take the tradition forward."

"Saariaho’s compelling textures – at times gossamer and at others raw and heavy – feel almost predestined to couple with Weil’s thoughts. The first-class performance does justice to this masterpiece. It is a passion for our time that still is 'the kingdom of deceit where the innocent tremble'."

Understanding the music of Kaija Saariaho, rock-club audience profiles, and a government minister’s alleged contempt for high culture. The ‘arts elite’ is once again a topic for debate, but the coordinates have shifted, just as in the world outside the arts.

"But it is the orchestral song Ekho (1922) which takes the biscuit here: it’s a masterpiece, pure and simple, sounding something like Sibelius’ Luonnotar transported into some phantasmagorical corner of the imagination. Merikanto’s control of colour is masterly, and the protomodernist angularity does not preclude genuine feeling – underlined by Anu Komsi’s thrilling account of the solo line.

Finland’s national public service broadcasting company YLE has gone through some major changes lately. The new tax might be argued about, but at the same time the company receives kudos for promoting Finnish music abroad.

The 1930s was a time of nationalism, politics and ideology in Finnish music. Yet the period was one of such pluralism that no unified and unifying zeitgeist can be identified; instead, the parallel existence of various ideological and aesthetic trends caused even individuals to contradict themselves.

"Never before has Leiviskä’s music been published as a complete CD. This is hardly surprising. She had to work in a world that at the time was (and still is) dominated by men..."

"Fantasiatango 2 is like a never-ending road movie, where the surrounding sceneries change quickly and everything is characterised by enthusiasm and a free atmosphere."

"Rubidium is a collaboration between the Tampere-based Black Motor trio and trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, and could be described as Finnish music in the classic sense. The rough soundscape on this album merges with soft melodies creating jazz that is at once barren and tender – just like the northern nature and mindscape."