Stories by

"With bands like Nightwish, Children of Bodom and HIM out there, it’s no surprise the image of Finland as a metal country persists. There are many other areas where this demographically tiny country of five million and change punches above its weight, but one of the most interesting genres right now is indie rock."

Dima Slobodeniouk will begin his post as the Principal Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra this autumn. It is a busy time for the conductor who has climbed to the top the long way. His hectic lifestyle is balanced by his passion for aviation.

"It’s quite uncommon for Finnish jazz musicians to play music by someone else. Paakki surprises by serving up a whole vinyl album with compositions by Wayne Shorter. "

Helena Juntunen, one of Finland’s most sought-after opera singers, appears in a variety of roles and concert productions with many ensembles, but her busy freelancer’s schedule will be replaced by maternity leave in October.

Finnish composers got together to form a society immediately after the war, in 1945. The following is a resume of the history of the first half decade of the Society of Finnish Composers, written in 1995 by Erkki Salmenhaara (1941–2002), at the time Associate Professor of Music at the University of Helsinki.

"Instead of lingering on single moods, Wennäkoski favours in her music filigree-like details. Flawless performances throughout."

"Jumppanen’s performances of Beethoven combine analysis, passion, stylistic awareness and a fresh approach. There are hundreds of Beethoven recordings out there, but this is one that was definitely worth releasing."

New children's music has been a popular topic in Finland since the early 2000's. Following the success of Ipanapa and Ella ja Aleksi, even major record labels have taken a newfound interest in children's music.

Magnus Lindberg, 28, is among the most internationally successful of young Finnish composers. This year his orchestral work KRAFT took 1st prize in the Unesco International Rostrum of Composers in Paris. Magnus Lindberg's composing muse combines two farces: on the one hand there is a need far the rational arrangement of things, the theoretician at work, and on the other we have the irrational free imagination of the musician. Fused together they generate some of the most poweiful music heard on these shores far quite a while.