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How many Finnish women composers can you name from the early 20th century? What about the 19th century? Thirty? Three? This article series in FMQ will help you expand your knowledge about historical women composers in Finland.

“My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person.” Flash Flash ‒ Two Holograms and An Intermission, a chamber opera created by composer Juhani Nuorvala and librettist Juha Siltanen, fulfils the requirements set by Andy Warhol for his art, as presented in the above quote. This Finnish opera is an unusual depiction of Warhol’s various existences, a portrait of a famous lonely man surrounded by the masses.

Mirjam Helin faced the sort of injustices that the world is at last trying to banish forever, but the Finnish singer’s sacrifice has proved priceless for the generations that have followed her.

Musica nova Helsinki, Finland’s largest contemporary music festival, takes place 1-10 February 2019. Here's FMQ's selection of the concerts and events you should not miss!

Violinist, conductor, composer, arranger and music administrator Jaakko Kuusisto has been seeking to find more time for composing. His opera Jää [Ice], based on the novel by Ulla-Lena Lundberg, will be premiered at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet on 25 January.

The cultural cold war between the superpowers that began after the Second World War played a major role in shaping the international arts and culture scene as we know it today. This series of articles discusses the impacts of cultural diplomacy, particularly that of the USA, on Finnish music from the days of the Cold War to the present. This third part examines how American avant-garde came to Finland in the 1960s and what impacts it had.

"Improvisations and more dynamic pieces build up into a disc that is heartache-inducing and challenging"

This band is in a class of its own: an ensemble of four harmonicas that creates its own material, drawing on Finnish folk music, Balkan rhythms and tango. Founded in 2003, Sväng put their inimitable stamp on everything they perform, demonstrating that Chopin and Sibelius too had a folk music streak in them!

"​Though they have only been around for three years, the quartet Suistamon Sähkö have grown into quite a phenomenon."