Stories by

"Rather than focusing exclusively on musical skills, Finnish music education aims to consider students holistically as human beings, from their very first steps. (-) Music education is not about the subject; it is about the people," writes Petri Aarnio in his column.

Finns never fail to point out that the kantele is Finland’s national instrument. In our national epic, the Kalevala, Väinämöinen the wizard builds the first kantele from the jaw bone of a pike and charms all the people and the animals of the forest. But there are kantele-like instruments elsewhere too, and it is only recently that they have begun to be studied more thoroughly.

The distinguished Meta4 string quartet's second volume of Saariaho's chamber music was released in 2016. At the heart of this album are two larger works: ...de la Terre (1991) for violin and electronics and Terra Memoria (2006) for string quartet.

Pehr Henrik Nordgren’s music often has a ritual, pictorial quality that generates a powerfully disturbing sense of atmosphere, of foreboding, as this album perfectly illustrates.

Marin’s performance points up the intricate voice-leading and ensures that everything is heard, lucid and emotionally vivid. Indeed, emotional flow might be described as the scarlet thread of this entire album.

This double album is the issue of three concerts given in Minnesota in February 2016, and Olli Kortekangas’ Migrations was a commission for that occasion. Migrations must have caused many in its initial audiences to reflect upon their own origins, and it retains its ability to touch the heart in this recording.

Not an easy listening disc by any means, but a magical compilation that grows on you with repeated listening, not least because of the superb performance given by Trio Aristos.

The two clarinet concertos in this album demonstrate Tüür’s ability to suggest huge tectonic forces at work under dancing or drifting textures in higher instrumental registers.

When Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha came on stage in the Horta Hall of Bozar in Brussels, as part of the 11th edition of Balkan Trafik!, they must have realised it was not going to be an easy victory. The folding chairs for the audience had been placed at the far end of a huge empty dance floor, some thirty metres from the stage. To compensate for this they moved into gear right from the very start, and delivered what could be expected from them: energetic and exciting Balkan music with a subtle twist.