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Finland’s largest contemporary music event, Musica nova Helsinki, isn’t the product of one person’s vision, or even one organisation’s. It is an ecosystem that draws and depends upon most of Helsinki’s major musical institutions, which might explain why the German conductor André de Ridder was an astute choice to be the festival’s new artistic director.

It is always a remarkable experience to have the opportunity to actually listen to the achievements of a musician from the past instead of relying exclusively on verbal descriptions. Such a moment has now come in the case of Armas Järnefelt (1869–1958), a celebrated Finnish conductor of the early 20th century.

As of January 2017, the FMQ will be posting new items – articles, interviews, columns and reviews – on its website every week.

"Foreigners like me once had the idea that Finland was a difficult country in which to be a composer; so strong was Sibelius’s legacy and so dominant those famous names who succeeded him. But that idea now seems outdated," writes Andrew Mellor in his column on the Day of Finnish Music.

An opera inspired by the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 had to wait more than 50 years to be properly performed at an opera house. On stage in Budapest, this opera seems frighteningly topical, again.

Kaija Saariaho has composed a new opera, Only the Sound Remains, to be premiered in March. One of the significant roles is assigned to the kantele, an instrument never before used by Saariaho in her music. Playing kanteles of various sizes at the premiere will be Eija Kankaanranta, an artist known especially for her performances of contemporary music.

Einar Englund’s Violin Concerto of 1981 is one of the major violin concertos of the past century – and not just from Finland.

Oh yes! One of the best releases this year is the gilt-edged calling card of accordionist-composer Veli Kujala that simultaneously slakes a thirst for something new and strikes a nostalgic chord.

On Alba’s new recording, Henri Sigfridsson makes the most of Palmgren’s brilliant solo parts in The River (Piano Concerto no. 2) and Metamorphoses (no. 3) without reducing them to shallow virtuoso vehicles.