anniversary

Anniversaries invite both celebration and self-reflection. While they highlight continuity and achievement, they also prompt us to ask what and who we choose to recognise. In its anniversary year, FMQ celebrates others marking milestones, while also questioning the very nature of commemoration in the music world.

Every year brings round-number anniversaries that invite us to look back and listen anew. In Finland’s musical calendar, 2025 is rich with milestones from national icons to contemporary innovators. This playlist celebrates some of the composers, performers and institutions marking their special years.

Round-numbered anniversaries of composers and institutions offer an invaluable uplift amid the harsh competition for attention, but organisers and musicians should always be aware of the motivations behind celebrations and what they seek to promote.

Forty years have passed since FMQ was launched in 1985 as the Finnish Music Quarterly. In this column, editor-in-chief Lasse Lehtonen reflects on the past decades – and looks ahead to the future.