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MusicOrchestras - 14 professional and 18 semi-professional and chamber orchestras; all are city owned, state financed and free Music education - 130 music institutes for primary education of 50,000 children; 11 music conservatories; all are state financed and free. Composers - Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) is Finland's most famous classical composer, composing one violin concerto, 7 symphonies and Finlandia (1899 inspiring tone poem); he is the personification of national identity and National Romanticism, but he wrote nothing after 1926, feeling out of touch with current trends; lived at Ainola, near Jarvenpaa (38 km north of Helsinki). More recent composers include Joones Kokkonen, Erik Bergman, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Paavo Heininen, Jukka Tiensuu, Aulis Sallinen, Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Kalevi Aho and Jouni Kaipainen. See www.finic.fi. Conductor - Esa-Pekka Salonen, the musical director of Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, former musical director of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, are currently Finland’s most famous conductors. Others include Osmä Vanska, Musical Director of Minnesota Symphony, Leif Sagerstam, and Sakari Oramo. Music festivals - annual Savonlinna Opera Festival, Seinojolki Tango Festival, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Helsinki Festival, Tampere Bienale, Turku Music Festival and others. See www.festivals.fi; www.operafestival.fi and www.porijazz.fi. Instrumentalists - Pekka and Jaakko Kuusisto (violinists), Arto Noras, Erkki Rantio, Anssi Karttunen and Martti Rossi (all cellists); Timo Korhanen (guitarist); Ralf Gothoni, Olli Mustonen and Juho Pohjonen (pianists). Singers - Karita Mattila is the most famous active soprano, appearing annually at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and throughout the world. Others iinclude Matti Salminen, Jaakko Ryhanen and Pentti Hietanen (basses); Jorma Hynninen, Tom Krause and Walter Gronroos (baritones); Reter Lindroos (tenor);Soile dsokoski, Ritva Auvinen, Anita Valkki, Monica Groop, Lilli Paasikivi, and Tarn Valjakka (sopranos). Rock/Pop- HIM, Darude, Bomfunk MCs Folk group - Värttinä: see www.vartinna.fi Operas - Juha by Aarre Merikanto (1964) is probably the most important Finnish opera to date; since 1980s there has been a boom in opera compositions by composers such as Joonas Kokkonen, Aulis Salline, Olli Kortekangas, and Einojuhanie Rautavaara (whose opera House of the Sun premeried in the U.S. in English in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2004). In 2000 alone, 14 new Finnish operas made their world premiers. National instrument - kantele (originally 5-string zyther, now up to 39 strings); over 2000 years old. For further information, see www.musicfinland.com and www.finic.fi. |
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