The land of Miracles (2009-07-02)
Author: Kati Ala-Ilomäki, Editor-in-Chief
I woke up in New York staring at the two pigeon tails pressed against my hotel window. I got dressed and ran a block through the freezing rain to have breakfast at a local diner. In my diary, today’s section had two words written in it: “Write Editorial”. As I munched away at my egg-white and spinach omelette, I wondered what on earth I could write about.
The New York Times duly came to my assistance. Beneath the headline ‘Is That Your Job Description, Maestro?’ was the following text: “…On Saturday, besides the remarkable performance of the Sibelius Fifth, the soprano Karita Mattila gave a mesmerizing performance of Luonnotar, a wondrously strange Sibelius tone poem for voice and orchestra. Singing in her native Finnish, Ms. Mattila was vocally blazing and intensely expressive in this haunting 20-minute work, which tells a creation myth of a godly maiden who descends to the primordial ocean, where she swims for centuries longing to conceive.”
For those for whom the names Karita Mattila and Sibelius don’t ring a bell: the former is a soprano with engagements around the world and is perhaps the most internationally acclaimed Finnish opera singer of the day. The latter is a Finnish composer who lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and arguably one of the most significant figures in the history of classical music.
The subject was perfect for the summer edition of Welcome to Finland for two reasons: firstly, this edition looks at the phenomenon of classical music in Finland (see our interview with violinist Elina Vähälä, page 78; the article about the Sibelius Academy, page 82; plus lots of information on the Jyväskylä music scene in our Jyväskylä supplement). In addition, Anu Partanen’s column explores Finns’ relationship with success through the television series Grey’s Anatomy and Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. More on how this links to classical music later on.
Named after the aforementioned composer, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki has in recent decades produced a string of world-famous musicians, notably conductors. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Philharmonic Orchestra in London; Mikko Franck left his position as director of the National Orchestra of Belgium to come back to Finland and take up the position of artistic director at the Finnish National Opera; Pietari Inkinen conducts the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; Osmo Vänskä conducts the Minnesota Orchestra in the United States.
The list goes on…
The Finnish classical-music phenomenon is comparable to the achievements of Finnish Formula One drivers and of mobile-phone manufacturer Nokia in raising Finland’s international profile.
Featured on the cover of this edition, 34-year-old violinist Elina Vähälä is another musician to have graduated from the prestigious Sibelius Academy. She lives the kind of international, jet-setting lifestyle that is the envy of many: she travels around the globe, is highly acclaimed in her field and gets to meet interesting people. If Elina Vähälä were a rally driver or a beauty queen, everyone would know who she is. But for some strange reason, Finnish classical musicians have been almost abandoned by the Finnish people. Most Finns know nothing about them and are not particularly interested in learning.
This is a shame. The Finnish classical music phenomenon is comparable to the achievements of Finnish Formula One drivers and of mobile-phone manufacturer Nokia in raising Finland’s international profile. This is why Finns should be proud of their classical musicians instead of simply shrugging their shoulders or turning their noses up at them. Part of the problem is in Finns’ attitude to success. As Anu Partanen explains in her column ‘The Secret of Success’, being sceptical of success is something deeply ingrained in the Finnish psyche. Somewhere deep in our culture is a belief in the inherent inequality of success. The situation with classical music is particularly problematic as it is already considered an elitist area of specialist interest, something that only serves to increase people’s scepticism regarding everything to do with classical music, especially government funding for the field. Such scepticism is, however, utterly futile. Classical music represents the international language of music with which, regardless of income or language barriers, all people can feel closer to their own emotions and experience something new and valuable.
The Finnish classical-music phenomenon is comparable to the achievements of Finnish Formula One drivers and of mobile-phone manufacturer Nokia in raising Finland’s international profile.
Featured on the cover of this edition, 34-year-old violinist Elina Vähälä is another musician to have graduated from the prestigious Sibelius Academy. She lives the kind of international, jet-setting lifestyle that is the envy of many: she travels around the globe, is highly acclaimed in her field and gets to meet interesting people. If Elina Vähälä were a rally driver or a beauty queen, everyone would know who she is. But for some strange reason, Finnish classical musicians have been almost abandoned by the Finnish people. Most Finns know nothing about them and are not particularly interested in learning.
This is a shame. The Finnish classical music phenomenon is comparable to the achievements of Finnish Formula One drivers and of mobile-phone manufacturer Nokia in raising Finland’s international profile. This is why Finns should be proud of their classical musicians instead of simply shrugging their shoulders or turning their noses up at them. Part of the problem is in Finns’ attitude to success. As Anu Partanen explains in her column ‘The Secret of Success’, being sceptical of success is something deeply ingrained in the Finnish psyche. Somewhere deep in our culture is a belief in the inherent inequality of success. The situation with classical music is particularly problematic as it is already considered an elitist area of specialist interest, something that only serves to increase people’s scepticism regarding everything to do with classical music, especially government funding for the field. Such scepticism is, however, utterly futile. Classical music represents the international language of music with which, regardless of income or language barriers, all people can feel closer to their own emotions and experience something new and valuable.
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