Christopher Culver
This page is also available in these languages:
A number of prominent figures in contemporary music hail from Helsinki. I was very excited when I knew that I was going to study in the city of composers Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, and pianist Paavali Jumppanen. I expected the city to be something of a new-music paradise, but it didn’t turn out like that at all.
I expected frequent performances of contemporary repertoire, but there have only been a handful of these each season. A January concert with Lindberg’s Cantigas and Parada was exciting, and a performance of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie this month was nice, but there hasn't been much more than that.
The Sibelius Academy is lauded as one of the world’s great music conservatories. I was disappointed, however, by its meagre library. The University of Chicago library had every score I was looking for, while there isn’t much here in Helsinki.
I’ll still try to take advantage of everything that's on offer—I'm especially looking forward to a performance of Saariaho’s opera Adriana Mater next year. But I’m aghast at the discrepancy between how much great contemporary music Finland has exported and how little is available there.