It has been inspiring to see how, through this year, one small
European nation continues to achieve a cultural impact wholly disproportionate
to its small population of less than 5.5 million, one-tenth of that
of the United Kingdom. Quite apart from Grand Prix Formula successes,
Finland has produced a remarkable flow of talented musicians. Once
only Sibelius was known. Maybe these developments are a kind of
Sibelius long-term harvest of brilliance. The opera singer Karia
Mattila brought the Royal Opera House to a standing ovation, followed
by Soile Isokoski with equal rapture. Here is the leading female
composer Kaija Saariaho, the pianist Raija Kerppo and the clarinet
virtuoso player Kari Kriikku. These stars are simply the outcrop
of what is now a deeply rooted musical culture unlike that of any
other nation. Finland supports 30 orchestras and there are 45 annual
music festivals. There is something too about the Finnish language,
which lends itself to singing tones.
Now Elina Brotherus, best described as a video composer, is creating
symphonies of light at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, now re-opened
as the Wapping project in October. (see Reviews, December).
It is to be hoped that there will be much more exposure of visual
arts talent from Finland in the United Kingdom. Such artists as
Knut Asdam, Annika von Hausswolff and Knut Asdam, of the same generation
as Brotherus, and Alvar Gullichsen need to be more widely experienced.
