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After Sibelius: Studies in Finnish Music.

Article Excerpt
After Sibelius: Studies in Finnish Music. By Tim Howell. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006. [xii, 308 p. ISBN-10: 0754651770; ISBN-13: 9780754651772. $99.95.] Bibliography, index, illustrations, music examples.

Back in the mid-1980s when I lived in Finland, I met an American expatriate who told me that he had come to live in Helsinki largely because of its vibrant musical culture. Finland is a small country in the remotest corner of Europe, but it has had a disproportionately large impact in music. Finnish conductors occupy many of the major orchestral posts throughout the world. Like the other Nordic countries, Finland has been at the forefront in the production of contemporary music. The Society of Finnish Composers recognizes some 143 active composers of art music in Finland today. In spite of this, the average person would be hard pressed to name any Finnish composer beside Sibelius. The purpose of the present book is "to introduce a variety of music that might otherwise be unfamiliar, with a view to encourage wider appreciation of its value and importance" (p. ix).

Tim Howell, senior lecturer in music at the University of York in England, looks at the recent generation of Finnish composers, those who came of age either during or just after the era of Sibelius. His book begins with an expose on Sibelius's impact on contemporary Finnish music. He then writes one chapter each for eight Finnish composers in chronological order by date of birth, and ends with a chapter showing how...