Hello from Finland

[Ainsi la nuit]

Hi all,

this'll be my first post on this forum. I've been fairly active (at least as a reader) on a different classical music forum that many here are probably quite familiar with since I can recognize many nicknames - among which many whose insightful posts I've sorely missed on the other forum. I decided to choose a different nickname here, though. Don't want to create an online presence solely on one name!

Anyway, enough of that. Few words about myself: I'm a enthusiastic lover of music from Helsinki, but I grew up much further up north. I'm also hugely interested in languages and literature - whenever I can muster up enough energy to pick up a book, in this terrible age of instant gratification.

My musical interests are awfully limited to classical music/art music/whatever one wants to call it, but I've grown to accept that. My favourite composers include Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms (my "holy seven"); Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler and R. Strauss; Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich; Sibelius, Dvořák, Debussy, Chopin... This ended up being a list of most of the traditionally famous composers, sorry for that!

But in all honesty: as I grow older (I'm still in my twenties) I feel like my musical tastes are starting to lean much more on modernism (whatever that word means, I really don't know...) and contemporary music. Schoenberg, Webern and Berg are my "holy trinity", I love Messiaen, Ligeti, Carter, Boulez, Lutosławski and Dutilleux (who graces my avatar and whose sublime string quartet I chose to be my nickname) and many other great composer of the late 20th century. Out of contemporary composers I feel especially close to Sofia Gubaidulina, György Kurtág, Unsuk Chin, Kaija Saariaho, Wolfgang Rihm, Helmut Lachenmann and Jörg Widmann - among many others. I love hearing premieres and waiting for new pieces from my favourites.

Sorry for getting all list-y, but it's really hard to talk about composers close to my heart without feeling guilty about not mentioning someone! Anyway, my musical philosophy could be described as follows: listen, learn, listen and listen; keep your ears open, listen to what others say and how they feel about music, never turn down anything just because it's unfamiliar. And first and foremost: music from different eras can co-exist, and that the wonderful tradition we have (hundreds of years of it, in fact!) is in no contradiction with contemporary explorations. Certainly I've felt that some other places on the internet are fairly anti-modern, don't know why...

I hope to read many interesting conversations here, and to participate in them to the best of my abilities. I can't introduce myself in English without making the disclaimer that it isn't my native language and thus should not be judged too harshly, but I think I'm managing quite well - and besides, I'm surely not the only one.

Cheers! (and a humble thank you for anyone who read all of this, it ended up being much longer than I intended)

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Boulez

I think we will get along splendidly! Welcome to the forum.

[Alek Hidell]

Welcome, Ainsi la nuit!

I love your inaugural post. Your sentiments mirror many of my own.

And I must say your English is impeccable. Far better than many native speakers, I can confidently say as an American.

[Mirror Image]

Welcome aboard, Ainsi la nuit! I love your avatar and screen moniker by the way. We have many composers in common and I hope that you'll enjoy your time here.

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome and have fun!

[kishnevi]

Welcome...and you will find that you're not the only Finn here!

[bhodges]

Welcome, Ainsi la nuit, from another Dutilleux fan (along with many other composers you cite).

Enjoy GMG!

--Bruce

[North Star]

Tervetuloa!

Your nickname is one of my favourite compositions from the latter half of the previous century, and most of the composers you list are very important to me too.

[Hollywood]

Howdy Ainsi la nuit. Greetings from a L.A. Lady living in Beethoven and Mozart's Vienna. Welcome to the forum. 

[LKB]

Welcome, from a fan of:

https://youtu.be/q9_2QrDxies 

Traveling to Loppi someday,

LKB

[71 dB]

Tervetuloa foorumille! 

[vandermolen]

Apparently people who live in Finland are the happiest in the world, also the most honest. When ten wallets were deliberately left in various European capitals Finland had the highest rate of those handed to the police 9-10. My Finnish friend was angry though, stating 'Well, what happened to the tenth one?' We had a great visit to Finland in 2013 and my Finnish friends took me to the home of Sibelius 'Ainola' - a wonderful experience, and to the Museum of Gallen-Kalella, one of my favourite painters. As you can tell I like Finland very much (Sibelius, Madetoja, Kokkonen, Melartin, Merikanto etc).

Welcome to the Forum!

[Ainsi la nuit]

Thank you to all of you for your words of welcome!

[Traverso]

 Welcome to the forum  Ainsi la nuit and enjoy your time I am a member for a short time and I like the polite conversations.( so far) 

[Judith]

Hi and welcome to GMG. You're not the only one that just likes classical music. I too love most composers but particularly love Brahms and Schumann.   Well looking forward to your posts