Musica nova Helsinki celebrated the diverse field of contemporary music

The largest contemporary music biennial in Finland, Musica nova Helsinki was once again celebrated between 5–15 February. The eleven festival days included nearly 40 concerts and other events, attracting around 7,000 visitors. Some of the concerts were also broadcast to home audiences via Yle channels. The next festival will be held in early 2027 under the direction of Tuuli Lindeberg.

Organised every other year, Musica nova Helsinki once again featured dozens of contemporary music concerts and premieres as well as a wide range of multidisciplinary programmes, discussions and lectures. The overarching theme of this year’s festival was Together, reflecting everything that can form between individuals.

“This year’s festival has made me truly feel like a part of a bigger entity and community. I have enjoyed impressive music, the magic of live performance, thought-provoking discussions and ample audiences. I believe that these diverse experiences and encounters in and around new music and art will resonate within me and us for a long time after the festival, soon giving rise to something new again”, says Tuuli Lindeberg, Artistic Director of Musica nova.

As usual, Musica nova Helsinki widely showcased the diverse voice of the Finnish field of freelance artists and invited international composers and performers to Helsinki. The festival highlights included, for example, visits by leading contemporary music groups Ensemble Recherche and Ensemble Musikfabrik, concerts that showed off the versatility of Musiikkitalo’s new Rieger organ as well as the ShadowNova project that provided a stage for the next generation of composers and the educational work of the capital region’s music institutions. In addition to ShadowNova, the festival featured a number of other free, open events.

Part of the festival was once again able to be experienced at home as well. Yle channels broadcast a number of Musica nova concerts, the radio recordings of which can still be listened to, with others becoming available later in February. In addition, the panel discussion on inclusion in contemporary music, for example, was streamed online live.

The next Musica nova Helsinki will be held in early 2027. Tuuli Lindeberg will continue as the festival’s Artistic Director, and the programme will be announced during autumn 2026.

The main organisers of Musica nova Helsinki are Helsinki Festival, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Yle (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra) and the Society of Finnish Composers.