As part of the programme A Season in Dialogue with Pekka Halonen, our chamber music series KAIKU / écho returns this November with its second edition, Halonen X Sibelius. In collaboration with the Kamarikesä Festival, the concert pays tribute to Finland’s musical heritage and to the evocative power of Nordic nature, echoing the exhibition Pekka Halonen: An Ode to Finland at the Petit Palais Museum.

On this occasion, we sat down with two of the artists performing in the concert — soprano Aurora Marthens and violinist Fredrika Mikkola — to talk about their journeys and how their Finnish identity continues to resonate within their international careers.

 

It is wonderful to meet you and have a chance to talk about the upcoming concert. To begin with, could you tell us how you ended up living abroad, and how long you’ve been away from Finland?

Fredrika Mikkola: I’ve done all my schooling here in Paris, so I’ve actually lived here since I was a little girl. Still, we always travelled regularly to Finland to visit my grandparents, and also because I studied violin with Professor Tuomas Haapanen.

Aurora Marthens: So, does that mean one of your parents is French?

F: No, actually my mother is Finnish and my father is Tunisian.

A: I grew up in Finland, but I’m bilingual – speaking Swedish with my mother and Finnish with my father. I was raised in Espoo, just outside Helsinki, but I had a long-time dream of moving to Central Europe to work as an opera singer. That dream came true when I moved to Berlin at the age of 26 in 2018, to continue my studies and pursue my career. Germany has more than 80 opera houses across the country, so I knew there would be great opportunities there.

I studied for my Master’s degree at the Universität der Künste in Berlin for nearly two years, until the Covid-19 pandemic began and I returned to Finland for a while. Soon after, I was very fortunate to be selected for the Vienna State Opera’s young artists’ programme in August 2020. I was in the programme for two years, and then they invited me to stay for another two years as part of the ensemble. So I had a four-year career at the Vienna State Opera, and for the past two years I’ve been working as a freelancer.

Fascinating! How would you say Finnish culture is present in your everyday lives?

F: First of all, I always speak Finnish with my family, so the language keeps that connection alive. I also love to cook, and often make traditional Finnish dishes my grandmother taught me. Lastly, I love to go to the sauna and ice swimming.

What kind of food do you enjoy preparing?

F: Very traditional ones – cabbage rolls, salmon, perch, and macaroni casserole.

Lovely! Flavours and scents really do carry culture into daily life. And Aurora, how about you?

A: In addition to collaborating with Finnish musicians through different projects, here in Vienna there’s a very active Finnish student association that promotes Finnish culture. Being involved in their activities has been a huge support for me. We meet regularly, often at a café called Ihana, which is run by a Finn.

How do you feel your Finnish cultural identity has influenced your musical identity and professional life?

A: I’ve often enjoyed performing Jean Sibelius’s songs, many of which have Swedish lyrics. When presenting them abroad, it’s been nice to explain to audiences that Swedish is Finland’s second official language, and that there’s a significant Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. In the future, I’d love to perform more works by Toivo Kuula, Erkki Melartin, Oskar and Aarre Merikanto, Kaija Saariaho, and Helvi Leiviskä.

That’s very true – Sibelius is so well-known that his music is often the gateway for international audiences to Finnish art music. But of course, it’s wonderful that you’re in a position to spotlight other composers as well.

Fredrika, how do cultural and musical identity intertwine in your work?

F: I try to highlight Finnish music whenever I can, for example in recital programmes. For my chamber music diploma at the Conservatoire de Paris, I performed works by Kaija Saariaho and Einojuhani Rautavaara, and I loved introducing those composers to fellow students who weren’t yet familiar with Finnish music.

I’ve also collaborated with contemporary Finnish composers such as Kimmo Hakola, Jouko Tötterström and Aulis Sallinen. On the other hand, when I perform in Finland, I often choose French repertoire. I’ve played music by contemporary French composers like Gabriel Yared, and I’ve premiered works by Michel Runtz and David Chaillou in Finland.

How does the richness of living between two cultures show up in your lives? What do you see as the advantages and challenges?

F: I don’t really see any challenges – I value having the chance to enjoy two such different countries. In Finland, I particularly cherish the nature, the variety of cities, and the diverse musical and artistic scenes, all of which give me a lot of inspiration.

A: I’ve found it nice that although I live abroad, Vienna isn’t actually that far from Finland. It would be quite different to live on another continent, but within Europe everything still feels quite close.

Living in a new culture and society enriches my life tremendously – not least by exposing me to different musical traditions. I’ve also learned a lot about how German is spoken differently in Germany and Austria, and how the cultures differ. All of this deepens my understanding of Europe as a whole, while also changing how I see Finland. It’s given me a new appreciation for aspects of Finnish culture, and for how certain things function better there.

I love Finland’s beautiful winter landscapes, but in Austria, living in the Alps is breathtaking in its own way. Sometimes the mountains still leave me speechless. I honestly can’t imagine my life anymore without Austria and Vienna. Going abroad gives you the chance to rebuild your identity and take it in a new direction. In that process, you end up reflecting a lot on who you are, the kind of person you want to become, what matters most to you, and what resonates with you in different musical traditions.

Let’s turn to the upcoming KAIKU / écho n°2 concert. What are you most looking forward to, and what caught your interest when you were invited to join the project?

F: It’s a privilege to play with new musicians and get to know them through this concert. The programme is wonderful. I adore Kaija Saariaho’s music, so I’m especially excited to perform Aure with cellist Anssi Karttunen. I’m also eager to hear Sibelius’ melodrama. My godfather, Lasse Pöysti, performed it often, and I’ve listened to a recording of it from the Iitti Music Festival – it’s a very powerful work.

A: I’ve already performed with Ossi Tanner before, but I’m looking forward to meeting the other musicians involved. Tanner and I performed the same Sibelius’ melodrama together a couple of years ago at the Kamarikesä Festival in Helsinki. The vocal part in the melodrama is always intriguing, because it doesn’t take centre stage but rather creates a kind of mysterious effect alongside the narration and the music. I know Sibelius’ songs very well, but I’m especially excited to perform Aulis Sallinen’s songs for the first time, and to sing in both Finnish and Swedish in the same concert.

How do you think this programme will resonate with a Parisian audience?

A: I think it will offer them quite a fresh listening experience. It’s especially interesting how the national romantic atmosphere of Sibelius’ music will sit alongside the very different sonic worlds of Sallinen and Saariaho.

F: I agree. I think Parisian audiences will be particularly intrigued by Saariaho’s work, since the city inspired her music, and because she lived here for so long and is so well-known to local audiences.

Saariaho has certainly played a key role in the musical exchange between Finland and France in recent decades.

Looking ahead, what projects are you most excited about, and what would you say is your biggest dream musically?

F: I’m really looking forward to my concert in Fribourg, Switzerland, and soon I’ll be performing Shostakovich’s string octet at the Philharmonie de Paris. My biggest dream is to perform Sibelius’s Violin Concerto with a symphony orchestra.

A: For me, the highlight of the near future is singing the role of Elisabeth in Wagner’s Tannhäuser at Theater Magdeburg, where I’ll be performing until next January. Furthermore, I hope to gradually take on even bigger roles that demand more stamina. My greatest dream would be to perform a leading role at the Vienna State Opera, because I see it as my alma mater – a place that has been deeply significant for my career development.

Finally, what is your favourite work by Sibelius, and then, a Finnish artist of a different genre?

F: My favourite by Sibelius is the Violin Concerto, which I’ve already started to study with Professor Tuomas Haapanen. I also love Sibelius’ song Var det en dröm, and more broadly, I adore the songs of many Finnish composers such as Oskar Merikanto and Toivo Kuula. From the popular music side, I enjoy Pepe Willberg’s music – and this summer I had the wonderful chance to perform with him.

A: Like Fredrika, I’m also very fond of Var det en dröm. As for popular music, when I was younger, I listened a lot to bands and artists like Tiktak, Antti Tuisku, and Hanna Pakarinen. More recently I’ve been revisiting PMMP’s discography, and I found the recently released documentary about their career truly fascinating.

Thank you both for the interview!

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Interview and text by Elle Palmu