Three reasons for the miracle

Around 5.5 million people live in Finland, significantly fewer than in Switzerland. This makes it all the more astonishing how many of these people are causing a furore with their batons: From Esa-Pekka Salonen to Mikko Franck, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna Mälkki, Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu and many more, right up to the latest shooting star Klaus Mäkelä, they stand in front of major orchestras by the dozen. And two of them, Eva Ollikainen and Santtu-Matias Rouvali, will soon be making their debut with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

Where does this "Finnish conducting miracle", as it is sometimes called, come from? The question goes to Paavo Järvi, an Estonian who grew up opposite Finland, so to speak. He suspects three main reasons. The first is Jorma Panula, one of the most famous conducting teachers in the world: "He has brought out so many good people that a certain level of trust has developed, among agencies, orchestra managers and audiences. In the sense of: What comes from Finland must be good." Once there are successful role models, this shapes the next generation: "It creates this feeling - if he and they have made it, then I can do it too."

Paavo Järvi sees the second reason in Finnish cultural policy, which has invested a lot of money in the expansion of music schools and orchestras since the 1950s. Even smaller towns have their own symphony orchestra or at least a chamber orchestra, "so there are many opportunities for young conductors to practise". Thirdly, he mentions the Finnish national character: "People in Finland are very individual, even stubborn in the very best sense, and they work hard. You can use such qualities in conducting."

"A true genius"

The first reason, 94-year-old Jorma Panula, also played a decisive role in the careers of Eva Ollikainen and Santtu-Matias Rouvali.

Eva Ollikainen was 15 years old when she simply phoned him and asked if she could come to his class - and was told to turn up the very next day. Looking back, the now 43-year-old conductor described Panula as a "true genius" in a podcast. He doesn't ask for twenty things at once, but three, but then wants to see progress; "he has a good eye for what a person should think about next". His lessons are correspondingly individualised, "he doesn't have a formula for everyone, but grabs you where you are".

Nevertheless, a few basic principles of Jorma Panula can be crystallised from statements made by various students. For example, during his time at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, he only accepted students with orchestral experience - because you should know what it feels like to be conducted on the podium. At the same time, he encouraged cohesion among them: Anyone who conducts should have friends who do the same, "because only they can understand you". Another often quoted sentence is: "More tension, less movement." Fidgeting around is not an option, jumping around on the podium even less: dancing is a different art form, says Panula.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali jumps anyway. "Jorma Panula hated my style and tried to drive it out of me", the now 39-year-old conductor once said, "but it didn't work". However, he has certainly learnt other things from his teacher: For example, the conviction that you can achieve more with friendliness than with power. Or that the language of the hands should be concise and clear: "You can't show too much, otherwise the musicians won't know what to look at."

On the knees of the timpanist

Santtu-Matias Rouvali's path to the conductor's podium once began in one of Finland's many ensembles - in line with Paavo Järvi's second hypothesis. His parents both played in the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, and when he attended rehearsals as a child, he loved to watch the conductors and percussionists. Once a timpanist took him on his knees and allowed him to try out a stroke, "I can still feel the rebound of the stroke today". So he became a percussionist, observed the conductors during the many breaks and read the scores - and at some point came to the conclusion "that conducting is more exciting than counting breaks".

Eva Ollikainen, on the other hand, played the piano and learnt to play the violin and horn during her studies. Like her colleague Rouvali, she later conducted numerous orchestras not only in Finland, but throughout Scandinavia. Both still have a permanent address in the north: Eva Ollikainen is chief conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, while Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducts the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. At the same time, both have long maintained good contacts with the rest of the music world - including as Principal Conductors of the Orchestra della Toscana (Ollikainen) and the London Philharmonia Orchestra (Rouvali).

Roasting sausages in the forest

And what about the national character that Paavo Järvi sees as the third reason for the "Finnish conducting miracle"? Despite all the caution with which such generalisations should be treated, the following can be said: A conductor who, like Eva Ollikainen, sticks to her childhood dream even though her big sister already dissuaded her "because you're a girl" - she is most definitely "stubborn in the very best sense". If she also speaks Swedish, Finnish, German, English, French and Italian and is also learning Danish and Icelandic, as she says in the podcast mentioned above, you can assume that she works very hard.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali, on the other hand, has even spoken explicitly about national characteristics. Finnish conductors are a bit special, he once said in a video interview, "because they don't turn up in expensive suits, they are more natural". This has to do with the fact that the classical tradition originated in Central Europe, "we were still roasting sausages in the forest when the Viennese already had expensive restaurants and culture".

He himself lives on a farm away from everything, "I need the balance between the hustle and bustle of the music business and the peaceful life at home". Here he can concentrate on learning music - "or on forgetting it".