On the occasion of the Finnish presidency of the European Union (July to December 2006), The Finnish Embassy in Brussels hosts a number of cultural events.
In this context, and in association with the Finnish Embassy, both the French-speaking Conservatoire Royal de Musique and the Flemish-speaking Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel hold an exhibition on Finland’s musical significance in Belgium. The exhibition displays interesting documents and items to show that since the late nineteenth century, the musical presence of Finland in Belgium has become increasingly apparent. It begins with no other than Jean Sibelius visiting Brussels with Robert Kajanus and the Helsinki Orchestra, and it leads up to Finnish laureates in recent editions of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Finnish new music being premiered on Belgian festivals and Mikko Franck conducting Belgium’s National Orchestra.

In addition to the exhibition, which consists of a digital version and a physical version, there are master classes given by Igor Oistrakh on the Sibelius violin concerto, by Kaija Saariaho on performing her compositions and by Florent Van de Vondel on Performing Finnish Chamber Music, as well as lectures by Tuire Ranta-Meyer on Finnish composer Erkki Melartin. To not limit the events to strictly musical topics, four Finnish visual artists resident in Brussels have been commissioned to create something to add to the exhibition.

The digital exhibition is available on this website from October 5th. Please click here to visit the online exhibition.

The physical exhibition is now open in the exhibition hall (A 0.28) of the Conservatory of Brussels.

Dates: October 5 – December 7
Times: Wednesdays 11:00-14:00, Sundays 10:00-13:00
During the week: only on concert days from 19:15
Thursday 9 November 11:00-14:00
Or by appointment
Closed on November 1, 11 and 15