Janos Gereben:

>Finland ...has -- by far -- the greatest per-capita concentration of
>symphonic music: 30 professional orchestras in a nation of 5 million.  A
>major share of their standard repertory is contemporary music written by
>Twenty-somethings...

Further, I think Finland should be commended for vigorously suppporting
its music through the 'Meet the Composer' series.  An excellent service for
many composers -- and for you and me, who can get familiar with Kokkonen,
Englund, Merikanto and others, some living and a few also young.  The
benefit is ours, CM lovers.

Their Embassy in Canada even took the simple but effective trouble to
donate a Finnish Opera Highlights to my local library, no doubt under some
deal with the Finlandia label.

To my knowledge, only the Danes' support (by partial subsidies, I expect)
through the dacapo label's releases of many of their composers may perhaps
match the effort of the Finns.

If only Canada and Australia, to name just two countries, helped fund
such inspired CM series, we'd all have more exposure to excellent composers
like Jacques Hetu, Talivadis Kenins, Malcolm Williamson and others who,
IMO, remain woefully underrecorded in their time.  The loss is ours,
Listmembers.

Bert Bailey