Minna Leinonen profile picture c Ville Hautakangas

Leinonen, Minna

*1977

Minna Leinonen is one of the distinctive voices of Finnish contemporary music. Her output ranges from orchestral and chamber music to opera, multimedia installations and collaborative stage works. Rooted in close listening, experimentation and dialogue with performers, her music combines sensitivity to sound and texture with an ability to convey experiences that are both personal and universal.

Leinonen’s works often arise from everyday phenomena, nature and the emotional disorientation of a rapidly changing world. She received the 2024 Teosto Prize for her string quartet …and we are rotating with it (2023), which transforms ecological unease into music for the Kamus Quartet and expands the traditional ensemble with whirly tubes, whistling, singing and speech. Her kinetic opera Alma! was nominated for both the Nordic Council Music Prize and the Teosto Prize in 2022.

Collaboration is central to Leinonen’s practice, bringing music into dialogue with visual art, photography, documentary, video, installation and acrobatics. Her music has been performed by orchestras and ensembles including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, ICE, Uusinta Ensemble, Kamus Quartet and Cuarteto Quiroga.

Leinonen served as artistic director of the Tampere Biennale for the 2024–2026 term and hosts the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra’s chamber-music series Afternoon of the Fauns. She teaches at the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy and Pirkanmaa Music Institute, writes for Rondo magazine, and completed a Doctor of Music degree at the Sibelius Academy in 2025.

Minna Leinonen’s website

Joy, more joy!

(2006)

for soprano and ensemble

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Duration: 7

Kuinkas sitten kävikään?

Kirja Mymmelistä, Muumipeikosta ja Pikku Myystä (2024)

for narrator, visualization and orchestra

Music by Minna Leinonen Based on The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My by Tove Jansson 1(+picc)1(+ca)1(+bcl)1(+cfg)-1011-01-hp-pf(+cel)-str(1.1.1.1.1) Percussion (1 player): 2 Timpani with tuned bowl in G (e.g. Temple bowl or Japanese cup), Snare drum, 2 Tom-toms, Bass drum, Spring drum, Cymbals a2, Suspended cymbal, Sizzle cymbal, Tamtam, Crotales (D1, A1, C2), Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Bell tree, Chime tree, 5 Woodblocks, Claves, Guiro, Maracas, Triangle, Flexatone, Kazoo, Slide Whistle (D1-E1), Rainstick (large), Ratchet, Vibraslap, Thunder sheet, Vacuum cleaner (old-fashioned, noisy), A4-sized paper sheet Some players are also singing short passages. All players also need a variety of (household) equipment to produce different sounds. The performance includes images from the Moomin story, which are projected in background. The music may solely be used as a whole performance with the visual presentation. All performances shall be approved beforehand by Agency North (copyright holder's theatrical agency). (c) Moomin Characters Ltd. Distributed exclusively by Fennica Gehrman

Duration: 45

portrait of composers Jyrki Linjama, Minna Leinonen, Kalevi Aho, Tuomas Turriago and Olli Kortekangas