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Susanna Välimäki

University of Helsinki, Department of History, Philosophy, Culture and Art Studies, Faculty Member

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Professor of Art Research, Head of Musicology, University of Helsinki, Finland
Docent (Habilitation) in Musicology
Address: Department of Philosophy, History and Art Studies
PO Box 59
00014 University of Helsinki
Finland

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Books by Susanna Välimäki

Subject Strategies in Music: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Musical Signification

This book develops psychoanalytic music criticism in the field of postmodern music analysis. It o... more This book develops psychoanalytic music criticism in the field of postmodern music analysis. It offers psychoanalytic listenings of various musics; from a Romantic symphony to alternative country music, from piano miniatures to TV-opera. The musical rhetoric of melancholy, uncanny, acoustic mirroring, alienation and other subjectivity mechanisms are tracked in the music of Chopin (Nocturne C minor Op. 48), k.d. lang (Constant Craving, Save me), Nordgren (Alex), Schubert (Der Lindenbaum), Sibelius (Kyllikki), and Tchaikovsky (Symphony No. 6, Pathétique). The book also outlines the history and current state of psychoanalytic music analysis and theorizes music as a site of subjectivity.

Miten sota soi? Sotaelokuva, ääni ja musiikki [How Does War Sound? War Films, Sound and Music]

In this book, I discuss the sound design and music in such WWII combat films as The Unknown Soldi... more In this book, I discuss the sound design and music in such WWII combat films as The Unknown Soldier (1955 and 1985), The Iron Cross (1976), Das Boot (1980), Come and See (1985) and The Thin Red Line (1998). Special attention is given to the critical, anti-war messages that music and sound construct in the films.

ABSTRACT IN FINNISH

Elokuvat ovat soivia teoksia! Musiikki ja äänisuunnittelu luovat elokuvassa merkityksiä siinä missä kuva ja vuorosanatkin. Myös sota soi: sodalla on oma äänimaisemansa aina taistelun melusta rintamaradioihin.

Miten sota soi? avaa kuulokulmia sotaelokuvaan ja elokuvaan yleensä. Kirjassa tarkastellaan, miten sotaelokuvan musiikki ja äänisuunnittelu soittavat sodalle, väkivallalle ja kuolemalle erilaisia merkityksiä. Tutkimus keskittyy kriittisiä viestejä rakentaviin toisen maailmansodan taisteluelokuviin aina Tuntemattomasta sotilaasta Veteen piirrettyyn viivaan. Toinen maailmansota on elokuvien perussota, jonka avulla neuvotellaan myös tämän päivän maailmasta ja nykysotien oikeutuksesta.

Miten sota soi? haastaa kuuntelemaan elokuvia uusin korvin ja siten myös näkemään enemmän. Samalla kirja valaisee musiikin ja äänen toimintaa elokuvassa ja nykykulttuurissa yleensä.

Susanna Välimäki (FT) on Helsingin yliopistossa toimiva musiikintutkija, joka on keskittynyt länsimaiseen taide-, populaari- ja elokuvamusiikkiin, äänellisen kulttuurin tutkimukseen sekä tieteen yleistajuistamiseen. Välimäki tunnetaan myös Yleisradion konserttimusiikkia esittelevästä Kausikortti-televisio-ohjelmasta.

Sävelten tyttäret: Säveltävät naiset Suomessa 1800-luvulta 1900-luvulle [Daughters of music: Finnish Women composers from the 19th Century to the 20th Century]

The book presents the biographies and work lists of 126 Finnish women composers born between 1784... more The book presents the biographies and work lists of 126 Finnish women composers born between 1784 and 1909. Based on large-scale archival research, it is the first comprehensive historical account of Finnish women composers and their cultural heritage. The authors draw on feminist music history and the sociohistorical approach to find out who these women were, what kind of music they wrote, and how their careers reflected European cultural and social history. The treatise highlights the influence of girls’ schools, women’s suffrage movements and other socio-political developments on the musical culture of women. Concepts such as “composer”, “woman” and “Finnish” were assumed to be open and inclusive throughout the research, in terms of both musical style and diversity in cultural background. In concentrating on music-making by women, the book opens up radically new vistas on Finland’s music and cultural history, and it rectifies previous erroneous conceptions about women’s composership and their artistic work. In short, it exposes the richness in the sonic and intellectual heritage of Finnish women composers, as well as its significance in society today.

Naiset ovat aina luoneet musiikkia. Säveltävät naiset ovat kuitenkin jääneet piiloon sukupuolensa takia. Miltä Suomen musiikin historia näyttää naisten näkökulmasta?

Sävelten tyttäret esittelee 126 historiallista suomalaista säveltäjänaista. Nämä unohduksiin jääneet naiset olivat aikanaan tunnettuja tai muuten kiinnostavia musiikin tekijöitä, ja moni kuului kulttuuri- ja vaikuttajasukuihin Edelfeltistä Nervanderiin. Suurinta osaa heistä ei silti ole koskaan aiemmin huomioitu musiikin historiankirjoituksessa.

Laajaan arkistotutkimukseen perustuva teos avaa ennennäkemättömän kuvan säveltämisen ja naisten soivaan historiaan. Samalla se korjaa naisten säveltämistä koskevia virheellisiä käsityksiä ja nostaa esiin suomalaisten säveltäjänaisten perinnön.

Muutoksen musiikki: Pervoja ja ekologisia utopioita audiovisuaalisessa kulttuurissa [Music of Transformation: Queer and Ecological Utopias in Audiovisual Culture]

The book discusses ecological and queer themes in contemporary audiovisual culture, especially in... more The book discusses ecological and queer themes in contemporary audiovisual culture, especially in American ”mainstream independent” films, by concentrating on sound and music. Close listenings are offered on the following audiovisual works: Angels in America (HBO, 2003), Transamerica (2005), The Hours (2002), The New World (2005), The Tree of Life (2011), and The Unknown Soldier (a theater piece, directed by Kristian Smeds, 2007).

ABSTRACT IN FINNISH

Tiede ja taide ovat tapoja tutkia todellisuutta. Molemmat etsivät vastauksia siihen, mitä olemassaolo on ja miten elämää tulisi elää. Tiede perustuu käsitteelliseen järkeilyyn, taide nojaa kokemuksellisuuteen.

Muutoksen musiikki lähestyy musiikkia, elokuvaa ja teatteria filosofisina hankkeina, jotka sysäävät ajattelumme liikkeelle ja saavat meidät hahmottamaan maailmaa uudella tavalla. Tarkastelun kohteina ovat ihmisen luontosuhdetta sekä sukupuolista ja seksuaalista toiseutta käsittelevät 2000-luvun audiovisuaaliset teokset: elokuvat Elämän puu, Transamerica, Tunnit ja Uusi maailma, televisiosarja Angels in America sekä Kansallisteatterin teatteriesitys Tuntematon sotilas. Kirjassa opetellaan kuuntelemaan kulttuuria tarkasti ja toiveikkaasti mielensisäiseen ja yhteiskunnalliseen muutokseen virittyen.

Syötävät sävelet: Vieraana säveltäjien pöydissä [Tasty tones: At the table with composers – A culinary history of classical music]

Melodies popped into Schubert's mind when he cranked the coffee grinder. Paganini left behind a r... more Melodies popped into Schubert's mind when he cranked the coffee grinder. Paganini left behind a ravioli recipe. Alma Mahler never left home without a bottle of Bénédictine liqueur, and Bach received part of his salary as beer.

Many composers have been gourmets, master chefs and talented eaters. Taste and sound are both holistic sensory experiences, so it is no wonder that many composers have been interested in cooking.

This book opens doors to the kitchens, kitchenettes and favourite restaurants of historical composers. The book offers both a fascinating cultural history and recipes that allow the reader to dive into the tasty realms of the composers and their times. The beautiful, photo-illustrated work is also a delight to the eye.

ABSTRACT IN FINNISH

Schubertin mieleen pulppusi sävelmiä hänen veivatessaan kahvimyllyä. Paganini jätti musiikin ohella jälkeensä raviolireseptin. Verdi puolestaan lähetti nuottien mukana kustantajille kinkkuja ja keitto-ohjeita, ja Bach sai osan palkastaan oluena.

Monet säveltäjät ovat olleet herkkusuita, mestarikokkeja ja lahjakkaita syömäreitä. Maku ja sointi ovat samankaltaisia kokonaisvaltaisia aistielämyksiä, joten ei ihme, että moni säveltäjä on musiikin ohella ollut kiinnostunut keittotaiteesta.

Syötävät sävelet avaa ovia kaikkien tuntemien klassisen taidemusiikin säveltäjien keittiöihin, keittokomeroihin ja kantakuppiloihin. Teos tarjoilee niin kiehtovaa kulttuurihistoriaa kuin ruokaohjeita, joiden myötä voi sukeltaa itse menneiden aikojen makumaailmoihin. Kaunis, valokuvakuvitettu teos on ilo myös silmälle.

FT Susanna Välimäki on musiikintutkija, tietokirjailija ja kriitikko. Hän on Turun yliopiston musiikkitieteen yliopistonlehtori ja Helsingin yliopiston musiikkitieteen dosentti.

Edited books by Susanna Välimäki

Music, Research, and Activism: Prospects and Projects from Northern Europe

by Susanna Välimäki and Kaj Ahlsved

This book introduces the concept of activist music research, emphasising action and social respon... more This book introduces the concept of activist music research, emphasising action and social responsibility and suggests that music research can be used to promote social and ecological justice. This is discussed in a series of position papers by music researchers who engage in public debate in their various roles - educator, critic, journalist, DJ, producer, promoter - and work with other actors in civil society and culture.

The book suggests that we are experiencing an activist turn in music research, evidenced by the growing number of projects and publications discussing inequalities in musical practices and the impact music research can have on these inequalities. This idea is explored in a series of position papers and contemplative texts, where music researchers, music educators, and artistic researchers reflect on how their work and the position they occupy as professionals in society serves eco-social justice and equity. What is the point of studying and teaching music in an age of ecocide, neo(liberal)-colonialism, rampant racial inequities, persistent gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination? What does social and ecological responsibility and sustainability mean in music research?

The idea for the book was conceived within the context of Suoni, a non-profit independent research association in Finland founded as a self-organizing and independent network for scholars interested in exploring methods, pedagogics, practices and action for eco-social equity in relation to music and music research.

Counterpoints of Art and Research: Concepts, Practices, and Demarcations from the Finnish Academia

The volume examines the intersections of art and research in multiple dimension. Thirteen authors... more The volume examines the intersections of art and research in multiple dimension. Thirteen authors from different backgrounds in arts, humanities and social sciences engage with themes such as artistic research, research-creation, historiography, art as labour, the politics of inclusion and diversification of art systems.

What conceptual discussions characterise the different research approaches in and around the arts? What connects and distinguishes them? How can we advance the dialogue beyond the institutionally established binary of artistic research versus humanities or scientific study of the arts?

Työväen taide ja kulttuuri muutosvoimana: Kirjoituksia työväen musiikista, kirjallisuudesta, teatterista ja muusta kulttuuritoiminnasta [Arts, labor movement and social change: Writings on working people's music, literature, theatre and other cultural activities]

Ed. by Saijaleena Rantanen, Susanna Välimäki & Sini Mononen, Sep 25, 2020

"Työväen taide ja kulttuuri muutosvoimana" -kirjassa tarkastellaan työväen taidetta ja kulttuurit... more "Työväen taide ja kulttuuri muutosvoimana" -kirjassa tarkastellaan työväen taidetta ja kulttuuritoimintaa Suomessa 1800-luvulta 2000-luvulle. Taiteen ja kulttuuritoiminnan merkitystä työväestölle pohditaan kuudessatoista artikkelissa niin huvina ja virkistyksenä kuin yhteiskunnallisena keskusteluna ja poliittisena liikehdintänä.

Artikkelikokoelmassa käsitellään muun muassa musiikkia, teatteria, kirjallisuutta ja kuvataidetta – iltamia, käsityökulttuuria, lyhytelokuvia, proletaarinäytelmiä, propagandakuvia, performanssia, laulujuhlia, arkkiveisuja, kisälli- ja ympäristölauluja. Näkökulmat vaihtelevat affektien politiikasta naisliikkeeseen ja taistolaisuudesta prekaariin 2000-lukuun.

Kokoelma tuo esiin, miten kaikkine ristiriitaisuuksineenkin työväen taide on luonut muutosvoimaista ajattelua, tunteiden ilmaisua, yhteisöllisyyttä, utopioita ja joukkovoimaa. Mutta se on ollut myös agitaation, väkivallan ja trauman alue. Työväen taiteella on kiistelty historiasta ja rakennettu tulevaisuutta, mutta mikä on työväen taiteen ja kulttuurin ja sen tutkimuksen merkitys nykypäivänä? Tähän eri alojen kirjoittajat vastaavat
kirjan artikkeleissa moninaisin tavoin.

Musiikki ja luonto: Soiva kulttuuri ympäristökriisin aikakaudella [Music and nature: Sonic culture in the age of environmental crisis]

Ed. by Juha Torvinen & Susanna Välimäki, 2019

Nature has always inspired musicians and scholars. Through the imagery of nature, the basic issue... more Nature has always inspired musicians and scholars. Through the imagery of nature, the basic issues of life and mental landscapes are explored and expressed. Music can reflect our experience of nature and create a sense of belonging to an environment or place. Naturalness has often served as an ideal in composing, and even the whole universe has been thought of to be composed of and reverberating musical ratios.

In the age of environmental crisis, the relationship between music and nature emerges in a new light. An environmental concern can be heard in music. The challenges of ecological sustainability are shaping music culture and music research.

This book explores these issues by studying the relationship between music/sound and nature from today’s perspective. Simultaneously the book presents the field of ecomusicology, i.e. ecocritical music research. The authors are Finnish scholars of music and culture.

ABSTRACT IN FINNISH

Luonto innoittaa musiikin tekijöitä ja tutkijoita. Luontokuvastolla ilmennetään elämän peruskysymyksiä ja sielunmaisemia. Musiikki voi kuvastaa luontokokemusta ja luoda tunteen ympäristöön tai paikkaan kuulumisesta. Luonnollisuus on usein ollut säveltämisen ihanne, ja onpa koko maailmankaikkeudenkin epäilty soivan musiikillisia lukusuhteita.

Ympäristökriisin aikakaudella musiikin ja luonnon suhde näyttäytyy uudessa valossa. Musiikissa kuuluu ympäristöhuoli. Ekologisen kestävyyden haasteet muokkaavat musiikkikulttuuria ja musiikintutkimusta.

Musiikki ja luonto paneutuu näihin kysymyksiin. Se pohtii musiikin ja äänen suhdetta luontoon nykypäivän näkökulmasta. Samalla se esittelee ekomusikologiaa eli ekokriittistä musiikintutkimusta. Kirjoittajat ovat musiikin ja kulttuurin tutkijoita.

Musiken som förändringskraft: Manifest för aktivistisk musikforskning [Music as a tool for social change: A manifesto for activist music research / Swedish version]

by Susanna Välimäki, Kaj Ahlsved, Sini Mononen, Juha Torvinen, and Kim Ramstedt

Ed. by Susanna Välimäki, Sini Mononen & Kaj Ahlsved, Dec 18, 2018

MUSIKEN SOM FÖRÄNDRINGSKRAFT presenterar utgångspunkter för aktivistisk musikforskning. Ur ett sa... more MUSIKEN SOM FÖRÄNDRINGSKRAFT presenterar utgångspunkter för aktivistisk musikforskning. Ur ett samhälls- och miljöperspektiv kräver 2000-talets krisvärld aktiv, ställningstagande och förändringsinriktad forskning. Samtidigt skär staten ner finansieringen för utbildning, universitet och forskning. Hur bemöter musikvetare de här utmaningarna?

Forskningsföreningen Suoni rf bedriver aktivistisk och obunden musikforskning. I boken reflekterar föreningens medlemmar över sitt samhällsorienterade forskarskap och presenterar möjligheter för samhälleling och praxisorienterad musikforskning i den finländska musikkulturen.

Bokens författare är musikforskare som utöver sitt forskarskap bl.a. verkar som fria författare, kritiker, radio- och tv-producenter, föreningsaktiva, lärare, dj:n, miljöaktivister och i många andra roller knutna till folkbildning, publikarbete och sakkunniguppdrag. De förenas av en vilja att studera verkligheten genom musik, att arbeta för rättvisa musikaliska praktiker och genom musikforskning kämpa för en bättre värld.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT

This book outlines starting points for activist, i.e., societally critical, praxis oriented and rebellious music research.

The risk society and world of crises in the 21st century require activist research that examines the questions of social and environmental justice and aims for social change. At the same time, the funding for education, universities and research are constantly cut. How do musicologists respond to these challenges?

The members of the independent Research Society Suoni (ry) reflect their ideas about and plans for activist music research. The authors of the book are Finnish music researchers who in addition to their work as researchers, and as linked to that, work as free authors, music and art critics, radio and TV program producers, teachers, DJs, environmental activists, and in other expert positions related to music and arts, public education, audience development, and civil activism.

The authors share a desire to study reality via music, to transform musical practices socially and environmentally more just and sustainable, and to fight for a better world with music and music research.

Contents:

(1) Susanna Välimäki, Juha Torvinen & Sini Mononen: Introduction: Activist music research //
(2) Sini Mononen: Researcher-critic: Art criticism as activism //
(3) Susanna Välimäki: Researcher in radio and television: How and why talk to people about music? //
(4) Kim Ramstedt: Researcher-dj as a cultural mediator: Music and the promotion of equality //
(5) Susanna Välimäki: Researcher at festivals and orchestras: Audience development, societal activism and critical thinking //
(6) Saijaleena Rantanen: Researcher as a history teller: Whose music are we talking about? //
(7) Juha Torvinen: Researcher as an environmental activist: Theses on music researcher's relation to nature //
(8) Kaj Ahlsved: Researcher as media actor, public educator and music pedagogue: Prospects and challenges of social responsibility //
(9) Sini Mononen: Researcher-actor: Praxis oriented institutional criticism //
(10) Sini Mononen & Susanna Välimäki: The ABC of activist music research

Musiikki muutosvoimana: Aktivistisen musiikintutkimuksen manifesti [Music as a tool for social change: A manifesto for activist music research]

by Susanna Välimäki, Sini Mononen, Juha Torvinen, Kaj Ahlsved, Kim Ramstedt, and Saijaleena Rantanen

Ed. by Sini Mononen & Susanna Välimäki, Dec 8, 2018

This book outlines starting points for activist, i.e., societally critical, praxis oriented and r... more This book outlines starting points for activist, i.e., societally critical, praxis oriented and rebellious music research.

The risk society and world of crises in the 21st century require activist research that examines the questions of social and environmental justice and aims for social change. At the same time, the funding for education, universities and research are constantly cut. How do musicologists respond to these challenges?

The members of the independent Research Society Suoni (ry) reflect their ideas about and plans for activist music research.

The authors of the book are Finnish music researchers who in addition to their work as researchers, and as linked to that, work as free authors, music and art critics, radio and TV program producers, teachers, DJs, environmental activists, and in other expert positions related to music and arts, public education, audience development, and civil activism. The authors share a desire to study reality via music, to transform musical practices socially and environmentally more just and sustainable, and to fight for a better world with music and music research.

The manifesto is edited by Sini Mononen & Susanna Välimäki. Contents:
(1) Susanna Välimäki, Juha Torvinen & Sini Mononen: Introduction: Activist music research //
(2) Sini Mononen: Researcher-critic: Art criticism as activism
(3) Susanna Välimäki: Researcher in radio and television: How and why talk to people about music? //
(4) Kim Ramstedt: Researcher-dj as a cultural mediator: Music and the promotion of equality //
(5) Susanna Välimäki: Researcher at festivals and orchestras: Audience development, societal activism and critical thinking //
(6) Saijaleena Rantanen: Researcher as a history teller: Whose music are we talking about? //
(7) Juha Torvinen: Researcher as an environmental activist: Theses on music researcher's relation to nature //
(8) Kaj Ahlsved: Researcher as media actor, public educator and music pedagogue: Prospects and challenges of social responsibility //
(9) Sini Mononen: Researcher-actor: Praxis oriented institutional criticism //
(10) Sini Mononen & Susanna Välimäki: The ABC of activist music research //

ABSTRACT IN FINNISH

Tämä kokoomateos esittelee aktivistisen musiikintutkimuksen lähtökohtia.

2000-luvun kriisimaailma vaatii yhteiskunnallisesti ja ympäristöllisesti kantaa ottavaa ja muutokseen pyrkivää toiminnallista tutkimusta. Samalla valtio leikkaa koulutuksen, yliopistojen ja tutkimuksen rahoitusta. Miten musiikkitieteilijä vastaa näihin haasteisiin?

Aktivistista musiikintutkimusta harjoittavan, riippumattoman Tutkimusyhdistys Suoni ry:n jäsenet pohtivat kirjassa yhteiskunnallisesti asennoitunutta tutkijuuttaan sekä hahmottelevat yhteiskunnallisen ja toiminnallisen musiikintutkimuksen mahdollisuuksia suomalaisessa musiikkikulttuurissa.

Kirjan tekijät ovat musiikintutkijoita, jotka toimivat tutkijuuden ohella muun muassa vapaina kirjoittajina, kriitikoina, radio- ja tv-ohjelmien tekijöinä, järjestöaktiiveina, opettajina, dj:nä, ympäristöaktivisteina sekä muissa kansanvalistuksen, yleisötyön ja asiantuntijan tehtävissä. Heitä yhdistää halu tutkia todellisuutta musiikin avulla, muuttaa musiikillisia käytäntöjä yhteiskunnallisesti oikeudenmukaisemmiksi ja taistella musiikintutkimuksen keinoin paremman maailman puolesta.

Kirjallisuuden ja musiikin leikkauspintoja [Intersections of Literature and Music]

Ed. by Siru Kainulainen, Liisa Steinby & Susanna Välimäki, 2018

In this book eleven scholars of literature or music explore various areas in which literature and... more In this book eleven scholars of literature or music explore various areas in which literature and music meet. While several of the authors of the volume apply in their articles the theory of intermediality, or the interplay of different art forms, some of authors are of the opinion that literature and music share some basic elements, such as sound and meaning, which proves their innate kinship. The subjects of study in the volume range historically from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century and deal with Russian, British, American, German, Finnish and Sámi works of literature or music as well as, in one case, film.

The literary texts studied in the articles show a variety of affinities with music. Contemporary Finnish lyrical poetry offers a great variety of examples of how the effect of a poem depends on its rhythmic and other sound effects that give rise to a pre-semantic interaction between the poem and its audience. A work of narrative literature may be “compounded” of its elements similarly as a musical composition, rather than being based on a plot that mimetically follows the events in the fictive world. A novel may have the form of a symphony, as in some representatives of the Central European tradition analysed here, or of a fugue, like in some works of Vladimir Nabokov, or of jazz, as in the African-American tradition, and a biography of a blues singer may assume a blues-like form. The “musical mimesis” employed in Finnish fin-de-siècle literature is marked by disruptions in the narrative line, “dissonances” due to the uniting of incongruous materials, synaesthesia, and the sound effects of language. Music can also be a part of the fictive world in a literary work and employed for interpreting the events and characters, as an analysis of detective stories shows. On the other hand, it is shown how the “story line” in a classical sonata can be analysed by using Vladimir Propp’s plot schemata of folk tales. A musical composition, such as Schumann’s Kreisleriana, may draw its inspiration from a literary work, in which case musicians are invited to reflect upon the relevance of the source text when preparing a performance. In the article on film included here it is claimed that the soundtracks of contemporary films show a tendency towards ‘musicalization’: the speech resembles song or music, in which rhythm, speed, tone, breathing and other material aspects of the sound are of greater importance than the semantic content of the words. Music and literature are, of course, also combined in a song. Two types of songs are considered in the volume: the North Sámi yoik ('luohti') tradition in which music and speech seem to be close to their original unity, and Finnish rap music, of which particularly the aspects of rhythm and rime are analysed.

ABSTRACT IN FINNISH

Kirjallisuuden ja musiikin leikkauspintoja -teoksessa kirjallisuuden ja musiikin tutkijat kohtaavat. Teoksessa tarkastellaan ilmiöitä, jotka sijoittuvat kirjallisuuden ja musiikin rajamaastoon. Tällaisena teos on ensimmäinen Suomessa. Se sopii tiedon ja inspiraation lähteeksi opiskelijoille ja tutkijoille sekä musiikin ja kirjallisuuden kytköksistä kiinnostuneille.

Teoksen artikkelit osoittavat, miten moninaista kirjallisuuden ja musiikin kohtaaminen taiteissa on. Runollinen kieli vaikuttaa myös soinnillaan ja äänteellisyydellään. Romaani voi käsitellä teemoja musiikin tapaan toistaen ja muunnellen ja sen rakenne juontua jazzista, bluesista tai fuugasta. Musiikki voi soida myös romaanin tarinamaailmassa ja ilmaista hahmojen, tapahtumien ja tilanteiden luonteita. Musiikin muodot voivat vertautua kirjallisuuden kerronnallisiin rakenteisiin ja sonaattimuoto rakentua kertomuksen tavoin. Kirjalliset viiteverkostot vaikuttavat sävelteoksen tulkintaan, ja audiovisuaalisessa taiteessa puheen musiikillisuus voi nousta kielellistä viestiä tärkeämmäksi. Laulurunoudessa musiikki ja kirjallisuus kohtaavat kirjaimellisestikin aina joiusta räppiin.

Kirjoittajien lähtökohtana on taiteiden- ja medioidenvälisyyden tarkastelun ohellaoivallus siitä, että kirjallisuus ja musiikki ovat alun perin yhteydessä toisiinsa: molemmat ovat ilmaisumuotoja, joissa äänteellisyys ja ajallisuus luovat merkityksiä.

Papers by Susanna Välimäki

Introduction: The Activist Turn in Music Research

Music, Research, and Activism: Prospects and Projects in Northern Europe, 2025

Overview Chapters (14) This book introduces the concept of activist music researc... more Overview
Chapters (14)

This book introduces the concept of activist music research, emphasising action and social responsibility and suggests that music research can be used to promote social and ecological justice. This is discussed in a series of position papers by music researchers who engage in public debate in their various roles - educator, critic, journalist, DJ, producer, promoter - and work with other actors in civil society and culture.

This chapter introduces the theme of the anthology, its context and summarizes the content of the chapters. After a brief discussion about the neglected history of activism in music research, the chapter introduces the idea of an activist turn in music research along with some of its main characteristics. This is followed by a discussion about the challenges in conducting activist music research and in naming it as a particular field of study, after which the context and content of the book is briefly presented.

The book suggests that we are experiencing an activist turn in music research, evidenced by the growing number of projects and publications discussing inequalities in musical practices and the impact music research can have on these inequalities. This idea is explored in a series of position papers and contemplative texts, where music researchers, music educators, and artistic researchers reflect on how their work and the position they occupy as professionals in society serves eco-social justice and equity. What is the point of studying and teaching music in an age of ecocide, neo(liberal)-colonialism, rampant racial inequities, persistent gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination? What does social and ecological responsibility and sustainability mean in music research?

The idea for the book was conceived within the context of Suoni, a non-profit independent research association in Finland founded as a self-organizing and independent network for scholars interested in exploring methods, pedagogics, practices and action for eco-social equity in relation to music and music research.

Music Historians as Feminist Activists: Gender Mainstreaming in Contemporary Concert Repertoires

Music, Research, and Activism: Prospects and Projects in Northern Europe, 2025

In this article, we present a range of ideas and methods for feminist and activist music historia... more In this article, we present a range of ideas and methods for feminist and activist music historians willing to promote gender-equal and more diverse concert programming. Our observations stem from a six-year research project during which we mapped out the lives and careers of 126 women composers from nineteenth- and twentieth-century Finland, as well as conducted grass-root-level activist work as concert hosts, journalists, critics, and editors in various collaborative projects. In line with previous feminist and intersectional research, we argue that it is not enough simply to add historical women, gender-nonconforming, BIPOC, and other marginalised composers into our curricula and concert culture, but rather to fundamentally change the way we think about music history and concert programming. This change of attitude is especially crucial in fields such as orchestral music and opera, and it needs to be granted more resources and attention in the future.

The Representation of Holocaust Trauma in The Song of Terezin by Franz Waxman: A Psychoanalytic Listening

American Imago, 2025

The article discusses music as a cultural processor of a social trauma within the Holocaust. Acco... more The article discusses music as a cultural processor
of a social trauma within the Holocaust. According
to psychoanalytic music research, music is especially
capable of representing trauma via its nonverbal, affective,
and bodily-based means of expression. As an
analytical example, the study focuses on the vocal and
orchestral work The Song of Terezin (1965), composed by
the German-American, Jewish composer Franz Waxman
(1906–1967) and based on poems written by children in
the concentration and transit camp of Terezín (Theresienstadt
in German). By drawing on psychoanalytic
music analysis, cultural trauma studies, Holocaust studies,
and the concept of transitional space, the article outlines
the sonic mechanism by which the composition Song of
Terezin constructs a discourse of trauma and mourning.
By this, the aim is to illuminate the workings of music as
a communal vehicle for dealing with collective trauma,
and hence as a site for the social healing process. As an
art form based on listening, music may create an ethical
space for encountering the Other, which is resonant with
the psychoanalytic method of attentive listening.

War and Trauma in the Music of Bruce Springsteen: ’Born in the U.S.A.,’ ’Devils & Dust,’ and ’The Wall’

On Popular Music and Its Unruly Entanglements, ed. by Nick Braae & Kai Arne Hansen. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 103–123, 2019

In this chapter, I explore the musical representation of war and trauma in the music of Bruce Spr... more In this chapter, I explore the musical representation of war and trauma in the music of Bruce Springsteen. The aim is to discuss, via detailed musical examples, the significance of music as a vehicle for dealing with collective trauma and transgenerational burden, and hence as a socio-cultural site for the social healing process. The analysed songs are: “Born in the U.S.A.” (1984), “Devils & Dust” (2005), and “The Wall” (2014). Methodologically I combine trauma studies and cultural music analysis. Most importantly, I draw on the cultural study of trauma, which examines representations of collective traumas in cultural practices, art, and popular culture from the point of view of collective memory, remembrance, and mourning (e.g., Caruth 1996; Alexander et al. 2004; Eyerman 2002; Siltala 2012). Cultural music analysis, for its part, means that my focus is on the sonic substance and the mechanisms therein that construct meaning.

Composer Betzy Holmberg Deis (1860–1900): A feminist historical and biographical study

Studia Musicologica Norvegica Norwegian Journal of Musicology, Nov 7, 2022

This article concerns the life and career of composer Betzy Holmberg Deis (1860–1900), a woman ar... more This article concerns the life and career of composer Betzy Holmberg Deis (1860–1900), a woman artist of Finnish-Norwegian heritage who pursued an active career in Central Europe in the late 19th Century. Methodologically the research represents feminist music history and biographical research, which highlights women’s agency. The research material consists of original historical material from several archives, mainly in Finland, Norway, Denmark and Germany. In focusing on a women composer who until now has been omitted from scholarly writing on music history, the author aims to contribute new knowledge to the history of Nordic music. Holmberg Deis was successful in her composition studies at the Leipzig Conservatory. Her chamber and orchestral works, including a symphony, were performed during her lifetime in several countries. The orchestral works are lost, but a few of her chamber music compositions have survived. These make an original contribution to the late and neo-romantic Nordic repertoire.

Stockhausen's Helicopter String Quartet and the Challenge of Conceptual Music

Popular Inquiry, Dec 20, 2019

The Helicopter String Quartet (1993) by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007) is one ... more The Helicopter String Quartet (1993) by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007) is one of the most notorious works of classical music of the past decades. The work is scored for a traditional string quartet, four helicopters each with a pilot and a sound technician, audio and video communications equipment, a sound engineer (or ‘sound projectionist’) and a moderator (optional). Lasting half an hour, the work features the four musicians playing the music each in their own helicopter, in the air.

The present article discusses the work from the ‘conceptual music’ perspective. Our approach is based above all on a musicological translation of the theory of conceptual art developed in visual arts scholarship, i.e. the application of that theory to art consisting of sound. Our analysis is based on the score of the work including its written instructions, the composer’s other commentaries on the work, the recording made by the Arditti Quartet and the documentary directed by Scheffer. The article is a discussion of the ways in which the Helicopter String Quartet challenges our thinking about music and the world.

We first discuss the concept of conceptual music and then a feature characteristic of conceptual music in general and this work of Stockhausen’s in particular that we call a manifestation of a concept. This means presenting ideas using concrete symbols. In the work at hand, the key concepts being manifested are the concepts of air, sound direction, the world, the cosmos and light. Also, the transgressive approach of the work to the string quartet tradition prompts reflection on the relationship of the work to (chamber) music and to music as a metaphor for the miraculous and the ineffable. Finally, we discuss the Helicopter String Quartet as music that presents as a metaphor of itself and explore conceptuality as a feature of this music.

Everyone is a little bit gay’: LGBTIQ Activism in Finnish Pop Music of the 21st Century

Popular Musicology and Identity: Essays in Honour of Stan Hawkins, ed. by Eirik Askerøi, Freya Jarman & Kai Arne Hansen. London: Routledge. 97–116., 2020

Confronting the Gender Trouble for Real: Mina Caputo, Metal Truth and Transgender Power

The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music and Gender, ed. by Stan Hawkins, Routledge, pp. 326–346, 2017

In this chapter, I turn to Mina Caputo, the vocalist of the long-running alternative metal band L... more In this chapter, I turn to Mina Caputo, the vocalist of the long-running alternative metal band Life of Agony, as a case study to discuss how transgenderness is negotiated in contemporary heavy metal music. Taking my point of departure from queer musicology and transgender studies, I aim to first develop transgender music research as a field that examines music in a transgender-conscious and transgender-empathetic way (Välimäki 2013a, b); second, to contribute to the queering of heavy metal music (Smith 1997; Sarelin 2009; Gregory 2013; Clifford-Napoleone 2015) and, third, to contribute to heavy metal studies with a transgendered perspective.

By practicing reparative reading (Sedgwick 2003), my focus is on how Caputo communicates transgenderness, and gender in general, to a larger audience, and how transgender subjectivity, meanings and pleasure finds its space, even under the pressures, strictures and effects of the heteronormative culture. My research materials are mixed, ranging from audio and audiovisual recordings to ethnographic observation materials and public media texts, including websites and online discussion boards related to Caputo, Life of Agony and heavy metal culture. I am particularly interested in heavy metal culture, where (supposedly) straight and queer scenes intermingle. Because of this overlapping of straight and queer scenes in the same space (Clifford-Napoleone 2015), normative conceptions of gender are effectively undermined.