It is still rare to find a woman in the conductor’s chair. Maria Itkonen has also experienced how women have been belittled in concert halls.
Conductor Maria Itkose has had a busy autumn with premieres. She made her debut as a conductor in Finland and Sweden.
Itkonen conducts the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Turku and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestras. He has also taken the conductor’s podium in the Norma opera of the Stockholm Folk Opera.
Itkonen is a violinist by background and has also worked as a concertmaster throughout Europe. What made him decide to study conducting?
He introduces the Folkoperan’s staging and points to the concert master’s chair.
– I have sat in that place so much, Itkonen laughs.
He describes the role of concertmaster as the highest person in the orchestra’s hierarchy. In that role, Itkonen has been able to influence the way the orchestra’s strings play, but he noticed that he would like to direct the playing of other instruments as well.
– Of course, the work of colleagues is respected and appreciated. But it’s a matter of taste.
The number of female conductors is increasing
Itkonen has lived in Sweden for over two years and has had a great time. According to him, one of the reasons for this is how well women are treated in the field of classical music in Sweden.
– Specifically for female conductors, Itkonen clarifies.
Maria Itkonen has previously spoken in public about the position of women in concert halls.
According to him
– It can be seen in the fact that time and effort is spent in Sweden to consciously look for female conductors and composers for each season.
According to Itkonen, it’s not just Folkoperan but other houses as well.
– If government institutions are supported with tax money, equality must be maintained there.
– There are starting to be more and more female captains, but many of us are often the only women on the course. That, too, is slowly starting to change. I think that future generations will not have to face the same treatment.
According to her, a woman in the conductor’s position often has to face a belittling atmosphere. Even Itkonen has been given to understand that the jobs in question are reserved for men.
– It already started when, as a student, I signed up for the concertmaster’s audition. I was answered with the question, are YOU coming to the concertmaster’s audition?
Itkonen emphasizes that it is a universal phenomenon, and his experiences are not limited to Finland. He has also done a lot of auditions in Central Europe.
– I’ve kind of gotten used to it from the beginning. There is always a very strong questioning of what I want to do. That \”are you absolutely sure that you even want this place\”.
– And of course when you get that position, it has its own challenges to convince people.
The annulment culture described by Itkonen is on the decline. According to him, a lot has happened in a relatively short time.
– At least it’s not said as much out loud as, for example, 10 years ago. In Central Europe, there are these old institutions for which the change is really tough. The change has been fastest specifically in the Nordic countries.
Finnish system in the spotlight
Itkonen praises Finland’s unique conductor training. In addition to orchestra work, he himself has studied orchestra conducting at the Panula Academy.
– Of course, Finland is a suitable country for conducting studies in the sense that Jorma Panula’s enormous life work and legacy is available. A lot of courses are organized and in a way the threshold is quite low. There are not many countries like this.
But what drove him to apply to Stockholm? Did he already get everything he had to give from Finland?
– Not at all. I was interested to see what Stockholm has to offer. The mood is a bit more international, and Sweden has more opera houses than Finland.
The start in Stockholm hit a difficult seam. Corona closed many concert halls.
Itkonen also managed to pass the entrance exams for the conducting class at the Music Academy at the last minute. The test was on March 10, 2020. If the date had been later, it could not have been organized as a live qualifier due to the corona virus.
In the future, Itkonen wants to work as a conductor. Both symphony orchestras and operas are interesting, although with a slight emphasis in favor of opera. For someone who has worked in a symphony orchestra for a long time, the world of opera feels exotic.
– If there is well-composed music, you can make a great piece out of anything.