Tanja Nisonen's artistic doctoral research at the Sibelius Academy began with the realisation that Nisonen had not performed compositions for horn written by women. The research challenges the prevailing notion that all "good" music has already been discovered and that the works of women composers have been forgotten for a reason.

The aim of the research is to demonstrate that composing for horn was significantly more common among women in the early 20th century than has previously been thought.

A musician can, through their own artistic choices, move the culture of Western art music forward towards a more equal future. The same works that were canonised in the patriarchal society of the 19th century are easily repeated in programming, which we musicians should challenge in order to expand and diversify the repertoire.

The goal of the research is also that, as a result, works composed by women will become part of the core horn repertoire.

4th Line on syksyllä 2016 Suomen eturivin naiskäyrätorvisteista muodostettu kvartetti, jonka soittajat työskentelevät Suomen parhaissa orkestereissa: Tanja Nisonen ja Mervi Huttunen ovat Turun filharmonisen orkesterin muusikoita, Pauliina Koskela työskentelee Tampere Filharmoniassa ja Maria Luhtanen on freelancer-artisti. Kvartetti työskentelee ammattitaitoisesti ja korkeatasoisesti, keskittyen erityisesti harvoin, jos koskaan, esitettyihin teoksiin.

4th Line on esiintynyt Turussa, Tampereella ja Helsingissä sekä Berliinissä, jossa 4th Linen konsertti oli osana Suomi100-ohjelmistoa Berliinin Suomi-keskuksessa.

4th Line
Tanja Nisonen – Pauliina Koskela – Maria Luhtanen – Mervi Huttunen