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Valentine's Day Brunch and Concert
On Valentine's Day, the Parlor of the Salmagundi Club in Greenwich Village New York was filled to the last chair as violinist Anna Miritza Lundberg played romantic music suited to the theme of the day. Beginning with Jean Sibelius' Romance, the music and the intimate setting - with its oriental carpets, 19th century paintings, crystal chandeliers and ornate fireplaces — quickly took the listener back to the 19th century salons. Somewhat familiar, at least to the Finns in the audience, were some of Pablo de Sarasate's virtuoso tunes, for which he drew inspiration from Spanish Gypsy music. Ms. Lundberg' spirited playing was matched by that of accompanying pianist Kalle Toivio, who also performed two solo pieces, one being Frederic Chopin's Ballade in F minor, the other one the Spanish Rhapsody by Franz Liszt. The performers received a standing ovation, and were called back for an encore: Czardas by Monti. We are grateful for the valuable contribution of our Music Director, Kalle Toivio, in arranging this concert as well as many others earlier and yet to be heard; and like some members in the audience specifically expressed to us, we hope to hear Ms. Lundberg again soon in New York.
Idee Fixe played a wonderfully inspiring concert at the Salmagundi Club on January 21st. Their bold choices for the program included works by Gabriel Pierne, Lars-Erik Larsson, Vincent Persichetti and Samuel Barber. In addition the audience heard very interesting works by contemporary Finnish composers. These pieces by Kirmo Lintinen and Marko Portin proved that contemporary music in Finland is alive and well and sounds exciting and new at the same time. Many times contemporary music can sound abstract and too theoretical to the listeners, who most of the time do not have the luxury to study the works before the concert takes place. This was not the case in Idee Fixe's concert. These works sounded fresh and musically alive. Perhaps it is the nature of the combination of the instruments, woodwinds in this case, that gave the clarity and exactness to the execution that made this particular concert such a pleasure to the listener. Kirmo Lintinen and Marko Portin have managed to create music that is at the same time extremely interesting and stimulating to listen to. Job well done!
Idee Fixe, whose five members are all members of leading Finnish symphony orchestras, has found something very original in their ensemble, and we could all enjoy the fruits of their efforts in the concert. This kind of musicianship is something worth to preserve and support. It grew out of a need to form a chamber music ensemble from orchestra musicians and has developed into artistically cultivated organism. We wish Idee Fixe succes in their career hope to hear them soon again in New York City.
The Finnish community gets together to support the Panzi Hospital
By Mirva Lempiäinen
If one had to compile a list of discussion topics to avoid at Christmas parties, rape would no doubt be high up there. Yet on Dec. 16, 2009, more than 100 New York Finns and their friends got together for Finland Center's holiday party at the Salmagundi Club to break the silence surrounding this exact issue.
The purpose of the event, "A Holiday Celebration with Meaning," was to raise funds for the Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For years, the hospital's gynecologist Denis Mukwege has patched together the bodies and lives of the battered women, who have become victims in the long-standing war.
"Sexual violence is the weapon of choice," said Lisa F. Jackson, a documentary filmmaker whose documentary, "The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo," played a central part in the evening's program.
"It's been shown to be more effective than bullets," she said. The Panzi Hospital treats about 3,600 victims of sexual violence per year, many of who have been ostracized from their communities. The most disheartening thing, Jackson said, is that many of the women are now repeat visitors in the hospital that has become "a fistula factory."
Despite being 76 minutes long, the film captured an attentive audience of about 20 people. Meanwhile, the rest of the guests enjoyed themselves by listening to the soulful tunes of singer Janita in the Parlor, and by challenging the billiard World Champion Mika Immonen for a game of billiards in the Lower Gallery.
The evening also provided the guests the chance to nosh on Nordic-style hors d'oeuvres served by Smörgås Chef, and to bid on items in a silent auction, including a dress designed by Paola Suhonen, some Ghanian woodcarvings and Finnish Christmas baskets.
In the event's opening remarks Finland Center's President Jaana Rehnström thanked the audience for "coming here and choosing not to remain silent." She also talked about the values of health, education and women's empowerment being Finland's greatest exports.
Rehnström announced that the holiday party would kick off a yearlong campaign of fundraising efforts for the Panzi Hospital. Ritva Jolkkonen, the Consul General of Finland, gave an overview of Finland's development assistance to Africa over the years, and thanked Finland Center for tackling such a difficult topic.
Jackson said she was happy to see that her documentary was making the rounds among the Finnish community in New York and that the Finns were enthusiastic about raising money for the Panzi Hospital.
"Ultimately it's a tremendous help because there are women who need these services," she said. "Once people know, you'll want to do something."
Ossi Närhi of Hastings attended the event with his daughter, Amy, and won his bids on three Ghanaian woodcarvings for $110. "I think it was money well spent," he said, calling the event a "wonderful occasion."
» Panzi fundraiser income and expense statement 1/13/2010
» Read United Nations Association article
FROM UKRAINE TO NEW YORK, VIA FINLAND
Viktoriya Papayani is a talented as well as beautiful pianist, who met her husband, Finland Center's Music Director Kalle Toivio, while they were both attending a music course at Suolahti, Finland several years back. Now settled in New York, the couple are a wonderful gift to the Finnish, as well as the larger New York, community! Viktoriya presented a program at the Salmagundi Club on Nov. 24 which caused the audience to erupt in cheers along with the applause. We were treated to compositions by Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Vivaldi transcribed for piano by Bach, and Ginastera, each piece introduced by the artist with illuminating as well as witty comments. The artist displayed both technical skill and sensitive expression; she deserves to be heard more often!
Sibelius Concert with Jussi Makkonen and Kalle Toivio
The tunes of Sibelius filled the room at the Salmagundi Club in New York City on a recent Sunday afternoon. Although much of the music was familiar to Finns and other Sibelius fans, some of the tunes have not commonly been heard arranged for the cello, played with superb skill and passion by Jussi Makkonen, accompanied by Kalle Toivio on piano. Makkonen interspersed the music with interesting background information. The two artists have exactly the same birthday and are on what they jokingly called their "60th Anniversary" tour (both are 30 years old) and will be heard again in Boston on Saturday, October 17. For information about that event, please contact us at info@finlandcenter.org.
For more info about the artists, see www.jussimakkonen.comand www.kalletoivio.com.
Next, we want to hear her LIVE...keep en eye out for updates! See our BLOG for an interview with Alexandra.
At 21 Alexandra Alexis can look back on a measure of success that would make many of her peers jealous. Having recently completed a one-year run with the hit musical Hairspray in Helsinki, she is now in New York to give her career an international dimension. Having grown up in New York, this bubbly singer with a French father and Finnish mother, came to Finland at the age of 15, where she is already an instantly recognizable celebrity working with producer DJ Mobster. Having relocated to New York in September, she is now ready to give her career its final push.
Alexandra has been on the go since her move to Finland. This determined singer with a voice that belies her age, has never been afraid of success or the steps necessary to get there. ‘If you tell me to be somewhere, I'll be there,' she says explaining how she was doing gigs in Helsinki at the age of 15. Not content to sit there and rest on her laurels she was soon jetting off to gigs around Asia, ultimately landing the coveted role in Hairspray, and appearing on Finnish and American Idol respectively.
Alexandra knows that success can be tough and that hard work and getting yourself out there are key factors in making it big. Aware that communication is everything, she is not afraid to talk to people and make them aware of her demos and musical career. It is this kind of perseverance that has caused her to meet the likes of Puff Daddy and Kanye West, to name but a few.
»MORE
The Finnish NYC Meetup group has started!
The photo is from the first meeting, which was held at the Salmagundi Club Bar. We were happy to host such a diverse and interesting group of Friends of Finland!
Go to our EVENTS page to see many more Finnish-related events taking place in the New York area this fall!
Click here to find out more about the Meetup group and to join.
FCF Summer Picnic
FCF's summer picnic was held this year in Manhattan. Finns and friends of Finland gathered together to enjoy a beautiful sunny Saturday at the heart of the city in Cedar Hill, Central Park.
SUMMER INTERN
This summer, Elina Koskelainen will be doing an internship with Finland Center Foundation. Elina is a student in the Institue of Design division of the Lahti University of Applied Sciences, and is looking forward to spending her summer in New York promoting Finnish culture and gaining valuable insights into the art world in New York.
We are very grateful for Elina's contribution during the summer, when many of our volunteers are taking some well deserved time off! Please continue to monitor our website for news and updates and last minute event announcements. This project needs your input, so don't forget to sign up as a member or renew your membership, and help enroll new members so we can continue to work towards our goal of flying the Finnish flag permanently in New York!
Welcome Party for UN Ambassador Jarmo Viinanen
A select group of Finland Center Friends and supporters gathered at the Greenwich Village home and garden of Jaana Rehnstrom and her husband Andrew Blane to welcome the new Finnish UN Ambassador Jarmo Viinanen and his wife Irmeli Viinanen. Finland Center wants to do its share in helping to promote the cause of peace and other deeply held Finnish values such as health, education, transparency and good government — something our people at the UN work on every day. Concrete steps to do this in the form of a philantropic fundraiser for the fall were discussed — please check this site for details and make sure you have signed up on the mailing list!
Petri Luukkanen of Norkap LLC gave a motivational speech to the guests. Petri is forming a group of skilled professionals with expertise in finance, architecture, real estate and related fields to seriously pursue the matter of obtaining a permanent space for our organization and feels this is the right time, all things considered, to do so. We are happy to get more professional help from Petri, and if you feel you have something to contribute to the process, please contact us!
Finland Center's Music Director Kalle Toivio accompanied Maria Ylipaa, well-known actress and singer from Finland, on the piano in a home concert at the end of the evening, which ended with Kalle's emotionally and masterfully performed Sibelius' Finlandia. Thank you — KIITOS! — to Maria and Kalle, and welcome back in the fall. HAPPY SUMMER TO EVERYONE!
"Finnish Drinking Culture"
A group of students from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki were invited to show their glassware design at the Glass Art Society conference in Corning, New York. They won second prize in the student competition, and then showed their work for one day only at the Salmagundi Artist Club in New York. We wish the students success in their work and are open to ideas of how we can assist other Finnish designers promote their work in New York. Thank you to the Consulate General of Finland for sponsoring the reception!
Finland Center Presents: "HS" with Meri Pakarinen
Meri Pakarinen transformed herself into Helene Schjerfbeck, the Finnish painter from the late 19th and early 20th century, in an intense performance at the Salmagundi Center for American Art in New York City on June 4. The setting of a 19th century mansion served as a suitable backdrop for the play, presented by Finland Center Foundation. The play was conceived of by Ms. Pakarinen and directed by the famous actress and theater consultant Penny Allen in 2004, and has been performed in many different settings since. Ms. Allen flew in from Los Angeles to attend the English –language performance, which until now she had only seen performed in Finnish.
Music for solo cello accompanied parts of the play, which had 13 scenes from the life of the painter. The intimate setting made for tight seating, but allowed the audience to observe Ms. Pakarinen's nuanced emotional expression of the text. In response to a question after the show, Ms. Pakarinen explained that the play was very much true to history, as quite a lot is known of the painter from the many letters that she wrote.
The event was sponsored partly by Finlandia Foundation National Trust and Svenska Kulturfonden, Finland
Staying in Control of your Financial Future
In these turbulent economic times, planning your finances has taken on an even greater importance. A mixed audience of Finns and Americans listened to and had a lot of questions for professional Financial Advisers Katriina Paavola and Diana DeFrate. The lecturers gave some very concrete ideas of how to stay in control of your financial future, and reminded the audience about the importance (and wisdom) of including your favorite charities in your estate planning.
Lecture: Helene Schjerfbeck
Over 30 members, approximately half of them Finland Center members and half Salmagundi members or the general public, gathered on April 5 to hear an interesting lecture about the Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck. The presentation with slides was given by Sue Cedercreutz-Suhonen of Villa Gyllenberg Art Museum in Helsinki, which houses 30 pieces of the painter's work. After the lecture, many people continued over to the nearby Finnish church and its Palm Sunday Cafe and Bazaar. Please see the BLOG page for an interview with our lecturer!
FCF's Annual Meeting and Reception for Kirsti Lintonen, Ambassador of Finland to the UN
The Annual Meeting of Finland Center Foundation was held on March 29, 2009 in New York. A new Board of Directors was elected. The members are:
Sari Gold
Mika Hallakorpi
Helena Niskanen
Rea Nurmi
Jaana Otero
Laura Palotie
Jaana Rehnstrom
Thomas Riggs
Kalle Toivio
Anna Yletyinen
The Annual Report 2008 is available here.
The meeting was followed by a reception for departing UN Ambassador Kirsti Lintonen, who spoke to us about the challenges facing the UN and Finland's role trying to address them. Afterwards, Ambassador Lintonen took many interesting questions from the audience. Later, a delightful musical performance was given by violinist Kukkamari Grondahl, 15, and Frederick Voegele, tenor, accompanied by Kalle Toivio on piano. All are studying at the Manhattan School of Music.
Ambassador Lintonen is retiring from the Finnish Foreign Service; we wish her a happy and well-deserved retirement and hope to see her in New York soon as a private citizen!
Heikki Sarmanto at the Salmagundi Club
Over 50 people gathered at the Salmagundi Club on Thursday, February 12 to hear Finnish jazz legend and versatile composer Heikki Sarmanto perform works on solo piano.
Heikki played several pieces by the American composer Laura Clayton and then some of his own, including one called "At the Gallery" which was born just a few days ago as Heikki came to the Club to practice in the afternoons. The eternally young musician seemed to just be getting warmed up when unfortunately it was time to close, but not before playing beautiful jazzy variations on a couple of classic Finnish folk songs (Lähteellä and Suvisunnuntai). Many in the audience then proceeded to the downstairs restaurant where Chef Robert Barone had prepared a special Valentine's Day menu with a nod to Scandinavia: Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam, accompanied by Simo Kuusisto's classic Finnish rye bread. A second chance to hear Heikki will be on Feb. 25 at St. Mark's Church. Thank you Heikki!
»SEE INTERVIEW WITH HEIKKI SARMANTO
January 11 program highlights
Thank you to the performers for their support of our organization and for bringing an outstanding example of Finnish culture to New York! Thank you also to David Segal Violins for the loan of the beautiful cello.
Ira Kaspi & Peter Engberg:
Sea Change:
Kanerva Pasanen:
Consul General Ritva Jolkkonen:
Finland Center Foundation wants to offer our official representatives whatever help we can to further our common goals, the culture and values of Finland in New York and its international community.
The photos are from a recent private reception hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Weindling for Finland Center to welcome the new Consul General and our UN Ambassador, Kirsti Lintonen. Also present was Juha Uusitalo, who recently made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera.