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Later on the same evening, Emma Larsson sang classical jazz tunes by Jobim, Porter, and others from the Great American Songbook, accompanied by Sami Linna on guitar. Both are graduates of the renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. The quiet setting of the Salmagundi parlor made it possible to fully appreciate Emma's clear voice, Sami's masterly guitar technique, and the smooth cooperation between the two — something members of the audience commented on afterwards. ("They need to make a CD together!") . For more info, see www.emmalarsson.com and www.myspace.com/samilinna.
This year, Otto is competing again in the same competition, this time held in Austin , Texas. En route to Texas, he stopped over in New York and gave a recital on June 19 at the Salmagundi Club. His repertoire is broad, encompassing both old composers such as John Dowland (1563-1626), Alonso Mudarra (1510-1580), and Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849), and modern ones; at this concert these included Denis Gougeon, Georges Auric ,Francis Poulenc, Germaine Tailleferre , Darius Milhaud, Gustave Samazeuilh and Joaquin Turina.
The intimate atmosphere of the Gallery with its wooden floors provided for a perfect setting and excellent acoustics, which allowed the audience to hear also the softests sounds and intriguing harmonies of the compositions. The audience in New York was certainly impressed with the combination of skill and sensitivity which Otto's playing demonstrated — we are crossing our fingers for him in Texas!
Meritta Koivisto, author of the "London Lover"
Oliver Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time
Many of the sections contain some biblical reference which Messiaen took for his inspiration. The title of the work itself had been taken from a part of the Book of Revelation: That there should be time no longer. It would have been of interest to ask the musicians how much of the religious significance affected their playing, but I didn’t present the query to them. All four young musicians performed this difficult work with relative ease as if they had been performing it all their lives though that would not have been possible. The exemplary artists were Marie Helene Bessesen, clarinet; Alexandrina Boyanova, violin; Elizabeth Means, cello; and Kalle Toivio, piano. I have nothing but praise for their playing. However, some professionalism if not seriousness of purpose suffered during the smiles shared by a couple of the players at various times during the performance.
Lee Alperin
Marie Bessesen, clarinet with Kalle Toivio, piano
Jaakko Heikkilä: A Man is a Man
Photography lecture with slides
Cosponsored by Finlandia Foundation New York Metropolitan Chapter.
Recital:
Pavlina Horakova, mezzo soprano
Kalle Toivio , piano
Valentine's Day Brunch and Concert
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.