Susan's Writings

The twenty-sixth season of the Festivo Music Festival will be held in the picturesque town of Rauma in August.

THE HISTORIC Old Rauma, founded in 1442 and selected a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, will receive world-renowned Finnish and international musicians in the first and second weeks of August.

This year, the Rauma Festivo offers a French theme due to a majority of French music composers like Mélanie Bonis, Francis Poulenc, Ernest Chausson and Camille Saint-Saéns. The festival offers 12 chamber music concerts at different venues in Rauma, the wooden church of Eurajoki and the Vuojoki mansion.

Artistic director and violinist Mark Gothoni, son of world-famous pianist and conductor Ralf Gothoni, will perform with the Mozart Piano Quartet this year. The Mozart Piano Quartet, one of the leading piano quartets in the world, has been invited to be ensemble-in-residence for the festival.

There will be a children’s concert on 4 August starting at 10 in the morning performed by students of the Music Institute of Rauma.

Café Sali, the festival’s cafeteria, offers visitors free entry to its music matinées performed by talented professional musicians. In August, just before the nights slowly turn us into having a more tranquil mood, listening to fine chamber music among the brightly painted wooden houses in Old Rauma sounds like a treat for the soul.

Rauma Festivo
3-9 August
Programme in English
www.raumanfestivo.fi

Susan Fourtané – Helsinki Times
RAUMA FESTIVO 2009 -Image

The enchanting castle of Olavinlinna hosts national and international opera, a treat for true opera lovers.

The romantic medieval castle in Savonlinna has hosted unforgettable opera premieres since 1987. The guest for the Opera Festival season 2009 is the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, one of Italy’s leading opera houses.

The Italians bring three magnificent productions to Savonia. Pietro Mascagni’s 1890 one-act Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) is a tale of love betrayed, jealousy and revenge. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s 1892 work Pagliacci (Clowns) plays on the classic theme of a love triangle. The third opera, Vincenzo Bellini’s three-act I Puritani (The Puritans), premiered in 1835, will now be performed in Finland for the first time. It contains two simultaneous plots where the power of politics and love play important roles among the characters.

Susan Fourtané – Helsinki Times
Timo Seppäläinen – Image

Savonlinna Opera festival
Until 1 August

FULL MOON DANCE FESTIVAL is the most significant contemporary dance festival in Finland. This year, Pyhäjärvi, located in the southernmost corner of Oulu, will welcome national and international choreographers alike from 21 to 25 July.

The rich selection of Finnish contemporary dance will shine on the big stage by male choreographers Tommi Kitti and Jyrki Katttunen with their internationally praised group pieces Riff and Situation Room. Artist professor Kenneth Kvarnström is making his coming back as a choreographer with the premiere of his Destruction Song, exploring the relationship between the individual and society.

The female choreographers’ works will show an interesting and personal view of women’s role in today’s society through Liisa Pentti’s Mabel or the Queen of Bones, Johanna Tuukkanen’s Huippusuoritus – Outstanding Performance, and the premiere of A Friend of the Pianist by the multi-talented choreographer Elina Pirinen.
This summer’s programme presents an interesting opportunity to observe and reflect on the impact of gender on the choice of topic and realisation.

Internationally recognized as a high-standard dance festival, Full Moon Dance is a must-go experience to everybody who is connected with the dance field or simply enjoys the sublime magic of dance and body language.

Further info & programme:
www.fullmoondance.fi

Susan Fourtané – Helsinki Times
Image: Urban Jören