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Kalevala, the National Epic

The national epic KALEVALA is the most famous Finnish work of art from the era of Romanticism. It explores the depths of the Finnish cultural identity thousands of years back, and yet gives a vision of the future. Kalevala still is an important source of inspiration for both writers, painters and musicians.

 

Music

 

Classical Music

 
During the last century, the imposing figure of JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1957) dominated the country's musical life. His extensive output includes
  • seven symphonies,
  • numerous symphonic poems and orchestral suites, as well as
  • a number of elegant minor works.
His masterpiece "Finlandia" touches every Finn just as deeply as the national anthem "Our Land".

 

International stars among the opera singers are
  • MATTI SALMINEN (born 1945, bass),
  • JORMA HYNNINEN (born 1941, baryton) and
  • KARITA MATTILA (born 1960, soprano).

The young Finnish conductors

have a spectacular international career.

Pianists

  • RALF GOTHîNI (born 1946),
  • OLLI MUSTONEN (born 1967) and
  • LAURA MIKKOLA (born 1974)
have impressed concert audiences all over the world with their original interpretations.

One of the leading lights of the young generation is the violinist PEKKA KUUSISTO (born 1976), the winner of the 1995 Sibelius violin contest.

 

  • MAGNUS LINDBERG (born 1958) and
  • KAIJA SAARIAHO (born 1952)
are the most prominent names among the younger composer generation.

 

During the past fifteen years, Finnish opera has gained a worldwide reputation.

THE SAVONLINNA OPERA FESTIVAL atmosphere is exotic: an opera stage in a medieval lakeland castle in eastern Finland. The castle courtyard with over 2000 seats is filled to the last seat during the performance season in July. Every summer an opera by

  • Mozart,
  • Verdi,
  • Wagner or
  • Puccini
is performed often by worldfamous artists. Among the favourite operas are the historical works by
  • AULIS SALLINEN (born 1935) and
  • JOONAS KOKKONEN (1921 -1996).
Also EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA (born 1928) is an illustrious opera composer.

 

 

Pop Music

If you don't find anything Finnish on the international rock charts, it doesn't mean there is no rock music in Finland - on the contrary. In January 1997 the leading rock magazine Rumba asked its readers to poll a vote for the best national and international musicians, bands, albums etc. The superior winner in the category "The Best Finnish Band" was CMX, whose album "Discopolis" was voted the best of 1996.

English is more or less the language of choice for the bands, but like CMX some other very popular bands like

all sing in Finnish.

In the category "The Best New Talent" bands like

  • RASMUS,
  • LEMONATOR and
  • ULTRA BRA
took the lead.

Metallica has always had many fans in Finland, but in their latest concert in Helsinki they had an interesting support, APOCALYPTICA: four young men playing Metallica's music on cellos.

ISMO ALANKO has been a leading figure for almost 20 years in Finnish popular music either with a band or simply on his own.

A Finnish band, which nowadays seldom has a gig in Finland but more often in Central Europe, LENINGRAD COWBOYS made history in 1993 by its big show (Total Balalaika Show) in the centre of Helsinki with the Soviet Red Army Choir.

RUISROCK in Turku claims to be the world's oldest rock festival. The first festival was organized in 1970. Tens of thousands of rock fans congregate in July to listen to their favourites, such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pulp, Blur and Neil Young in 1996 among tens of national groups.

An even bigger rock festival is called PROVINSSIROCK usually at the beginning of June. The organisers are known for their talent to find future big names to play among the super stars.

 

 

Music Festivals

The numerous summer music festivals representing different regional cultures are internationally competitive events. KAUSTINEN FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL attracts 92 000 enthusiasts who come not only to watch and listen but also to take part and to learn in special teaching workshops.

 

 

Drama

Finns are a theatre going people. Few countries have such a large number of theatres in proportion of their population. In addition to the present 58 theatres with a permanent stage, there are thousands of amateur companies giving performances in practically every community in the country.

JOUKO TURKKA, a film and theatre director, has been a very controversial figure in Finnish cultural life during the past decades - as devotedly as some love him, others hate him.

 

 

Film

TAUNO PALO and ANSA IKONEN, the best known couple on the film screen in the 1930s and 1940s, have always kept their place in the hearts of the Finnish theatre and movie lovers.

The contemporary Finnish cinema has received little exposure or distribution until recently with the brothers MIKA and AKI KAURISM€KI. Refracting a range of influences, from the French "nouvelle vague" to American rock'n roll, though a uniquely Finnish sensibility, the brothers have created a body of work that has been seen in 65 countries, won prizes at international festivals and brought Aki the accolade of being the youngest director ever to receive a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The elder brother Mika has directed e.g.

  • "Klaani" (1984),
  • "Rosso" (1985) and
  • "Amazon" (1990).
Aki's "Calamari Union" (1985) included all the best Finnish rockers of the time and is a kind of Finnish Film Noir. His minimalist style is well represented in Both brothers have had their contribution on establishing THE MIDNIGHT SUN FILM FESTIVAL in SodankylŠ, Lapland: 5 days of films 24-hours a day under the midnight sun.

RENNY HARLIN is the first Finnish Hollywood-director. His first big hit was "Die Hard II" with Bruce Willis and the latest "The Long Kiss Goodnight" with his wife Geena Davis.

 

Fine Arts

WERNER HOLMBERG (1830 - 1860) and ALBERT EDELFELT (1845-1905) were to become the first internationally renowned painters. The latter, a favourite of the Paris Salons, was a precursor of both Finnish "plein air" painting and Impressionism.

The master of Kalevala motifs, AKSELI GALLƒN-KALLELA (1865-1931) created our most remarkable national pictorial work. It has become a vital part of Finnish identity.

Inspired by Finnish folklore, HUGO SIMBERG (1873-1917) created a unique magic world of wounded angels and little devils, a saga filled with melancholic humour.

Of the more recent painters are the two ladies LEENA LUOSTARINEN and MARJATTA TAPIOLA among the most significant.

OUTI HEISKANEN's graphic art is inspired by many fairy talelike figures of the surrounding world: twigs and wind, flowers and animals.

KAIN TAPPER is already a conception in Finnish art: in his sculptures he combines nature and natural phenomina, old folklore and modernism.

Internet Link to Finnish painters: click here!

 

 

Design

Finland is not known only for its wood and paper, FINNISH DESIGN also covers a large variety of products in

  • plastics and telecommunications (NESTE),
  • ceramics (ARABIA, PENTIK),
  • textiles (FINLAYSON, MARIMEKKO),
  • jewellery (KALEVALA KORU, AARIKKA) and
  • glass (IITTALA-NUUTAJ€RVI).
The colourful textiles and clothes by Marimekko have made it a very prosperous enterprise indeed and today they don't concentrate only on clothing and fabrics but on a number of accessories:
  • bags,
  • scarfs,
  • purses,
  • napkins,
  • even cups and vases.

The jewellery by Kalevala Koru has its origin deep in the Finnish history: the ornaments are decorated with motivs which are either historical or designed by artists of our own time, but inspired by ancients patterns.

 

 

Architecture

The biggest names in Finnish architecture are ALVAR AALTO (1898-1976) the designer of the Finlandia Hall, who managed to fuse something Finnish with modernism and revolutionised 20th-century architecture, and ELIEL SAARINEN (1873-1950), who with his Central Railway Station in Helsinki and HvittrŠsk en route from Helsinki to Turku proved that Finland had an international contribution to make.

There are some architecturally interesting churches in Finland, e.g. the biggest wooden church in KerimŠki built in 1847 and the modern Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki built into solid rock cliffs with inner walls of stone.

An exotic winter building is the biggest snowcastle in the world built each year in Kemi, Lapland. The audience must be very careful with its clothing while attending performances (plays, concerts etc.).

The heating is not their strength here. In January 1997 Helsinki, the capital, got its own example of snow buildings. In the very centre of the city a smaller-sized snow church was built according to the very old designs of a church which was built on the site 1727 but then demolished as the cathedral was built.

 

Libraries

Finnish culture has a large scale of possibilities to offer from the established arts and performances to everyday facilities, e.g. the libraries. The Finnish library system is very well organized and the Finns eagerly benefit from it. The both official languages, Finnish and Swedish, double the choice in many cases.

 

Helsinki in the year 2000

The events of the year 2000, as Helsinki with 8 other cities will be the European Cultural Capital still remain to be seen. Hopefully the events of the year include not only internationally established art but also something of the very heart of the Finnish culture, i.e.: ...

 

 

... the sauna:

 

Earlier there used to be a number of public saunas also in the capital, not only in more rural cities - now there are only three of them left in Helsinki. Perhaps the oldest of them, established in 1928, not electric but to be heated up with logs, soon needs some renovation work, but the owners won't be able to afford it by themselves. Although people may have modern electric saunas in their appartments, if this traditional part of the everyday way of life is lost, something of the very Finnishness will be lost.

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