Categories
Misc News

Fans cue for ‘kuoleman varjelukset’ at sub-zero temperatures

In downtown Helsinki, book chain Suomalainen Kirjakauppa had organized
a programme that included books, magazines, films, games and food, to
make the waiting circumstances a bit more pleasant. There was also a
line in front of the Academic Bookstore in the capital’s centre.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the last part in the Potter saga. It was translated into Finnish by Jaana Kapari-Jatta, who also did the Finnish translation of the other six parts in the series. Illustrator Mika Launis is responsible for the covers of the Finnish Potter books.

Categories
Misc News

Fewer visits to Finnish theatres

Fewer theatre goers last year

THEATRE Fewer people went to see performances at professional theatres in
Finland last year. According to the Association of Finnish Theatres,
its member theatres lost over 81,000 visitors overall compared to 2006.
The big stages lost the most visitors.

The Finnish National Opera saw the biggest drop in visitors last year:
over 68,000. The second biggest decline was for the Helsinki City
Theatre: over 40,000.

Helsinki’s Svenska teatern and the Lahti City Theatre gained the most visitors (both about 17,000 visitors more than in 2006).

Most of the professional theatres in Finland, 42 in total, belong to
the Association of Finnish Theatres. In all, the interest and employer
organisation’s member theatres had 2.4 million visitors last year. Last
year’s drop in visitor numbers is part of regular visitor number
fluctuation, according the Association.


Association of Finnish Theatres

 

Categories
Misc News

Teräsbetoni to represent Finland at Eurovision Song Contest

EUROVISION 2008 Melodic metal band Teräsbetoni will represent Finland at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Their Finnish-language song ‘Missä miehet ratsastaa
won 38.9 percent of the viewers’ votes in the so-called ‘super final’.

In this last stage in the two-part final, held at the Kulttuuritalo in
Helsinki on Saturday night (1.3),  the three candidates who got the
most votes in the final-of-14, competed.

Finnish crooner Kari Tapio came in second with 33.9 percent of the votes cast , with near-drag act Cristal Snow ending in third place with 26.5 percent.

The winning song was written, composed and arranged by Teräsbetoni's bass guitarist and vocalist J(arkko) Ahola.

Watch the winning performance [YLE Areena]

Categories
Misc News

Second KISS concert, Def Leppard date changes

CONCERT NEWS A second KISS
concert in Helsinki has been confirmed after tickets for the first gig
on the 28th of May sold out in record time on Tuesday. The rock band
led by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will come to
Finland one day earlier in order to also perform on the 27th of May.
Ticket sales for the extra gig at the Hartwall Areena will start next
Monday (3.3), via Lippupalvelu.

The Helsinki concert by Def Leppard, which had been
scheduled to take place on the same date, has been moved forward to the
4th of June. As a consequence, tickets for the gig at the Ice Stadium
(Jäähalli) will go on sale one week later than initially planned, on
Monday the 10th of March, also via Lippupalvelu outlets.

Related:

KISS tickets sold out in record time

Categories
Misc News

KISS tickets sold out in record time

Concert organizers started negotiating a possible second gig in Finland for the American rock group right away.

UPDATE:
A
second concert has been confirmed. KISS will come to Finland one day
earlier in order to also perform on the 27th of May. Ticket sales for
the added gig will start next Monday (3.3), also via Lippupalvelu.

KISS celebrates its 35th anniversary with an enormous European tour.
The  KISS Alive 35 Tour spans 17 European countries and includes major
festivals and first-time performances in St. Petersburg, Moscow and
Verona.

Related:

KISS (a)live in Helsinki in May

KISS: Official site | MySpace

More foreign acts performing in Finland: Coming to Finland

Categories
Misc News

Def Leppard and Misfits coming to Finland

[UPDATED]
CONCERT NEWS The Finnish concert by English hard rock legends Def Leppard has been confirmed. The legendary band from Sheffield will rock Helsinki’s Ice Stadium (Jäähalli) on Tuesday, the 27th of May.  Tickets for the gig will go on sale next Monday (3.3) via Lippupalvelu.

UPDATE: The Helsinki concert by Def Leppard has
been moved forward to the 4th of June. Tickets for the gig will go on
sale one week later than initially planned, on Monday the
10th of March.

Also punk pioneers the Misfits will come to Finland. The
band, formed in New Jersey in 1977, will play on Vappu eve (30.4) at
Nosturi in Helsinki. The gig is part of the Misfits’ 30th Anniversary
Tour and coincides beautifully with the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Live Music Association (ELMU ry.), the organisation behind the Nosturi venue. Tickets
sales for the gig start on Wednesday (27.2) via Lippupalvelu and
Tiketti ticket services.

Also check: Coming to Finland

Def Leppard: Official website | MySpace

Misfits: Official website | MySpace

Live Music Association ELMU ry. / Nosturi

Categories
Misc News

Eurovision Song Contest again in Finland this year?

Teräsbetoni and Cristal Snow through to national final

EUROVISION 2008 Metal band Teräsbetoni and near-drag act Cristal Snow are the latest to go straight to the final held next Saturday (1.3) in the national contest that will decide who will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

Meanwhile, there is talk that the Song Contest may not be held in the Belgrade this year after all, but again here in Finland, last year‘s host country.

European Broadcasting Union decides next month

The recent unrest in the Serbian capital that broke out after the Kosovo region proclaimed independence has made it less certain that the massive European event will be held in Belgrade this year, as planned.

Next month the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will discuss whether it is safe enough to hold the Song Contest in Serbia in May. If not, the event could return to Helsinki, the city with the most recent experience in hosting the huge event.

The previous time the EBU was considering moving the event to another country was early in 2005 after political unrest had broken out in the 2005 host city, the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Back then the event went ahead as planned.

More about the recent unrest in Serbia and the possible consequences (YLE News)

National final

On Friday (23.2), the last national qualification round for this year’s Finnish representation at the Eurovision Song Contest was held. With 51.7 percent, metal band Teräsbetoni won the televote with their song "Missä miehet ratsastaa". Cristal Snow (27.4 percent) came second with “Can’t Save Me”. Both will go straight to the final held at Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo next Saturday.

Tango Queen 2007 Jenna (“Sinua varten”) and actress and (former Ultra Bra) singer Vuokko Hovatta (“Virginia”) are amongst the group of six that will get a second change to make it to the final next Saturday.


For sure in the National Final (1 March)

Kari Tapio [Last.fm]– ”Valaise yö”listen (Choose 'Kari Tapio' in player)
music & arr. Pertti Haverinen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Pertti Haverinen 

Movetron [MySpace]– ”Cupido” listen (Choose 'Movetron' in player)
music Jukka Tanttari | lyrics Timo Löyvä | arr. Jukka Tanttari – Timo Löyvä 

Mikael Konttinen [MySpace] – ”Milloin”listen (Choose 'Mikael Konttinen' in player)
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Kyösti Salokorpi

Kristian Meurman [Last.fm] – ”Jos en sua saa”listen (Choose 'Kristian Meurman' in player)
music & lyrics Kristian Meurman | arr. Kristian Meurman – Tapio Niemelä – Imre Szabó

Teräsbetoni [MySpace] – ”Missä miehet ratsastaa” listen (Choose 'Teräsbetoni' in player)
music & lyrics & arr. J. Ahola

Cristal Snow [MySpace] – ”Can't Save Me”listen (Choose 'Cristal Snow' in player)
music, lyrics & arr. Cristal Snow – Heikki Liimatainen – Jimi Constantine



Second chance to a place in the national final:

Hanna Marsh [MySpace]– ”Broken Flower”listen (Choose 'Hanna Marsh' in player)
music & lyrics Hanna Marsh | arr. Lennart Östlund

Crumbland [MySpace] – ”Pleasure”listen
(Choose 'Crumbland' in player)

music Crumbland | lyrics Jonas Genberg | arr. Crumbland – Mikko Raita

Ninja [MySpace] – ”Battlefield Of Love” listen
(Choose 'Ninja' in player)
music & lyrics Susan Nova | arr. Susan Nova – Jani Saastamoinen

Jippu [MySpace] – ”Kanna minut” listen
(Choose 'Jippu' in player)
music & lyrics Jippu – Markus Koskinen | arr. Markus Koskinen

Jenna – ”Sinua varten” listen
(Choose 'Jenna' in player)
music & arr. Risto Asikainen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Risto Asikainen

Vuokko Hovatta [MySpace, Last.fm] – ”Virginia” listen
(Choose 'Vuokko Hovatta' in player)
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Anna Viitala
 

Categories
Misc News

KISS (a)live in Helsinki in May

CONCERT NEWS For those who have been longing to see KISS
live in concert once again, the waiting is over. Their previously
reported gig in Finland has been confirmed. The legendary American rock
group (formed in 1973) will play the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki on the
28th of May. Tickets costing 69 and 63 euro will go on sale via
Lippupalvelu next week on Tuesday (26.2) at 9 a.m.

The KISS Alive 35 tour is KISS’s first European tour since the Psycho
Circus Tour in 1999. It will include major European festivals and cover
17 countries, taking the band for the first time to Moscow, St.
Petersburg and Verona. In Finland, the group has played five times
before, the last time at a sold out Hartwall Areena in 1999.

Also check: Coming to Finland

Categories
Misc News

FME attracted 5,000 metal fans

This year’s big winner was domestic metal band Mokoma, which took home three awards: Best album of the year (Luihin ja ytimiin), Cover art of the year and Vocalist of the year (Marko Annala). Nightwish won the Band of the year award, while the band’s Tuomas Holopainen received the prize for Musician of the year. Idols winner Ari Koivunen
was presented with the award for Rookie of the year. This year for the
first time, the winners were decided by visitors of metal website
Imperiumi.net.

The main live performers at FME this year included Soilwork (SWE), Municipal
Waste
(USA), and popular Finnish metal bands Stam1na, Turisas,
Mustasch and Korpiklaani. In addition, some 50 exhibitors presented
their products at the event.

Categories
Misc News

Prime Minister and ex-girlfriend in court

Ruusunen and her publisher Kari Ojala are being charged with violation of privacy for the kiss-and-tell exposé Pääministerin Morsian (The Prime Minister’s Bride), in which Ruusunen discloses many private details about her relationship with Vanhanen.

The Prime Minister filed charges against the publisher of the book in March 2007, just after the Parliamentary elections.


Vanhanen in court

In the Helsinki District Court on Friday, Vanhanen said that the salacious details in the book were not relevant to the public interest and therefore not appropriate for publication.

Ruusunen feels sorry

Ruusunen was heard after the Prime Minister had left the court
building. She and Vanhanen didn‘t exchange words in the
court room.

‘I never meant to harm anyone,’ Ruusunen said sobbing. ’I would have wanted to apologize in Matti’s presence.’

She claimed publisher Ojala ‘wanted sex and politics in the book’ and that she did not know in advance how much of the detail would actually end up being published.

She said that she had been worried in advance if such a book was legal, but that Ojala had told her several times that they didn’t need to get advice on the matter because he had 30 years of experience in the field.

Ruusunen said that her judgement had failed her and that she now regrets that private text messages she had received from the Prime Minister ended up in the book. She said that she regrets making the book and that she was not satisfied with the end result.

She also agreed with Vanhanen’s remark that the book was not relevant to the public interest.

The publisher’s defence

Kari Ojala, the publisher of the exposé, maintained that both Vanhanen and Ruusunen were fully aware of the graphic details that were going to be published.

Damages

The PM didn’t seek any damages from his ex girlfriend personally when he filed the charges. From publisher Ojala, on the other hand, he wants 1,000 euros in damages. The prosecuter, however, is calling for Ruusunen to pay a minimum of 7,000 euros. For the publisher, the Prosecutor is seeking heavy fines of at least 50,000 euros.

The court case is seen as setting a precedent in the debate on public figures’ rights to privacy. A verdict in the case is expected on the 5th of March.

Matti & Susan, Matti & Merja

Matti Vanhanen en Susan Ruusunen (then Kuronen) had a brief relationship in 2006, lasting a little over six months.  In April 2005, Vanhanen and his wife Merja had announced their separation after 20 years of marriage. They officially filed for divorce in February 2006.

Matti Vanhanen is not known to be in a relationship at the moment. His former wife Merja, who works as a fight attendant and as a local representative for Vanhanen’s Centre Party, recently went engaged. They have two teenage children.

Related:
PM Vanhanen to face former girlfriend in court

The court case in the news:

Vanhanen-Kuronen court case begins – Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (Finland)
Prime Minister defends right to privacy in court case – YLE News (Finland)

Finnish PM sues over kiss-and-tell – The Independent (UK)

Finnish Prime Minister Sues Over Love-Life Book – MSNBC.com/Associated Press (USA), also in/on:
The San Diego Union-Tribute (USA)
Fox News (USA)
The Kansas City Star (USA)
The Peninsula (Qatar)


The book in the news:


Finnish PM improves his prospects with deft handling of a hot potato
– The Guardian (UK)


Ikea, Nokia and baked potatoes: how a kiss-and-tell book can win you votes
– The Times (UK)

Ex-Lover's book no hot potato for Finland's Prime Minister – The Australian (Australia)

The book:

Pääministerin Morsian (in Finnish)

The story's main characters:

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
Prime Minister's Office

Susan Ruusunen – Wikipedia
Susan Kuronen, stop opening up-petition (in Finnish), signed over 65,000 times (alternative title: Be quiet, Susan Kuronen)

Kari Ojala, publisher, Etukeno (in Finnish)
Etukeno publishing house

Merja Vanhanen – Parliamentary elections website (in Finnish)

Categories
Misc News

Lenny Kravitz: two concerts in Finland

Earlier this week (Tuesday), Kravitz was forced to postpone the first
leg of his European tour after he had been taken to a Miami hospital
suffering from severe bronchitis. He had been scheduled to tour Europe to promote his recently released new album ‘It Is Time For a Love Revolution’, his first solo album in nearly four years. The tour was set to begin next Monday (18.2) in London and run until the end of March.

Later this year, Kravitz is expected to release yet another new album, called ‘Funk’, a project he is said to have been working on since 1997.

Lenny Kravitz has performed in Finland once before, in 2005, also at the Hartwall Areena.

Also check: Coming to Finland

Lenny Kravitz: Official website | MySpace

Categories
Art Features

When sculpture and architecture dialogue

It is said that the Finnish architect Viljo Revell considered his buildings to be complete only when a Henry Moore sculpture was part of them. And all year round visitors can admire the Reclining figure on a pedestal by H. Moore at Villa Didrichsen, designed by V. Revell. But from the 9th of February visitors of the Villa Didrichsen are also able to admire an interesting selection of works by the renowned 20th century British sculptor, collected in the exhibition The challenge of architecture.

Henry Moore sculpture

As the title clearly states, the focus is entirely on those sculptures that are either placed in architectural settings or somehow connected with architecture. On display are, among the others, masterpieces like the Archer, that Moore sculpted in white marble, and subsequently used as a model for the sculpture with the same name placed in Nathan Phillips square in Toronto, facing Revell’s City Hall; the working model for the Hill Arches, placed in 1973 in front of Fischer von Erlach’s Karlskirche in Wien; the working model for Three piece n. 3: vertebrae, now gracing the plaza of Dallas city hall (project by I.M. Pei).

The relationship between architecture and sculpture is explored in different facets: part of the exhibition is devoted to Moore sculptures and the architectural settings they are placed in. Another section is more intimate, the sculptures being placed in the part of the villa the Didrichsen used to live in. Here the visitor can see how harmonious and surprising is the interplay between, for instance, Square form with cut, whose enlarged version was on display in Florence at the Forte Belvedere in 1971, and the villa itself. Anita Feldman, the curator of the exhibition and of the Henry Moore Foundation, explain that after considering for a while whether to place this particular piece in the Villa’s garden, she opted for putting it inside, under a huge skylight, the opening on the villa’s ceiling echoing the one in the sculpture. Ms Feldman also points out the architectural quality of most of Moore’s works: of course you can walk around them, but most of the time you can actually walk through them, as if they were proper architectural spaces, with their lights and inner and outer spaces.

Henry Moore sculpture

It’s therefore quite interesting to get to know how the collaboration between the architects – Revell, Pei but also Marcel Breur – and Moore developed. Moore didn’t work on commission: it was rather the architect who visited the sculptor studio and was somehow left to choose among already existing sculptures what would suit the architecture he had in mind, somewhat reversing the connection/relation between architecture and sculpture.

The exhibition is a great occasion to get acquainted with the work of one of the greatest 20th century artists. Or, for those who are already familiar with his work, to discover a new dimension to his art: the ability “to dialogue with intimate domestic spaces” that Mary Moore, the sculptor’s daughter, is pleased to highlight.

Henry Moore: the Challenge of architecture
The Didrichsen Art Museum 9.2. – 28.9.2008
TUE-SUN 11-18 WED 11-20 (1.6.-31.7. • 11-18)

Written by Silvia Costantini

Categories
Misc News

R.E.M. coming to Finland

R.E.M. was formed in 1980 by Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry and is best known for mega hits like Losing My Religion, Man On The Moon, Daysleeper and Everybody Hurts. Drummer Bill Berry retired from the band in 1997 to become a farmer.

In April, the band releases its fourteenth studio album Accelerate, the first new studio album in four years.

The group has performed in Finland twice before: at the Provinssirock
festival in 1989 and at a sold-out Hartwall Areena in 2005.

Also check: Coming to Finland


R.E.M.:
Official site | MySpace


Finnair Stadium
(in Finnish)

Categories
Misc News

Eurovision 2008: Kari Tapio and Movetron through to national final

Twelve artists are competing for the honour to represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade. Other hopefuls include popular metal group Teräsbetoni and near-drag act Cristal Snow, former Idols candidate Kristian Meurman, singer-songwriter Jippu, and former Ultra Bra singer and actress Vuokko Hovatta.

The final will be held on Friday, the 1st of March from 20:00.

Click on the names below to go to the artists' websites and click 'listen' to listen to their Eurovision 2008 entries

Eurovison 2008 Finnish Qualifying Rounds
(broadcast live on YLE TV2)

Qualifying Round 1: Friday 8 February, 21:00

Hanna Marsh [MySpace]”Broken Flower” – listen (Choose 'Hanna Marsh' in player)
music & lyrics Hanna Marsh | arr. Lennart Östlund

Kari Tapio [Last.fm]– ”Valaise yö”listen (Choose 'Kari Tapio' in player) –> Final
music & arr. Pertti Haverinen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Pertti Haverinen 

Movetron [MySpace]– ”Cupido” listen (Choose 'Movetron' in player) –> Final
music Jukka Tanttari | lyrics Timo Löyvä | arr. Jukka Tanttari – Timo Löyvä

Crumbland [MySpace] ”Pleasure” – listen

(Choose 'Crumbland' in player)
music Crumbland | lyrics Jonas Genberg | arr. Crumbland – Mikko Raita


Qualifying Round 2: Friday 15 February, 21:00

Ninja [MySpace] – ”Battlefield Of Love”
music & lyrics Susan Nova | arr. Susan Nova – Jani Saastamoinen

Kristian Meurman [Last.fm] – ”Jos en sua saa”
music & lyrics Kristian Meurman | arr. Kristian Meurman – Tapio Niemelä – Imre Szabó

Jippu [MySpace] – ”Kanna minut”
music & lyrics Jippu – Markus Koskinen | arr. Markus Koskinen

Mikael Konttinen [MySpace] – ”Milloin”
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Kyösti Salokorpi


Qualifying Round 3: Friday 22 February, 21:00

Jenna – ”Sinua varten”
music & arr. Risto Asikainen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Risto Asikainen

Cristal Snow [MySpace] – ”Can't Save Me”
music, lyrics & arr. Cristal Snow – Heikki Liimatainen – Jimi Constantine

Vuokko Hovatta [MySpace, Last.fm] – ”Virginia”
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Anna Viitala

Teräsbetoni [MySpace] – ”Missä miehet ratsastaa”
music & lyrics & arr. J. Ahola

Eurovision 2008 (YLE, in Finnish)


The 2008 dozen revealed
(ESC Finland)

Categories
Misc News

Judas Priest in Helsinki this June

 


  • A little (wild) speculation…
  •  COMMENT  A support act for the concert in Helsinki has not been announced yet, but some of us here at FREE! are placing our bets on Sturm und Drang. The members of the popular Vaasa-based band have often publicly said that they are huge fans of Judas Priest. K.K. Downing even went on stage to play with the young band when he saw them perform at the Vrock festival in Salo in August last year. It was the first time ever the guitarist and founding member of Judas Priest played in public with another band than his own.
  • Sturm und Drang have made a 'storming' career and joined Apocalyptica on their European tour in October and November last year. The young metal sensation will go on their first own European tour in late March. They will be back well in time to be at the Judas Priest gig in Helsinki, whether on stage or amongst the audience…


Related:

Metal God's predictions – FREE's interview with K.K. Downing (February 2007)

History made during Sturm und Drang performance – news (28.8.2007)

Also check: Coming to Finland

Judas Priest: official website | MySpace | K.K. Downing
Jäähalli (in Finnish)

Sturm und Drang: official website | MySpace

Apocalyptica