5 January at 7.30 pm Arvo Volmer conducts the London Schools Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall, London Arvo Volmer, Volmer the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Estonian National Opera, the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Australia, is one of the most acclaimed conductors in Estonia, also with widespread international recognition. He is considered one of the foremost Sibelius interpreters in the world. Programme: John Adams - Short Ride in a Fast Machine Britten - Piano Concerto Dvořák - Symphony No 9 (From the New World) www.barbican.org.uk
9 January – 21 February Mark Raidpere video art at the Norn Projects, Sunbury House, 1 Andrews Road, London Mark Raidpere exposes social allocations, conveying a sense of empathy and outsiderdom. His 2003 video ‘Ten Men’ consists of static shots of inmates from an Estonian prison posing for the camera. With muscles, tattoos, broken noses and shaven heads, the prisoners display themselves as objects of fear but they also evoke pity; forcing the viewer to question whether they are brutal criminals or victims of society. nornprojects.com
11 – 15 January Tallinn as focus of urban design project, Scott Brownrigg, 77 Endell Street, London Estonian fashion designer Reet Aus in public spaces design project focusing on Athens, London, Milan and Tallinn. Reet Aus is wellregarded for her pioneering work in creating high fashion through recycling. She has worked extensively in the theatre and is particularly interested in the relationship between (recycled) costume and the space it inhabits. 14 January at 6 pm - a free public lecture about ‘Tallinn Shadow Memory’ followed by a debate. www.scottbrownrigg.com
Book Now 2010, Estonia The Estonian Year of Reading will bring several Estonian authors, publishers and translators to the UK and will feature many Estonian literary events all over the country. The highlights of the year include: the novel ‘In The Same River’ by acclaimed writer Jaan Kaplinski will be Publishers Dedalus published by Peter Owen Publishers. Ltd will publish the ‘Anthology of Estonian Literature’ Literature’. Poetry books by Doris Kareva and Kristiina Ehin will be published by Arc Publications. Both authors will attend the Ledbury Poetry Festival Publications in July. The play ‘Happy Everyday’ by acclaimed Estonian playwright Jaan Tätte will be staged in London by director Liisa Smith Smith. The Estonian School in London will stage a play by Leelo Tungal Tungal, who will take part in the event in May.
18 January at 7 pm The Estonian Embassy in London will officially launch the Estonian National Year of Reading in the United Kingdom ‘Book Now, Estonia 2010’ will be launched by a special talk given by writer Ian Thomson about British visitors to the Estonian capital Tallinn in the interwar years, including Graham Greene, Bertrand Russell, Arthur Ransome and Herbert George Wells.
20 January at 8 pm Elo Viiding in ‘Best European Fiction 2010’ at South Bank Centre, London ‘Best European Fiction 2010’ is the inaugural installment of what will become an annual anthology of stories from across Europe published by Dalkey Archive. Estonian contribution to the book is ‘Foreign Woman’ by Elo Viiding translated by Eric Dickens Dickens. www.dalkeyarchive.com/catalog/show/609
Estonian Film festival at the London School of Economics 11 – 13 February Estonian Film Festival at LSE, Clement House, 99 Aldwych, London
Programme: ‘Blackout’ by Margus Paju, 2009 In order to feel changes you need sensibility. In order to bring magical realism into life you need a film strip. Through the eye of the legendary Krasnogorsk-3 camera ‘Blackout’ shows you the miracle of a new beginning.
‘True Colours’ by Margus Paju, 2009 Young woman in her 9th month of pregnancy, starts to drive to the hospidal by herself but meets on the country road her husband. On their way it soon happens that the car is running out of petrol. They drive into local gas station, where bustles Joosep, intellectual gas station owner filled with memories about his ex-lovers.
‘Mindless’ by Elmo Nüganen, 2006 I believe that many of us have had the question, what life am I living? I did. I had always thought that a little bit more and then I will start living my own life. I will finish one more project and then ... But what if that ‘then’ never arrives? I just rush through my life and then it is over ... Something snapped inside me. I decided, I will try at least. I will try to live a ‘zero life‘ somewhere in the woods. This is the confession of the main character of the film as he stands in front of the judge in the court.
‘Narrow is the Gate’ by Kersti Uibo, 2002 Gračanica Convent has been a Christian enclave within the largely Moslem province of Kosovo since the 14th century. Following the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the convent also became a political enclave; a remnant of Serbian rule, protected by NATO troops from destruction at the hands of triumphant Kosovans.
‘Disco and Atomic War’ by Jaak Kilmi, 2009 ‘Disco and Atomic War‘ tells the story of a strange kind of information war, where a totalitarian regime stands face to face with the heroes of popular culture. And looses. Western popular culture had an incomparable role shaping Soviet childrens’ world-views in those days - in ways that now seem slightly odd. Finnish television was a window to a world of dreams that the authorities could not block in any way. Though Finnish channels were banned, many households found some way to access the forbidden fruit. ‘Disco and Atomic War‘ offers its own version of recent history, mixing spy games into a human tragicomedy.
‘December Heat’ by Asko Kase, 2008 Newlyweds Tanel and Anna Rõuk decide to leave Estonia to look for luck and better life in Paris. They pack their belongings and go to the central railway station on the dark early morning of December 1, 1924. In the previous hours, however, communist revolutionists have launched an attack in Tallinn that changes their plans drastically. Army barracks, the Parliament, the residence of the Head of State and the central post office are attacked as well as the central railway station, where Tanel and Anna are torn apart in the midst of the attack. Tanel manages to escape and must, in the following cliffhanging events, rescue both his wife and in the end also the young Estonian Republic.
Discussion and Q/A with Kiur Aarma Aarma, scriptwriter and producer, ‘Disco and Atomic War’ and Kersti Uibo Uibo, director, ‘Narrow is the Gate’. Gate’ Introductions and discussions with Allan Sikk, Regina Plandi, Liisa Smith and Neil Taylor Taylor.
12 February at 6 pm Saatchi Gallery Magazine presents: ’15 Future Art Stars’ including August Künnapu, 74 Ackroyd Drive, Bow, London Harry Pye: I have selected 15 artists that I think are more than worthy of your attention. It would be very easy for me to select 15 upand-coming artists that already have a major gallery backing them - making sure their work is selling in art fairs. But what I’ve actually done is pick 15 artists who impress me for different reasons ... August Künnapu makes eyecatching portraits of those who matter most to him. His paintings stick out a mile. He believes in painting and its healing qualities. www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk
18 – 20 February The collaboration of the acclaimed conductor Neeme Järvi with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will continue in Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Programme: 18 February at 7.30, Perth Concert Hall 19 February at 7.30, Usher Hall, Edinburgh 20 February at 7.30, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow Sibelius - Pelléas et Mélisande Wagner /arr. de Vlieger - Tristan and Isolde: An Orchestral Passion www.neemejarvi.ee
22 February at 7 pm Estonian Guild in London presents: Estonian Independence Day Event, Candid Arts Banquet Room, 3 Torrens Street, London Introducing the upcoming production of Jaan Tätte’s play ‘Happy Everyday’, with director Tätte Liisa Smith www.ourtheatreprojects.edicypages.com/projects/happy-everyday
24 February at 7.30 pm Estonian Independence Day celebrations in York ‘Forgotten Peoples‘ by Veljo Tormis, performed by The 24, conducted by Dr John Potter, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York A towering figure in Estonian music, Veljo Tormis supreme achievement has been to preserve in his own Tormis’s music the songs of the almost forgotten peoples and languages of the tribes that live in the region of Karelia, between Estonia and Finland. The programme consists of two parts of the great ‘Forgotten Peoples‘ cycle – ‘Ingrian Evenings’ and ‘Karelian Destiny’, plus ‘Estonian Lyric Folksongs’. All the music is based on folk music of the Baltic peoples, and The 24 will be singing in Estonian, Finnish and Karelian. Veljo Tormis will lead workshops on 22 and 23 February, Q/A and pre-concert talk on 24 February February. Sean Rafferty will feature Veljo Tormis in the In Tune, BBC Radio 3 on 23 February February. www.york.ac.uk/concerts/programme/forgottenpeoples
4 March at 7.30 pm Kristjan Järvi and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall, London Kristjan Järvi’s Järvi name has become synonymous with artistic and cultural diversity, embodied in his roles as Artistic Advisor to the Basel Chamber Orchestra and Founder and Music Director of New York’s Absolute Ensemble. Programme: Bernstein - Symphonic Dances from West Side Story Gershwin (orch Grofé) - Rhapsody in Blue Rachmaninov - Symphonic Dances www.barbican.org.uk
10 – 28 March 15 concerts by the folk group Ro:toro in England The tour will take traditional Estonian tunes with a lady pipers, an improvising saxophonist, accopanied by a rocking guitarist and a mad percussionist playing water drums to 15 different venues in the Southwest: Dorchester, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, South Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall. Ro:toro has released two CD-s under the Nordic label TUTL and has become a regular performer at folk music festivals in Estonia and abroad. www.rootoro.mcp.pri.ee
12 March at 6 pm ‘The Singing Revolution‘ at Gilmorehill G12 Cinema, Glasgow ‘The Singing Revolution‘, 2007, is a powerful documentary film by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty. Tusty Most people don’t think about singing when they think about revolutions. But song was the weapon of choice when, between 1987 and 1991, Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. During those years, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence.
24 March – 25 April at 7.30 pm ‘The Power of Love’, directed by Ilmar Taska, at the Courtyard Theatre, London A world premiere of a new play by Tony J. Williams, directed by film director Ilmar Taska Williams Taska. Starring Anna Winslet as Isabel, Christoph Dostal as Matt. An exciting creative partnership was forged between producers Lucia Katz Edwards and Ilmar Taska with Tim Gill, Gill general manager of the Courtyard Theatre, an important theatre venue in London. http://www.thecourtyard.org.uk
25 March at 2 pm ‘Estonian architecture exhibitions at the LFA’, a presentation at the Britich Council, London Estonian architects will for first time take part in the London Festival of Architecture. The Juurmann, project presentation is given by Priit Juurmann leader from the Estonian Centre of Architects. www.lfa2010.org
26 March at 7.30 pm ‘Sacred Music‘, Arvo Pärt and Henryk Górecki at BBC Four Simon Russell Beale visits Estonia and Poland to discover why the sacred music of the two highly spiritual composers Pärt and Górecki strikes such a chord in today’s noisy and fast-moving world. Alongside music performed by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, Sixteen Beale’s journey takes him through the turbulent religious and political history of Eastern Europe as he explores the important symbolic role of sacred music in the struggle against Communism. www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour
26 – 28 March From Tartu to Bury St Edmunds, a Musical Bridge A rare opportunity to hear the beauty and complexity of Estonian choral music, backed up by the best of British choral music. On 26 March the Emajõe Laulikud will team up with the renowned local choir, the St Edmundsbury Male Voice Choir for an evening to raise money for the Mayor’s charities. On 28 March, the concert at the Trinity Methodist Church, Bury St Edmunds. Edmunds www.laulikud.ee
2 April – 2 May ‘Love, fear and warning signs‘, the first UK solo exhibition by Marko Mäetamm, at Nettie Horn, 25B Vyner Street, London Having represented Estonia at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, Marko Mäetamm presents here a new body of work consisting of a series of sculptures, video animations, photographs and drawings. www.nettiehorn.com
5 April at 8.30 pm The Free Tallinn Trio at the Vortex Jazz Club, London The Free Tallinn Trio Trio: an unique combination of a singer with an unusually wide voice range Anne-Liis Poll, Poll the classically trained piano Pett and guitarist Jaak Sooäär Sooäär, virtuoso Anto Pett, one of the most well-known jazz musicians in the Baltics. The freely improvised music of the group could be described as a contemporary impro chamber opera, but the main influences are contemporary music and modern jazz improvisation. www.vortexjazz.co.uk
19 April Estonian publishers at the London Book Fair Numerous Estonian publishers will take part in the London Book Fair at Earls Court Exhibition Centre under the umbrella of the Estonian Publishers Association Association, along with the Estonian Literature Information Centre and several translators. Stand W475. www.londonbookfair.co.uk
19 April at 10 am A seminar at the London Book Fair: the Winged Chariot Press turns a new page in the history of the picture books. Speaker Neal Hoskins This is the beginning of the long run collaboration of the Estonian Children books illustrators and Raud new iPhone Winged Chariot Press. Piret Raud’s book will be presented at the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre on 24 May. The project will continue with the iPad children book by Viive Noor and Jüri Mildeberg. Mildeberg www.wingedchariot.com/surprise
24 April at 7.30 pm Estonian mezzo–soprano Kai Rüütel at the Mayfield Festival Sir Thomas Allen and young artists from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden will give a concert at the Mayfield Parich Church. Kai Rüütel joined the ROH Jette Parker Young Artists programme in September 2009. www.mayfieldfestival.co.uk
Estonian films at the London East End Film Festival 23 April at 6.45 pm ‘Bank Robbery’, director Andrus Tuisk, Genesis, London Hannes is bullied at school and lacks parental love. His uncle Madis, a tattooed former boxer and lifelong criminal, is just released from prison. With Hannes looking for a father figure, the two misfits link up and head off on a road trip into rural Estonia, leading Madis back to a life of crime. www.eastendfilmfestival.com
28 April at 6.15 pm ‘Disco and Atomic War’, director Jaak Kilmi, Barbican Cinema, London A documentary about growing up in the Soviet Union, but close enough to Finland to receive the forbidden fruit of Finnish television - a window to a world of dreams that the authorities could not block. www.eastendfilmfestival.com
28 April at 6 pm ‘Bank Robbery’, director Andrus Tuisk, at the New Europe Film Festival, Filmhouse, Edinburgh When Madis leaves jail after ten years he wants to get married and stay out of trouble. But when he takes his shy teenage nephew Hannes on a trip, a surprise is awaiting them. www.neweuropefilm.com
29 April – 3 May Anu Samarüütel’s exhibition ‘Freehand’ at the Gales Gallery, Arch 10, Gales Gardens, London Anu Samarüütel’s Samarüütel exhibition ‘Freehand’ will combine fashion, textile and illustration. Anu is a fashion designer and illustrator who lives and works in London and Tallinn. The starting point for the exhibition was a spontaneous free hand draw which Anu has used as digital print on fabrics. www.10gales.co.uk
30 April, 1 May at 7.30 World premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Symphony No 8, City Halls, Glasgow; Usher Hall, Edinburgh Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Tüür Symphony No 8 was commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with funding from the Scottish Parliament. The performances will be conducted Elts who has been the Principal Guest Conductor of the by Olari Elts, Scottish Chamber Orchestra from the 2007/08 season. Pre-concert talk with Erkki-Sven Tüür on both days at 6.30 www.sco.org.uk
Land In Focus: Estonia In Focuss 6, 9 May – Film Festival: esttiv ival al: Estonia in Focus al Focus, Roxy Bar and Screen and Shortwave Cinema Land In Focus is pleased to announce its second thematic film & Focus Interview and Q&A with Rain Tolk, Tolk culture event, Estonia In Focus. Toom the director starring in films ‘Autumn Ball’ and ‘Empty’. Tanel Toom, Mutovkin, the scriptwriter and of ‘The Second Coming’ and Aleksei Mutovkin lead actor of the film ‘Unlucky Talisman’ will participate at the sceering.
6 May at 7.30 – Short Films, Roxy Bar and Screen, 10 Bermondsey Square, SE1 3UN ‘Divers in the Rain’ by Olga and Priit Pärn, 2009 The latest understated drama by animation’s best chronicler is a story about a daytime diver and a nighttime dentist. Their kisses are always ‘farewell kisses’. And a big ship is sinking slowly in the rain. A hypnotic meditation on love and desire. Grand Prix at Anima Animation Film Festival 2010, Brussels.
‘Small House’ by Kristjan Holm, 2008 Every time he goes to the bed and turns off the light, something urgent reminds: toilet seat was left up, slippers are not exactly parallel, tap is dripping … Unfortunately the small house, where everything happens, is on the shore. How does it look from the dark sea? Jury Prize at Linoleum International Festival of Contemporary Experimental Animation and Media-Art 2009, Moscow.
‘In the Air’ by Martinus Klemet, 2009 The telecommunication between the wolf and humans leads to a situation where the gravitation law changes to the unknown.
‘Dialogues’ by Ülo Pikkov, 2008 An experimental animation film, where all the visual material has been drawn directly on the film print. It is based on absurd humour. The subject of the film is a modern hi-tech society, which has too many sign systems. Special Mention at International Animation Festival 2008, Ottawa.
‘Morbus’ by Vallo Toomla, 2009 This film discusses life and death. Thoughts that pass through every mind once in a while. Yet, how does a child, or an elderly human being feel about it? Best Estonian Short Film at Sleepwalkers International Student Short Film Festival 2009, Estonia.
‘The Dress’ by Jelena Girlin and Mari Liis Bassovskaja, 2007 A woman tries to remember the highlights of her life, or maybe dreams about them. Best Short Film at Cinanima International Animated Film Festival 2007, Portugal.
‘The Way to Nirvana’ by Mait Laas , 2000 This story is about a young man, who wants to go beyond the horizon ... Grand Prix at International Oberhausen Short Film Festival 2001.
‘So Long’ by Andres Tenusaar, 2009 This film is like an essential nightmare. People are very afraid of things that come out of them. They are also very afraid of things that are coming at them or into them.
‘The Second Coming’ by Tanel Toom, 2008 An endless war has worn brothers Thomas and Marcus down. Tired of fighting against a nameless enemy and tired of guessing what will come next, the only thing Thomas wants from Marcus is to walk. But the problem with dead people is that they don’t walk. Usually. Best European Short Film at Arcipelago International Festival of Short Films and New Images 2009, Rome.
‘Unlucky Talisman’ by Jüri Muttika, 2009 After several years a man steps back into his hometown where his former love still lives. He needs to give her something back.
9 May at 2.00 pm – Veiko Õunpuu’s Films Shortwave Cinema, 10 Bermondsey Square London SE1 3UN ‘Empty’ by Veiko Õunpuu, 2006 A young intellectual, Mati, engineers himself into a situation where he has to spend a weekend with his wife Helina and her lover Eduard. The trio goes to Eduard’s summer house, surrounded by the majestic scenery of big forests and an empty beach. Mati, either out of jealousy or pride, has decided to win back his wife and will do anything his introverted and inert mind can come up with. Estonian Film Critics Association Prize, Best Estonian Film 2006.
‘Autumn Ball’ by Veiko Õunpuu, 2007 The film talks about six inhabitants of Sovietera tower blocks whose lives touch together, and who are all united by a feeling of loneliness. Best Director Award at Thessaloniki Film Festival and at Bratislava International Film Festival, 2007. Horizons Award at Venice International Film Festival 2007. Golden Star at Marrakech International Film Festival 2007. Golden Moon at Cinema Jove Valencia International Film Festival 2008. Grand Prize at Brussels International Independent Film Festival 2008. http://www.shortwavefilms.co.uk
May – July Mezzo–soprano Kai Rüütel at the Royal Opera House, London Kai Rüütel will appear as Flora in La Traviata (11–24 May, 8–17 July) and as Rosette in Manon (22 June – 10 July. Kai Rüütel joined the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme in September 2009. www.roh.org.uk
15 May at 1 pm Estonian children in London will stage the play ‘The Bear’s Holiday’ by Leelo Tungal at the Estonian House, 18 Chepstow Villas, W11 2RB, London One of the most popular children books authors in Estonia Leelo Tungal will pay a visit to the Estonian School in London. www.estonia.gov.uk
25 May – 12 June Giant Olive Theatre Company presents StageSpell Theatre Company’s UK premiere: ‘Happy Everyday’ by Jaan Tätte, directed by Liisa Smith ‘Happy Everyday’ is a witty situation comedy, which seems totally absurd at first glance: a wife suggests to her husband to arrange a ménage à trois. However all is not as it seems. The play has been written by an Tätte whose first play ‘Highway acclaimed Estonian playwright Jaan Tätte, Crossing’ has been a critical success both in and outside Estonia. In 2006, the UK premiere of the ‘Highway Crossing’, directed by Smith, was listed as Critic’s Choice in Estonian theatre director Liisa Smith TimeOut London, sparking further interest in Tätte’s work. www.giantolive.com/coming-soon/happy-everyday.html
28 May at 7.30 pm The collaboration of the acclaimed conductor Neeme Järvi with the London Philharmonic Orchestra will continue at the Royal Festival Hall, London Programme: Rachmaninoff - Gala Concert Variations on a Theme of Corelli Piano Concerto No 4 Symphony No 1 Alexei Lubimov, Lubimov piano www.neemejarvi.ee/coneng.html#0108
9 – 20 June Maarit Murka’s painting nominated to the Sovereign European Art Prize, the exhibition at the Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y8DS Maarti Murkas’s painting will be among the 29 finalist art works what will be auctioned by Christie’s to support the Barbican Centre >>>
Trust’s vital arts outreach work in the local East London area. Awarded annually, the Sovereign European Art Prize is the only European-wide prize for contemporary art. The pieces by European rising stars of the European contemporary art world can be viewed at the exhibition at the Barbican Centre. www.sovereignartfoundation.com www.murka.ee
11 June at 7.30 Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Ivari Ilja at the Wigmore Hall, London The collaboration of pianist Ivari Ilja with world famous Russian baritone Dmitry Hvorostovsky started several years ago. The programme at the Wigmore Hall includes music by Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. Ivari Ilja has won prices in several national and international competitions, including the Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and the Vianna da Motta Piano Competition in Lisbon. www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/productions/dmitri-hvorostovskybaritone-25254
Estonian exhibitions at the International Architecture Showcase, London Festival of Architecture 19 June – 31 July ‘Boom.Room. New Estonian Architecture’ at the NLA, The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT 25 June at 8.30 am Breakfast talk and Q&A with Estonian architects, NLA The economic boom in Estonia in the last decade led to the creation of an unprecedented number of new architectural bureaus staffed, for the most part, by young architects. There was so much work that it was not only the architects themselves doing the designing, but also first-year university students. The country’s young architecture is contemporary, innovative and of high quality – which, viewed from the outside, may seem astonishing. www.arhitektuurikeskus.ee/index.php?/konverents/boomroom www.lfa2010.org
19 June – 4 July The River Bell, designed by architect Vilen Künnapu, for London Festival of Architecture, at Southwark Cathedral, the Millennium Courtyard The public space installation ‘The River Bell’, Künnapu, is an designed by architect Vilen Künnapu abstract form, which is in conversation with the walking path by the River Thames, the Millennium Courtyard and especially with the architecture of the Southwark Cathedral. vilenkunnapu.pri.ee/templid_sisu_eng/temples.html www.lfa2010.org
7 July at 7.30 pm I Himmelen: Vigala Singers, SaxEst and Doris Kareva at a concert at St Simon Zelotes Church, 40 Milner Street, London SW3 2QF The Vigala Singers and The Royal College of Music Junior Department Alumni Chamber Choir conducted by Joy Hill, Hill together with the SaxEst, will celebrate a Estonian and British saxophone quartet SaxEst cultural liaison featuring music by Holst, Pearsall, Vaughan Williams, Gabriel Jackson, Tõnu Kõrvits and Hillar Kareva. Kareva The programme includes two UK premieres: ‘A Ship With Unfurled Sails’ by Gabriel Jackson, text by Doris Kareva Jackson Kareva, and ‘Hymns from The Western Coast’ Kõrvits Poetess Doris Kareva will read extracts from her by Tõnu Kõrvits. Time’, published by Arc Publications in 2010. poetry book ‘A Shape of Time’ www.stsimonzelotes.com
2 July Kristiina Ehin and Estonian musicians at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, Herefordshire In 2009 poet Asko Künnap was invited to the Ledbury Poetry Festival. Now the Festival welcomes two Estonian poets, Kristiina Ehin Kareva. The opening night of the and Doris Kareva Festival featuring Kristiina Ehin will also Publications introduce her new poetry book, published by Arc Publications. www.poetry-festival.com
10 July Doris Kareva at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, Herefordshire The Festival will feature Doris Kareva and her Time’ published by Arc poetry book ‘A Shape of Time’, Publications. Live reading, interviews, Q/A with Publications Doris Kareva. www.poetry-festival.com
17 July at 1 pm Mezzo-soprano Kai Rüütel at the Jette Parker Young Artists Gala, Royal Opera House, London The performance of the Jette Parker Young Innella Artists will be directed by José Dario Innella, lit by Donald Cox and accompanied by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conducted Stapleton by Robin Stapleton. www.roh.org.uk
27 July at 7.30 pm Paavo Järvi and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen at the BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London. Live on BBC Radio 3 Returning for its third appearance at the Proms, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen gives its first performance here under its Järvi Artistic Director, Paavo Järvi. Programme: Beethoven - Symphonies No 1 & 5, Violin Concerto in D major Hilary Hahn violin, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Paavo Järvi conductor www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010
27 August – 5 September Estonian animations at the London International Animation Festival Animations by Kaspar Jancis, Priit and Olga Pärn, Riho Unt, Jelena Girlin, Mari Liis Bassovskaja and Chintis Lundgren will be screened in the programme of one of the world’s leading animation festivals. www.liaf.org.uk
Arvo P채rt 75 celebrations! BBC Proms, London Vale of Glamorgan Festival, Wales LIFEM Festival, London
Arvo Pärt 75 at the BBC Proms 17 August at 7 pm ‘Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten’ by Arvo Pärt at the Prom 42, Royal Albert Hall, London. Live on BBC Four and BBC Radio 3 The heartrending strings and tolling bell of the ‘Cantus’ by Arvo Pärt forms a hypnotic tribute to Britten. Programme: Pärt - Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten Britten - Four Sea Interludes from ‘Peter Grimes’ Watkins -Violin Concerto, BBC commission: world premiere Shostakovich - Symphony No 5 in D minor Alina Ibragimova violin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner conductor www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010
17 August at 10.15 pm St John Passion by Arvo Pärt at BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London. Live on BBC Radio 3 Arvo Pärt emerged onto the landscape of later20th-century music after making a decisive break from his former modernist ways and building a new language from scratch, with the simplest musical elements. The pure, hypnotic atmosphere of his slowly shifting harmonies have won him a place among the key figures of so-called ‘spiritual minimalism’ – with a style that appears rooted in ancient religion while also sounding fresh and personal. Poised between the Lutheran and Catholic traditions, the austere yet serene St John Passion is sure to create a special aura in this ideal Late Night Prom setting. Andrew Kennedy Pilate, Brindley Sherratt Jesus, Iain Farrington organ, Endymion, BBC Singers, David Hill conductor www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010
17 August at 7 pm UK premiere of Symphony No. 4, ‘Los Angeles’ by Arvo Pärt at BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London. Live on BBC Four and BBC Radio 3 In the climax to the 75th-birthday celebrations for Arvo Pärt at the BBC Proms, Esa–Pekka Salonen conducts the composer’s first symphony for over 35 years, having given the world premiere last year with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Programme: Mosolov - The Foundry Pärt - Symphony No 4, ‘Los Angeles’, UK premiere Ravel - Piano Concerto for the Left Hand Scriabin - The Poem of Ecstasy Jean-Efflam Bavouzet piano, Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
WALESTONIA FESTIVAL 2010
5 – 11 September 75th-birthday celebrations for Arvo Pärt and other Estonian highlights at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival Vale of Galmorgan Festival will have a strong feature on Estonia and, in particular, celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the birth of the composer Arvo Pärt whose birthday on 11th of September falls within the Festival dates. The visiting Estonian artists include Arvo Pärt himself, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the ensemble Resonabilis Resonabilis. One of the highlights of the festival will be the world premiere of the new piece ‘In Spe’ by Arvo Pärt Pärt, commissioned by the Vale of Galmorgan Festival. ‘In Spe’ will be performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales Wales, conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste Kaljuste. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Reuss will make a tour in conducted by Daniel Reuss, Wales. The ensemble Resonabilis with an unique combination of instruments – voice, flute, cello and kannel, will perform together with Sian Cameron, the mezzo–soprano from Wales and Cameron Philip Gross Gross, the poet with Estonian roots. Estonian music will be performed in programme of several concerts, featuring beside Arvo Pärt also Tõnu Kõrvits, Galina Grigoryeva and others. www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Estonian highlights at the LIFEM Festival
5 November Estonian-Ukrainian folkband Svjata Vatra at the LIFEM festival, Kings Place, London The musicians themselves call their style ‘firefolk’. This results in fiery non-Nordic masculine energy that cannot but impress everyone. The Estonian and Ukrainian folk songs and tunes have new arrangements, whereas the authors‘ pieces have sprung from personal experiences. Svjata Vatra is like a sizzling campfire, giving light and warmth yet burning no one. www.myspace.com/svjatavatra www.lifem.org.uk
7 November Arvo Pärt 75: Hortus Musicus at the LIFEM Festival, St Etheldreda’s Church, London The Hortus Musicus specialises in performing European forms of early music, but also nonEuropean styles including Indian Ragas, Israeli temple songs, Arabian mughams and Jewish music. The group’s repertoire includes works of 20th century Pärt compositions, of which ‘Arbos’ and composers including Arvo Pärt’s ‘An den Wassern zu Babel sassen wir und weinten’ the composer has Mustonen the leader of the group. dedicated to Andres Mustonen, The Hortus Musicus has given concerts everywhere in Europe, in the US, Japan, Israel, including at several major early music festivals. The group has recorded 35 programmes, available from companies such as Erdenklang, Musica Svecia, Forte and Finlandia Records. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortus_Musicus www.lifem.org.uk
6 and 9 October at 7.30 pm The collaboration of the acclaimed conductor Neeme Järvi with the London Philharmonic Orchestra will continue at the Royal Festival Hall, London Programme on 6 October: Suk, Chopin, Dvořák Evgeny Kissin piano Programme on 9 October: Dvořák Lisa Milne soprano, Karen Cargill mezzo soprano, Peter Auty tenor, Peter Rose bass, London Philharmonic Choir www.lpo.co.uk
Layout Global Art
For further information please contact The Estonian Embassy in London 16 Hyde Park Gate London SW7 5DG Cultural Affairs Reet.Remmel@mfa.ee
For details and updates visit our website www.estonia.gov.uk