World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Helsinki  - Culture
Culture

Helsinki is Finland's hot spot for cultural events. The major annual events are in summer, though there are productions throughout the year. The largest concerts are shown at the Hartwall Areena (tel: (09) 0204 1997) tickets start from FIM195, or the House of Culture (tel: (09) 774 0270). Finlandia Hall is home to the Finnish Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus. Chamber music is held in various venues, including churches like Temppeliaukio. Another venue with a constantly changing list of dance, music and theatre is the Kaapelitehdas (Cable Factory), Taliberginkatu 1c, an ex-Nokia factory now resident to over 100 artists (tel: (09) 4763 8300; fax: (09) 4763 8383; website: www.kaapeli.fi/cablefactory/).

For the latest events, pick up a copy of Helsinki Happens (website: www.helsinkihappens.com) or visit the theatre website (www.teatteri.org). Tiketti is the Ticket Theatre Information Centre, Teatterikulma, Meritullinkatu 33 (tel: (09) 135 7887 or 0600 11616; fax: (09) 135 5522).

Music: Concert halls for national and international acts include Finlandia Hall, Mannerheimintie 13e (tel: (09) 40241), home to the Finnish Philharmonic Orchestra; and the House of Culture, Sturenkatu 4 (tel: (09) 774 0270), tickets start from FIM20. There are other concerts, including those from the students at the Sibelius Academy of All Music, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 9 (tel: (09) 405 441). Details of the times of performances and programmes are available from the customer service desk at the City Tourist Office (tel: (09) 169 3757). The works of Jean Sibelius are popular with Helsinki audiences, but the works of rising stars such as Magnus Lindberg, are also widely performed.

The Finnish National Opera (Suomen Kansallisoopera) has its residence at Helsinginkatu 58, with tickets starting from FIM50 (tel: (09) 4030 2211; fax: (09) 4030 2305; e-mail: liput@operafi.fi; website: www.operafin.fi).

Current Helsinkian rock groups include Ultra Bra, Nylon Beat, HIM, Darude, Bomfund MC, J. Karjalainen, Heikki Silennoinen Soul-special and Sami Saari. Other favourite singers include Karita Mattila, Arja Koriseva (the queen of Tango music) and Soile Isokoski.

Theatre: There are two main venues, both showing mainly classical productions (such as Ibsen) in Finnish: the Finnish National Theatre (Suomen Kansallisteatteri), Läntinen Teatterikuja 1b (tel: (09) 1733 1331), and Helsinki City Theatre (Kaupunginteatteri), Eläintarhantie 5 (tel: (09) 394 0422 (tickets) or 39401 (information line); fax: (09) 394 0244; website: www.hel.fi/citytheatre); prices are FIM40-250.

Dance: The Finnish Ballet School (tel: (09) 4030 2211) also has its residence at the Finnish National Opera House, tickets start at FIM30. The Finns love dancing to tango music and many restaurants have dance floors. Outdoor dancing is a particular favourite and can be found at Pavin tanssilava in nearby Vantaa.

Film: Helsinki has many cinemas; each week a programme showing times and venues is published by the tourist office. Box offices open an hour before the first show of the day. The Finnish Film Archive, Eerikinkatu 15 (tel: (09) 6154 0201), requires membership (FIM20) and allows one ticket to all performances; it shows classic and cult films. Mainstream films can be seen at one of the city's multiplexes: Kinopalatsisti, Kaisaniemenkatu 2 B (tel: (0600) 944 944), and Tennispalatsisti, Salomonkatu 15(tel: (0600) 007 007) tickets for each cost FIM 3.90. Virtually all films are screened in their original soundtracks, with subtitles in Finnish and Swedish. The Helsinki Film Festival is held in September each year (tel: (09) 6843 5230; fax: (09) 6843 5232; e-mail: office@hiff.fi; website: www.hiff.fi).

Cultural events: cultural highlights include: Juhannusvalkeat (Midsummer bonfire festival associated with the Feast of St John), held on Seurasaari Island, and the city rock festival, Hietsu, a three-day extravaganza at the end of July. One of the busiest stages in Helsinki, with live acts all day throughout the summer, including folk dancers and string quartets, is the Esplanadi bandstand.

In February, J L Runeberg (one of Finland's best-loved poets) is commemorated with Runeberg Day, a day of cake eating. May Day marks the beginning of summer and is celebrated with vast quantities of alcohol. The beginning of July sees the Jazz and Tango Festival. The Storyville Jazz Club hosts jazz events in July, and for contemporary music lovers, there is the off-beat Helsinki Music Nova. From the end of August, for three weeks, the Helsinki Festival, a huge arts festival celebrating dance, art and music, heralds the end of the summer.

Literary Notes
One of Helsinki's more noted writers and commentators is Eino Leino, whose work Helsingissä (1905) documented life under the Russians. Another work outlining this era is by Maila Talvio, who wrote Itämeren tytär (1929-36), a trilogy about eighteenth-century Helsinki. The widely acclaimed author Mika Waltari penned the trilogy Isästä poikaan, describing three generations in Helsinki from the 1860s to the mid-1930s. Other social commentators have included Anders Cleve, whose short stories, Gatstenar (1959), describe life in 1950s Helsinki, and Alpo Ruuth, whose book Kotimaa (1974) documented a young working-class couple's life in the 1960s. More recent novels include Rosa Liksom's Yhden yön pysäkki (1985) whose short stories have proved popular.



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