Scan Magazine
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A Taste of Norway
The State Choir LATVIJA, one of Europe’s most well-known choirs, is joining a long line-up of international performers at Mikkeli Music Festival. Photo: Juris Zigelis
World-class performances by the Finnish lakeside For over 30 years, Mikkeli Music Festival has drawn audiences from across the globe. World-class musical performances in an idyllic setting, combined with Finnish summer magic, makes this festival a true feast for the senses.
love, altruistic love, as well as the love of nature, people and instruments,” Laasanen explains.
By Ndéla Faye
“The theme concert of Mikkeli Music Festival gives everyone a licence to love. Piano wizard Jukka Nykänen has arranged James Bond theme songs especially for this concert, accompanied by opera singing, so it’s going to be a completely unique experience,” he adds.
The Mikkeli Music Festival began in 1992 as a small-scale chamber music event. Since then, the event has grown into one of the most significant classical music festivals in Finland. Over the years, the festival has featured some of Finland’s best musicians, as well as numerous international stars. Since its beginning, Mikkeli Music Festival worked in close collaboration with Petersburgian Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, one of the icons of Russian culture, headed by conductor Valery Gergiev. However, the Russian invasion 68 |
Issue 151
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February 2023
into Ukraine in February 2022 changed everything. “We severed all our ties with the Russian artists and had to rethink our entire strategy. That’s why, last year, our festival theme was ‘New Hope’,” says festival director, Teemu Laasanen. Now, Mikkeli Music Festival has turned its sights to the rest of Europe and the world. The 32nd instalment of the festival – which runs from 28 July to 5 August – is back with something new and fresh with the theme ‘Licence to Love’. “The performances are focused on all the various kinds of love: godly, secular and earthly
The festival’s first part consists largely of symphony orchestra and choir music. The second part is more mainstream with some light jazz, film scores and improvisation. The last part features this year’s star performers: London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, headed by Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali. The festival’s unique collaboration with