BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

How a 78-year-old Estonian composer became the "hottest thing" in music

Arvo Pärt is the classical music equivalent of that guy you met at a party once and then, after that, he starts popping up everywhere in your life. On the train. In the grocery store. He might even have the table next to yours at a restaurant or compose the soundtrack of one of your favorite movies, without you even noticing.

If this is your first time reading the name Arvo Pärt, I promise you, it will not be your last.

Arvo Pärt (see?) is one of the most interesting and accomplished musicians alive today. There are many reasons for his success, including hard work and being at the right place at the right time. But Pärt appeals immediately to the veteran musicologist and to the first time listener in the same powerful way. In the introduction to her wonderful 1997 video interview with the composer, Björk (in typical Björk fashion) says, “Arvo Pärt is a so-called serious composer who, in a very sensitive way, has got the whole battle of this century inside him.”

Arvo Pärt provides intimate performance of his minimalist music at Phillips Collection

The remarkable Estonian composer Arvo Pärt — whose spare and almost mystical music has been embraced by an audience far beyond the usual classical circles — has had a triumphant run in Washington this past week.

After a hugely successful concert of orchestral and choral works at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, Pärt returned on Thursday to the Phillips Collection for a more intimate performance of his chamber music — nearly a dozen works that, despite their modest size, seemed to evoke the same aura of quiet majesty, the same sense of austere spirituality, and the same purity of expression as his large-scale music.

That’s no easy task. But as the evening unfolded — sketching an arc from the pathbreaking “Für Alina” from 1976, to the premiere of his newest work, “My Heart’s in the Highlands” — it was clear that Pärt’s music thrives on being pared to its essentials, becoming all the more powerful for it. Pärt is often labeled (by admirers and detractors alike) as a “holy minimalist,” but it’s an apt title.

In “Für Alina,” for example, he built a sense of limitless, light-filled space with only the simplest of musical materials, and in every work on the program he seemed to find a universe in even the smallest grain of musical sand.

That held true throughout the evening, from the tender “Variations for the Healing of Arinushka” (in a deeply felt reading by pianist Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann) to the radiant “Vater unser,” sung by alto Iris Oja.

There were a few familiar works, including “Spiegel im Spiegel” (now so iconic it’s even been quoted in “The Simpsons”) and “Fratres” (heard here for violin and piano, in contrast to the orchestral version at the Kennedy Center), but less-familiar pieces such as “Mozart-Adagio” — a stunning arrangement of the second movement of Mozart’s piano sonata in F Major, K. 280 — and the relatively dark and dissonant “Es sang vor langen jahren,” showed off aspects of Pärt’s musical personality that only deepened the interest of his music.

Stephen Brookes

The 11 best things In Tallinn, every music fan should do

Outside of Eurovision trivia fodder, which fables Tanel Padar and Dave Benton’s 2001 winning song ‘Everybody’ Estonia’s music could barely be heard being whispered about. After all it’s a small Northern European country of around 1.3 million people. However inside the capital city that whisper of the country’s music scene is starting to grow louder.

You could put that partially down to the fact Tallinn is one of the top 10 digital cities in the world. The city has impressive wireless internet technology and offers free public Wi-Fi. The home of Skype is in an enviable position when it comes to launching talent via the web.

Although with the city being named as the European Capital of Culture alongside Finland’s Turku in 2011 by the European Union, that exposure is seen as a catalyst for cultural development. Perhaps though the rising success of Tallinn Music Week (which you can read about below) has finally given local acts a viable platform for international exposure.

We’ll put it down to a combination of all three factors. One thing we know for sure though is that Tallinn is home to healthy scene of innovative musicians and producers. While the city’s music history is dominated by rock and metal acts after the Estonian rock scene was born in the 60s Tallinn’s music scene has become a far more diversified beast in the 21^st Century.

Tallinn "Music Week"

Our man by the Baltic John Rogers gives us the lowdown on his highlights of this year's Tallinn Music Week, which started yesterday.

The annual Tallinn Music Week kicked off this week, as the picturesque Estonian capital basks in an unseasonably mild March. A festival with a conjoined conference and seminar programme (this year including an appearance by controversial Russian punk-rock collective Pussy Riot), Tallinn's many music halls, bars, cinemas, theatres and basement venues will play host to over 200 bands from the Baltic and Nordic regions, with a smattering of other international acts.

Estonia's interesting geopolitical and cultural position, between Russia and the Nordic countries, give Tallinn Music Week a distinctive musical character. Much like Reykjavík's Airwaves festival, it offers incomers a chance to unearth a treasure trove of underexposed local acts. We combed through the lineup ahead of Thursday's kickoff to present new music by some of the most interesting acts on the 2014 bill. For more information on the festival, please visit their website.

Faun Racket

Estonia sends Tanja to Copenhagen

Tallinn - Last night in a spectacle of a show in Estonia filled with entertainment and 10 wonderful songs, the Grand Final of Eesti Laul 2014 culminated with Tanja being crowned the winner with the song Amazing.

Quality is something we have come to expect from Estonia, and this year was no exception! ERR delivered a spectacular show from the Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn, where the Grand Final of Eesti Laul 2014 took place.

Ten songs fought their way through the Semi-Finals to make it to tonight's show, and they were all worthy of qualification. However, just one song could win tonight and that was Tanja with the song Amazing, who will wave the Estonian flag in Copenhagen on the 6th of May.

Estonia will take part in the first Semi-Final of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place at the B&W-Hallerne on Refshaleøen in Copenhagen on the 6th of May. The Grand Final takes place on the 10th of May.

First five acts through to final : Eurovision

Last night, the first Semi-Final of the Estonian national selection, Eesti Laul 2014 took place where five acts qualified to the Grand Final.

Estonia has one of the more popular national selections in Europe, with a focus on talent and the Estonian language.

In recent years, Estonia's results at the Eurovision Song Contest have been mixed but this year broadcaster ERR are very keen to secure the country a good spot in Copenhagen in just a few months time.

The qualified

Tonight the following five acts qualified to the Final, which will be held at the Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn on the 1st of March:

• Kõrsikud - Tule Ja Jää - Kõrsikud
• Wilhelm - Resignal - Lauri Kadalipp
• Tanja - Amazing - Timo Vendt & Tatjana Mihhailova
• Lenna - Supernoova - Mihkel Raud
• Super Hot Cosmos Blues Band - Maybe-Maybe - Mati Sütt, Janno Reim

How rock came to the former Soviet Union ...

Before the Putin Olympics, there was the Tartu Pop Music Festival in 1988.

A few thousand teenage Estonians — the Tallinese — gathered cross-legged on the grass of the common; undenimed and undrugged, yet wild in their own way; men sideburned and smoking furiously; women low-eyed and smoking furiously, too.

One person — we don’t know their name — listened to the song that the band was playing and held out his or her hand and someone — we don’t know his or her name, either — took it gently. Then another did this and then another and soon they were a slack chain of arms slung low to the earth so that no one could see. Moments passed, and then one of the Russian soldiers who had been told to police the event raised his rifle as if it were a hound’s snout sniffing the air.

The kids’ hands fell limp.

Tom Jones set to perform in Tallinn for first time

Legendary British singer Tom Jones will perform at Tallinn's Saku Suurhall Arena on June 17 for the first time in his history spanning career.

It will be the first Tallinn performance for the 73-year-old singer, who has sold 100 million albums over the years. 

Jones' performance in the Saku Suurhall will come a day after Robert Plant's concert at the same venue.

Tom Jones is a Welsh singer, born in 1940. He formed his first band in 1963. Later, Jones began to gain popularity in America and abroad during the 1960's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e707GF9bfE

Sarasota Orchestra's Tali talks about her new job

A few months ago, the Sarasota Orchestra named Anu Tali, a 41-year-old Estonian conductor with a heady resume, as its new music director. Her three-year contract with the orchestra began Aug. 1.

Local music lovers have already had a chance to experience her work. She has served as a guest conductor with the orchestra, once in 2011 and earlier this year. Her debut concert as music director is this weekend, Nov. 8-10. The concert is titled "Dawning of a New Season" and it includes Eller's "Dawn," Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody" and Dvorák's "Symphony No. 7."

Tali will be in Sarasota today, and plans to watch her orchestra perform with the Sarasota Opera in "Die Fledermuas."

She spoke to the Herald by phone from her home in Estonia as she prepared for her trip.

How did your new position with the Sarasota Orchestra come about?

I think that it was in 2011 when I was conducting that the orchestra learned that the current music director (Leif Bjaland) was not renewing his contract.

Sharing their love of Estonian music

WATERLOO — Symphony conductor Norman Reintamm was in Estonia in 1991, the night Soviet tanks rolled into the city of Tallinn. His only thought was, "are we going to be a free Estonia or are we going to be shipped to Siberia?"

Reintamm, now a member of the Canadian-based Trio Estonia which performs in Waterloo Friday, lived through the tumultuous time in Estonia under Soviet rule. He reflects on it as an enriching part of his life both musically and socially. And luckily, when he awoke the next morning, the tanks were gone and Estonia was finally independent.

Reintamm's parents came to Canada from Estonia after the Second World War, raising their family in Hamilton, where he began his musical career as a chorister at Christ's Church Cathedral. He completed an undergraduate degree in music from the University of Toronto and McMaster University. He then went on to postgraduate work at the Royal College of Music in London, England, followed by awards and apprenticeships with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.

It would have been a giant leap for the young Canadian to launch his professional career in Estonia where he would be faced with great deprivation and even danger. Reintamm's father had suggested he audition for the Estonian National Opera, thinking his son would have more opportunities to gain experience. But it would also open the young man's eye to the privilege life he had grown up in.

An evening of pop perfection

British pop phenomenon Robbie Williams is currently wowing crowds around Europe with his performance in Take The Crown. His first solo stadium tour for seven years, it has been described as his most extravagant, hit-packed show yet, and audiences in Kent can see it for themselves this week.

The former Take That star will be performing at Estonia’s 70,000 capacity Tallinn Song Festival Ground on Tuesday, August 20, and the show is to be broadcast live to cinemas around the UK.

Featuring classic solo hits such as Millennium, Let Me Entertain You and Angels, and new songs including Candy from his latest album Take The Crown, it is a must for any pop fans.

The show starts at 7pm on Tuesday, August 20. Cinemas screening it in Kent are: Cineworld Ashford; Showcase Bluewater; Odeon Chatham; Odeon Maidstone; Cineworld Rochester; and Odeon Tunbridge Wells.

Ticket prices vary. For details click here.

Tallinn allocates 60,000 euros to promote itself in Robbie Williams concert video

The Tallinn city government decided at its session on Wednesday to allocate 60,000 euros to the city's entrepreneurship board , in order to support the direct broadcast of the concert of Robbie Williams in Tallinn that should reach many movie theatres around the world, Postimees Online reports, informed LETA.

Tallinn's deputy mayor Arvo Sarapuu said that the live broadcasting of the concert has wide international coverage and brings Tallinn positive recognition. He said that the whole project is of symbolic importance for Tallinn and helps to introduce Tallinn as an attractive travel destination among music lovers across the world.

Director of the concert film "Robbie Williams: Live in Tallinn", music promoter Peeter Rebane said that the grand concert of Robbie Williams that will take place at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds on August 20 should be shown live in more than 700 cinemas across the world. "Thanks to the city's support, the scope of this big international project will expand further," said Rebane, adding that the plan is to show the live broadcast in cinemas of 28 European states and its recorded version in 16 more states cinemas.

Historic rock festival comes back for its 25th anniversary

TALLINN - The Rock Summer Festival, first held in Tallinn in 1988, will hold a one-off event in mid-June to celebrate a quarter of a century since its birth.
Bryan Adams, Ivo Linna, Zucchero and former Sex Pistol John Lydon are set to perform at the Rock Summer Festival. However, the head organizer Juri Makarov said that they may sign more artists, as some negotiations are still taking place.

The organizers took heat after announcing the event at the beginning of February without revealing any headliners, while still asking 50 euros for tickets. The price of a ticket to the two-day festival now costs 60 euros, but in June the price will be 90 euros.

The original three-day festival was subtitled “Glastnost Rock - Rock for Peace!” and was held during a time of increasing defiance against Soviet rule. The free event attracted 190,000 people.
Rock Summer was then repeated nearly every year for the following decade, attracting names like Iggy Pop and Shaggy to what was otherwise a backwater of the international music circuit. The last time it was held was in 1997, after which the organizers went bankrupt.

“When younger people buy a tablet computer, they do not think that you can visit 10 to 20 concerts for the same price. In respect to the older generation, the sort of festival we are organizing has not been seen in Estonia for a while,” Makarov said.

Bad Boys of Dance are back

TALLINN - After touring the world for five years, the “Bad Boys of Dance” will be coming to the Baltic States this May! Rasta Thomas’ “Rock the Ballet” is the dynamic, high energy dance show set to awesome music against a backdrop of fascinating video projected scenery. The show is created by husband and wife team Rasta Thomas - director, and Adrienne Canterna - choreographer.

Since 2008, “Rock the Ballet” has thrilled over one million spectators and has been performed in more than 20 countries worldwide. The show continues to receive rave reviews and standing ovations. “Rock the Ballet” features fantastic dancing to classic and up-to-the-minute pop and rock hits, from Kanye West to Coldplay to Michael Jackson and more. The choreography is brought to you by Adrienne Canterna, with her explosive mix of “Pop Ballet” styles. “Rock The Ballet fuses superb classical technique with fresh, modern dance styles, from Broadway to hip hop to acrobatics.

Thomas founded the “Bad Boys of Dance” in 2007. Based in Takoma Park, Maryland, it is one of two dance companies housed under the Echo Park Contemporary Ballet Center, managed by Cedric Tillman and Kenneth Rascher. Thomas chooses the dancers from competition, Broadway, and ballet backgrounds. “Rock the Ballet” is a “Bad Boys of Dance” show that incorporates jazz, hip hop, tap and gymnastics into its ballet elements.

La première du piano Estonia

Un nombreux public est venu samedi soir au Dolmen pour l’inauguration du piano Estonia, affecté à la salle polyvalente. Un concert de près de deux heures était proposé.

L’installation de cet instrument de musique a été possible grâce à la Société des amis de Brantôme, présidée par Josette Lespinasse, en partenariat avec le Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de la Dordogne. Les spectateurs ont écouté un programme de qualité : des chants de soprano, avec des œuvres d’Hector Berlioz, Sergueï Bortkiewick, Franz Schubert, Astor Piazzola, Celso Machado, Chick Corea, Sergueï Rachmaninov ou d’Anton Dvorak.

Jazz music knows no limits

TALLINN - Spring and Jazzkaar are inseparable. Tallinn International Festival Jazzkaar is the biggest Jazz Festival in the Baltics, held from 1990. In 2014 the Festival celebrates its 25th birthday. Combining an interesting and unique program with bold solution, Jazzkaar’s team is able to create the best festival with the smallest budget in the Nordic countries, bringing the biggest and most interesting findings of the world’s jazz scene to Tallinn and Estonia. The ten-day festival has also the biggest number of concerts per year in Estonia with more than 3,000 performers from 60 countries.

“Nowadays, Jazzkaar is the star event of Estonian jazz, bringing the world’s best performers. The name of the festival recalls the Estonian folk party Jaskar; it also reminds us of the variety of colors in jazz music – like in the rainbow, which all can be put under the umbrella of jazz. Jazzkaar is the arc uniting musicians, audiences, different periods and styles of jazz,” says Anne Erm, Artistic Director of Jazzkaar.

The goal of the festival has always been the same: the introduction of music on as large a scale as possible, starting with avant-garde and ending with mainstream jazz, including also the more interesting styles of world music and blues.

Tallinn Music Week 2013 : Bigger & better than ever : 04 to 06th of April

Coming up in April, Tallinn Music Week will be one of this year’s biggest Baltic music blowouts. Some 200 artists from Europe and Estonia are slated to perform at the much anticipated indoor music fest running from April 4th through April 6th.

Springtime in Tallinn, and three days and nights of festive fun across the city’s concert venues and clubs, visitors can expect every genre from folk and indie to jazz and punk, from classical music to metal and more. Artists from AudioKinetica to Vul Vulpes will make this the happening music event in Tallinn this year.

For tickets and other info please visit the sites linked to, or contact the organizers directly at: [email protected] - tel +372 672 6608.

You can also follow Tallinn Music Week on Twitter @TlnMusicWeek. For a look at the venues, please click here.

Birgit Õigemeel will represent Estonia in Malmӧ

The grand final of Eesti Laul, the Estonian Song Contest was completed and Birgit Õigemeel was selected as the country's representative to this year's edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Birgit will perform Et uus saaks alguse on the stage of Malmӧ Arena, on May 14th, during the 1st semi-final.

Eesti Laul : 5 more acts proceed to the final - line up completed

The 2nd semi-final of Eesti Laul 2013, the Estonian Song Contest, has been concluded and 5 more acts have qualified for the grand final that will take place on 2 March, in Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn, raising the finalists up to 10.

These are the  last 5 finalists, watch the performances by clicking on the title:

• Liisi Koikson & Söörömöö - Üle vee
• Birgit Õigemeel - Et uus saaks alguse
• Rasmus Rändvee & Facelift Deer - Dance
• Rolf Roosalu - With U
• Põhja-Tallinn - Meil on aega veel

You can listen to the songs and also read the lyrics here.

You can check out all about the 1st Estonian semi-final here.

The grand final of Eesti Laul 2013, will take place next Saturday, 2 March.

Estonia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and won the contest once in 2001 with the song Everybody by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton.

Stay tuned with esctoday.com to know all about this year's Estonian Song Contest grand final.

11/01/2013 : "Big City Fashion party" @ Casablanca, Roseni 9, Tallinn

"Big City - Fashion Party" on mõeldud külalistele, keda ei huvita mitte tavalised ööklubid, vaid kes on orienteeritud kõrgematasemelistele koosviibimistele. Nendele klientidele pakumegi võimalust osaleda üritusel "Big City". Kuna 13.jaanuar on vene vana kalendri järgi aastavahetus, siis toimub üritus vene stiilis.

Suurepärase atmosfääri loomiseks on kavas moeshow, mille käigus demonstreeritakse Itaalia moekultusfirma "LorMar" aluspesu, mille toodang on kättesaadav vaid Stockmanni kaubamajas ja Kaubamajas. ...

Lisaks kutsume üritusele Eestimaa parimad  Go-Go tüdrukud, kelle show taustal tutvustatakse ja pakutakse baarides vaid kõrgekvaliteedilist alkoholi  "Fashion Vodka". Valitud suupisted on saadaval VIP laudadel, mille valmistab külalistele "Sushi Panda" ja meie sõbralik ning professionaalne meeskond on teie teeninduses ja täiendab olemasolevat atmosfääri. Külalistel on võimalik tellida endale ka vesipiipe, mille toob teieni "Grand Shisha". Sisenemine naistele alates 18.eluaastast, meestele alates 21. eluaastast.

VIP laud 4-inimesele - 150 EUR
Sisaldab: sushivalik 50tk. , Fashion Vodka 0.7, Martini Asti - 1 pudel, AURA mahl - 1 l.
Ettetellimusel vesipiip puuviljadega 25 EUR

...........

Big City-Fashion party is a unique event that is dedicated to celebrate the New Year in the old style.

Big city offers you the best modern dance music, go-go dancers in sexy Russian costumes, presentation fashion underware clothes from Italian firm LorMar, great gifts from online store DonJuar.ee, and many more.

At the entrance, each guest will be able to enjoy a glass of champagne "Odessa". When ordering, vip tables, guests get a form of sushi from Sushi Panda and fruit basket. Also all the vip tables includes a bottle of champagne and a CD with music palyed at the event.