The Sunday edition of The New York Times carried an article After Sibelius, Finland's Rich Bounty of Musicians in its Travel Section called "Cultured Traveler".
The author, RICHARD B. WOODWARD, got many of the facts right but used them out of context and applied all of them to his "level" in society.
Although Woodward mentioned the Savonlinna Opera Festival and the Kuhmo Music Festival, he failed to mention the Pori Jazz Festival, the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival and probably the one where most Finns take part - the Seinäjoki Tango Festival, which has drawn 1.6 million visitors over the last 20 years. None of the other festivals has this mass appeal!!
Woodward gives the prices for the expensive hotels, but in our town of Oulu, a family of 4 can live in a beautiful beachfront cottage, fully equipped for just € 70 per night!! Such fantastic offers can be found all around the country if one wants to really enjoy the sights and sounds of Finland cheaply.
Woodward makes this claim:
"Not only is Sibelius an icon on the currency but he also acts as the country's permanent ambassador by being its first, and still most, internationally recognized name."
This is preposterous.
Sibelius is only the symbol of a certain class of Finns - the ruling class and their counterparts, worldwide.
Names such as K. K. Rosberg (1982 Formula 1 World Champion), Mika Häkkinen (1998 and 1999 Formula 1 World Champion), Mika Salo, Kimi Raikkonen, the absolutely world renowned "Flying Finns" which include Rauno Aaltonen - 1965 European Champion (BMC), Timo Mäkinen, Simo Lampinen, Pauli Toivonen - 1968 European Champion (Porsche), Tapio Rainio, Hannu Mikkola - World Rally Champion 1983 (Audi), Pentti Airikkala, Markku Alen - FIA Cup (WRC) Champion 1978 (Fiat/Lancia), Leo Kinnunen, Lasse Lampi, Ari Vatanen - World Rally Champion 1981 (Ford), Henri Toivonen, Timo Salonen - World Rally Champion 1985 (Peugeot), Juha Kankkunen - World Rally Champion 1986 (Peugeot), 1987 (Lancia), 1991 (Lancia), 1993 (Toyota), Mikael Sundström, Tommi Mäkinen - World Rally Champion 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 (all Mitsubishi), Sebastian Lindholm, Marcus Grönholm - World Rally Champion 2000, 2002 (Peugeot), Toni Gardemeister, Jarmo Kytölehto, Harri Rovanperä, Tapio Laukkanen - 1999 British Rally Champion and Pasi Hagström - 1999 Finnish Rally Champion, are just a few who are living legends in Finland and the world.
In the field of Winter Olympics, Matti Nykänen is an unsurpassed name. Finnish javelin throwers have excelled through generations and their names are on the lips of every sports fan which far outnumber those few classical music enthusiasts.
Even in the music world, the focus is not at all on classical music, as is sort of implied by Woodward. Local Choirs are found in every nook and crany. The Shouters (with their outlandish musical noise) and the Leningrad Cowboys (with their outlandish hair style) have made their mark internationally in most unconventional ways. Even amongst the indigenous people, the Angelin Tytöt, the Sámi girls, Ursala and Tunni Länsman, from the small village of Angeli in the very north near Inari, have a huge following worldwide.
I could go on and on.....
I would certainly not agree with the viewpoint of Music Conductor Osmo Vanska who said: "If you asked who is the most important figure in Finnish history, 8 of 10 Finns would say Sibelius."
Finland and its people are not living in the past. It is creative and has produced and is producing many top notch people outside of music from Alvar Aalto, to my own humble wife, Annikki, whose talents as a creator (edible art, regenerated art, recycled art, etc.) are second to none - not even Sibelius!!
Sibelius is just "one" of the bricks in a very large wall. The history of Finland grows by the hour and Sibelius means historically little to most "commoner" Finns.
No comments:
Post a Comment