Soprano HELENA JUNTUNEN
Accordion NIKO KUMPUVAARA
Guitar & Piano MARZI NYMAN
Members of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

An Evening Dedicated to Finnish Tango

Music by
TOIVO KÄRKI, UNTO MONONEN, JEAN SIBELIUS, PEKKA POHJOLA, JUKKA TIENSUU

It's not just the Argentinians who have fallen for tango fever, but also the Finns - and have been doing so for 100 years. To this day, the nation indulges its passion with competitions and other major events attended by hundreds of thousands of participants. However, the tango in the land of the polar night and the midnight sun is rather melancholic in nature, which is why it is sometimes referred to as »the blues of the Finns«. Its character is passionate, but the emotions are kept under control. Longing, utopia and loss are expressed here. Soprano Helena Juntunen is equally at home in opera, song and other genres, and has already introduced a large audience to Finnish tango at the BBC Proms in London. She will be joined by all-round musicians Niko Kumpuvaara (accordion) and Marzi Nyman (guitar and piano) as well as members of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The programme covers a broad spectrum from Finnish tango classics to paraphrases and parodies; traditional meets modern and crosses the boundaries between genres.