Events 2007

Concert by the Helsinki Brass Quintet

30 November 2007

This concert was part of the Sibelius and Beyond festival marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Sibelius. We used the legacy given to the Society by Phyllis Chapman to sponsor the concert. The programme included the Quintet by Malcolm Arnold, an arrangement of themes from Bernstein’s West Side Story, Sibelius’ Andante Festivo and works by five modern Finnish composers.

Nordic Encounters

20 November 2007

Erkki Toivanen gave a highly entertaining talk in which he reviewed stereotypes and distorted images in travel writing about the Nordic countries from the eighteenth century to the present day.

Private View of works by Nadine Lundahl

22 May 2007

Thanks to the generosity of Messum’s Gallery, members of the Anglo-Finnish Society and also members of the Anglo-Belgian Society were invited to a private view of a new exhibition of works by the Belgian-Finnish artist, Nadine Lundahl.

Learning from Aalto: Nature, Form and Architecture

15 May 2007

Following on from the major exhibition Aalto Through the Eyes of Shigeru Ban, Richard Weston, Professor of Architecture at Cardiff University gave us a talk entitled “Learning from Aalto: Nature, Form and Architecture”. In addition to talking about Aalto, he also linked in work by one of Aalto’s pupils, Jørn Utzon, and showed us some extraordinary and wonderful photos of rock formations which, through digital technology, can now be printed as fabrics, tiles or what you will.

Vappu party at Garbo’s

27 April 2007

Approach with Caution: The Perils and Pitfalls of Writing a National History

6 March 2007

Prof. David Kirby, Professor of Modern History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies gave a talk, at times controversial, about his Concise History of Finland which had been published the previous summer.

AGM and Reception at the Ambassador’s Residence

13 February 2007

This was the first opportunity that members of the Society had to see the Residence after it had been closed for more than a year for refurbishment. About 50 members attended and enjoyed the Ambassador’s hospitality after the formal business of the AGM.

Sibelius and the Kalevala

24 January 2007

Dr John Allison, music critic of the Sunday Telegraph and editor of Opera magazine spoke about Sibelius and the influence of the Kalevala.