Culture

Estonian culture in the world.

From Syria to Saaremaa – Estonian artist Igor Ziko in search of the “Force”

Igor Ziko is a freelance interior designer and artist from Tallinn, Estonia. His work has been shown in numerous galleries in Tallinn, and most recently in the Toompea castle where Estonia’s parliament assembles. His current solo exhibition, “Waiting for Borea”, at the New York Estonian House will be on display through the first week of […]

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An ode to verivorstid

Sappho gave us Ode to Aphrodite. Beethoven composed the musical setting for Ode to Joy. John Keats praised a songbird in Ode to a Nightingale. But seemingly nobody has paid poetic homage to those odd little Estonian verivorstid (blood sausages). And frankly, that’s a tragedy.* Traditionally the centrepiece of the Estonian Christmas Eve meal, verivorstid are

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Video: A song written by Estonian artist Kerli becomes UK’s Christmas number one

“Skyscraper”, a song originally written by the Estonian recording artist Kerli Kõiv with Toby Gad and Lindy Robbins in 2011, and in 2013 re-recorded and sung by British singer Sam Bailey, has become the Christmas No. 1 in the United Kingdom. The battle for Christmas number one is traditionally fiercely fought in Britain and the

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Pärt, Kaljuste, Järvi among the nominees of the Grammy Awards 2014 (video)

Composer Arvo Pärt and conductors Neeme Järvi and Tõnu Kaljuste are among the nominees of the Grammy Awards 2014. Composer Arvo Pärt’s album “Adam’s Lament” has been nominated in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. Recorded with Pärt’s active participation in the resonant 13th-century church of St. Nicholas in Tallinn, that surrounds the singing with a

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Book review: Caught between Scylla and Charybdis – “Forest Brothers” by Geraint Roberts

The year is 1944. During the last half-decade, Estonia has been ravaged by the Soviets and the Nazis in almost equal measure. 10,000 people have been deported to a likely death in Siberia by the Soviets and another 10,000 have been killed in Nazi concentration camps. Now the Nazis are fleeing and the Soviets are

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Jazz vibes on canvas – Arvo Wichmann’s solo exhibition opens in Berlin

The Estonian Embassy in Berlin is housing an exhibition of paintings by the Berlin-based Estonian jazz photographer and painter Arvo Wichmann. Born in 1976 in Tallinn, Wichmann’s artistic talent was discovered in his childhood and he went to an art school for children in Tallinn. However, life took a different path for him and he

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Estonian-Georgian film Mandariinid (Tangerines) wins prizes in Germany (video)

The Estonian-Georgian film, Mandariinid (Tangerines), won two prizes at the 62nd International Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival. The film took home the Special Award of the Jury and the Audience Award; in addition it was named a potential German cinema distribution favourite, the Estonian Film Institute said. The jury was headed by the Hungarian movie director and

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Review: From the ancient to the modern – Tõnu Kaljuste conducts London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall

As part of the London Philharmonic’s acclaimed “The Rest Is Noise” Festival, celebrating contemporary orchestral music, on 6 November Tõnu Kaljuste led a performance of pieces by Arvo Pärt and Sofia Gubaidulina. Tõnu Kaljuste is one of the foremost choral directors in the world while he has also won acclaim for his non-choral orchestral leadership.

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EstDocs 2013: showcasing new filmmaking talent and binding diaspora Estonians

EstDocs 2013, the annual Estonian documentary film festival and competition in Toronto, has come to its conclusion. Already in its 9th year, the festival drew in over 1,500 audience members to witness Estonian filmmaking talent, old and new, on the big screen in venues across the city. The Jury Award went to Heilika Pikkov’s “Flowers

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Young Estonia’s spirit revived at Tartu Printing Museum

The beginning of the Tartu Printing Museum defined its whole subsequent existence. It all started as a poetic story with elements of suspense. One day Lemmit Kaplinski, the museum’s founder and one of the main movers and shakers of Tartu’s creative scene, happened upon an old printing press, which stood, sad and decorative, in Eduard

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