Event Guide

ESTONIA

Open till April 04, Indrek Galetin’s Solo Exhibition ‘Undefined Perfection’, Museum of Photography, Tallinn

This exhibition is the first large-scale presentation of Indrek Galetin’s work in Tallinn since 2009. It showcases a selection of striking imagery from his oeuvre, including his best-known portraiture, and two accompanying fashion films, all drawn from his enduring and vibrant career in London. This show presents the breadth of his achievements and encompasses work that has been featured in numerous international media outlets, magazine covers, feature articles and advertising campaigns. With relentless perfectionism, signature compositions, electric colours and surreal aesthetics, Galetin has created a body of work that celebrates diversity within gender. His constant questioning of banal beauty stereotypes through myriad subjects redefines standards and breaks down the outmoded conventions by which society views the human form. His unique conception of these generic archetypes and his criticism of them allows him to reconstruct our own interpretations of the complexities of the human body. Conceived as a journey through Galetin’s imagination, ‘Undefined Perfection’ brings together the photographer’s unforgettable portraits and dramatic new work. Munroe Bergdorf, Seann Miley Moore, Alisha White and Gina Harrison are some of the personalities in entertainment, fashion and music whose portraits are featured in the show. For more information on the exhibition please visit www.linnamuuseum.ee 

April 12-22, 13th Japanese Animation and Lifestyle Film Festival JAFF, Tartu and Tallinn

13th JAFF will be bigger and better than before, becoming the only festival of its kind in Estonia. Like in previous years, the excitement is brought by showing good films on the big screen. The festival also brings an animation market known previously as Animemöll (Animation frenzy) that will gain a new name and a new life – J-Zone. J-Zone is a two-day event (instead of the previous one-day market) that will offer more entertainment and activities than in the previous years. The festival’s information can be found on Facebook.

April 19-20, Estonian Antique Fair 2019, Flower Pavilion, Tallinn

The Estonian Antique Fair stands as an event with a long tradition among antique lovers and collectors. The fair will be a meeting place for antique dealers and collectors from Estonia, Latvia and Finland, sellers of interior textiles, restorers and all who are passionate about the old and valuable. You will find many fascinating retro, vintage and antique items at the fair. More information on the event can be found on Facebook.

April 25, Cameron Carpenter’s Concert, Pärnu Concert Hall, Pärnu

Cameron arrives in Estonia with his so-called travel organ: weighing almost a ton, the sound system of this instrument fills the stage. No concert stage has ever seen an organ virtuoso such as Cameron Carpenter: loaded with praise and controversy, internationally famous and sensational like no other; phenomenal interpretations of the classics that are pushing the envelope, the appearance of a rock star and interaction with the audience.

April 26-27, Tallinn Coffee Festival, Tallinn Creative Hub, Tallinn

The Tallinn Coffee Festival (TLNCF) is the first ever event in Estonia to present the many different and unique varieties of coffee, methods of preparing coffee and the equipment you will need. The festival will also offer visitors an exciting music and entertainment program as well as amazing aromas. In addition to coffee, the festival will showcase other warm beverages such as tea and cocoa, and is generously complemented by street food outlets and cafes. TLNCF organizers and participants will be working together to develop Estonian coffee culture. We aim to promote coffee consumption, as well as consumer interest in new products and offers from coffee specialists and experts. New tastes, methods and equipment for preparing coffee as well as the amazing secrets of the world of coffee will be offered up to a broader public. The festival’s program for professionals will offer competitions, seminars and much more for professionals and amateurs alike. Professional, local roasters, importers, cafes and coffee enthusiasts all together in one pot. For more information on the festival, program and more please visit www.tallinncoffeefestival.ee 

April 26-28, Haapsalu Horror & Fantasy Film Festival, Culture Center, Haapsalu

Haapsalu Horror & Fantasy Film Festival (HÕFF) introduces to Estonian and foreign audiences the largest possible contemporary range of horror, fantasy and cult movies. Although a number of horror and fantasy film festivals are organized in the neighbouring countries of Estonia, HÖFF is unique, as it focuses on a high-quality program and shows the best movies from the world’s most prestigious genre festivals. Most of the films have not been featured in Estonia and it is unlikely that they will be shown outside of HÖFF. It is the biggest genre film festival in the Baltics focusing on the best genre films from recent years, exploring the dark and strange side of cinema: from fantasy to horror, forgotten classics and special retrospectives to extreme films. The festival has a vibrant atmosphere with special events and parties, all taking place in Haapsalu, a seaside town in Western Estonia known for its healing mud and a haunting castle! All official information is available at www.2019.hoff.ee 

Open till April 28, Exhibition ‘Among Ourselves. Woman Portraying a Woman’, Tartu Art Museum, Tartu

The exhibition Among Ourselves. Woman Portraying a Woman brings together less known art works from ten private collections and various museums. The exhibition focuses on if and how the depiction of women as seen by female artists has changed. 69 works from 35 authors are exhibited. he exhibition offers an historical overview of the oeuvre of Estonian female artists from the beginning of the 1920s to the end of the 1980s, focusing on artists from Tartu. Included are many renowned authors (Silvia Jõgever, Kaja Kärner, Natalie Mei, Karin Luts, et al.) and some lesser known names (e.g. Ella Mätik, Erna Kreischmann and Silvia Leitu). Women's relationships and intensive communication have been the basis of many portraits and discussions of art-related ideas, which together form the basis of the exhibition title. The exhibition contains three subdivisions: (self-) portraits, public space and private space. These are the situations or places in which female artists have mostly placed women. For more information on the exhibition please go to www.tartmus.ee 

LATVIA

April 01, Gala Concert of Baltic Ballet Festival, Latvian National Opera and Ballet, Riga

Participating in the concert will be outstanding ballet artists from the Royal Ballet of England, the Royal Danish Opera, the Hungarian National Ballet, the Czech National Ballet, the ballet stars of the Berlin State Opera and the Bolshoi Theater, the Finnish National Opera, the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater, the Estonia Theater and other opera houses. The festival’s winged moto is ‘from classics to avant-garde’. This will be a genuine dancing festivity. To buy tickets online please go to www.bilesuparadize.lv

April 03-06, Riga Jazz Stage 2019, Splendid Palace, Riga

The international jazz artist contest Riga Jazz Stage 2019 will as usual assemble emerging jazz stars from all over the world and invite jazz lovers to experience the creative atmosphere of the contest, discover new artists and enjoy surprising and unheard-of sounds. Riga Jazz Stage takes place in two categories – Jazz Vocal, a classic of the contest, and an instrumental category that changes from year to year. 2019 will present artists competing in the category Jazz Piano. Visitors will be able to enjoy up and coming jazz talents for three nights in a row at the event’s usual venue – the Splendid Palace. For full information on the concerts and more please go to www.rigajazz.lv and to buy tickets online please use www.bilesuserviss.lv 

April 12, Tchaikovsky Music Concert by DAGAMBA, Arena Riga, Riga

The hooligans of classical music DAGAMBA will perorm music from Pyotr Tchaikovsky in their new concert program, interacting with the band’s original music, overstepping the classical standards and making almost impossible things possible. DAGAMBA’s exciting musical experiments and creative solutions help build bridges between different musical genres – rock, pop and classical music, thus combining different musical styles and breathing a modern twist into classical music. To buy tickets online please use www.bilesuserviss.lv 

April 13, Mozart’s Symphony and Haydn’s Cello Concerto by Sinfonietta Riga, Great Guild, Riga

On the outside he appears restrained, but in music he burns with Nordic passion – conductor Juha Kangas returns to Sinfonietta Riga with beautiful and soothing Finnish music and a golden standard of Viennese classicism. His compatriot Pehr Henrik Nordgren, inspired by Finnish folk songs, paints the country landscapes of the past with nuanced, pleasingly warm strokes, incorporating a fiddler here and there. In his turn, another Nordic master, Kalevi Aho, has created a musical dedication to Nordgren. Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 is a work of sterling elegance, weaving together sublime melodies with airy lyricism, as it will be attested by the soloist – raising Estonian star Theodor Sink. Finally, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 is one of the evergreen peaks of symphonic music. With Juha Kangas in front of the orchestra, Mozart’s music truly shines, sparkling with the variety of musical images and contradicting characters. To learn more please visit www.latvijaskoncerti.lv and to buy tickets online please go to www.bilesuparadize.lv

Open till April 21, Dainius Trumpis’s Solo Exhibition ‘Anticipation’, Riga Art Space, Riga

Dainius Trumpis is one of Lithuania’s most recognized contemporary and conceptual art representatives. The artist’s exhibition Anticipation cannot be described as an exhibition in the classical sense – it is more like using space as part of the whole “picture”, or more precisely – the picture has slipped out of and outgrown its frame. The painting is the actual space of the exhibition hall, where every element, color area or piece of cloth is placed in a joint composition so that it looks like a stroke or a streak. The tickets price range EUR 2.50-5.00.

April 22-28, Riga Restaurant Week, various restaurants in Riga

During this special week, Riga’s restaurants open their doors to all gourmands willing to treat themselves to an array of delicious tastes for an especially affordable price of 15-20 euros for a three-course meal. For the entire week, all the city’s residents and guests have the chance to enjoy the season’s best foods prepared by experienced and innovative chefs who give each meal a modern and sophisticated twist. For more information please visit www.liveriga.com 

LITHUANIA 

March 27 – April 30, XXI International Music Festival ‘Return’, various venues in Vilnius

After re-establishing of the independence, emigrant musicians started visiting Lithuania, and the roads for the gifted young people were open to the studies abroad. From that time Lithuanian Musician Support Fund started organizing International Music Festivals SUGRĮŽIMAI (Return), inviting the young people who were studying and working abroad as well as older emigrants of the second and third generation. For full festival program please visit www.vilnius-events.lt and for ticket purchase online go to www.bilietai.lt 

April 06, 4th Vilnius Whisky Festival, Crowne Plaza, Vilnius

Vilnius Whisky Festival is the biggest whisky festival in the Baltic States. The mission of the festival is to increase the culture of whisky in Lithuania by educating the consumers. During the festival, guests will have a chance to try most of the whiskies you can find in Lithuania and meet the people making, distributing or just being in love with it. More information can be found at www.vilniuswhiskyfestival.lt and tickets can be purchased online via www.tiketa.lt 

April 12-13, Fashion Festival ‘Mados Infekcija’, Contemporary Arts Center, Vilnius

Mados Infekcija began in 1999. Held once a year (in spring), the program involves catwalk shows, exhibitions, seminars, show-rooms and free events for fashion devotees. The festival is distinguished for its conceptuality. The aim of the event is not to show and create trends or to be a fashion dictator, but to help people develop an individual style and attitude towards fashion and apply this knowledge in their everyday life. Bohemian spirit, extraordinary and unconventional fashion shows, the fusion of music, video, photography and other fields of art make the festival a unique two-day experience of fashion which takes place in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. Mados Infekcija breaks traditional boundaries of fashion weeks as it is open to everybody and aims to spread knowledge about fashion among ordinary people. For more information please visit www.madosinfekcija.lt

April 13, Richard Strauss’s Music Concert, Concert Hall Compensa, Vilnius

In 2019, the world celebrates the 155th birth and the 70th death anniversary of Austrian composer Richard Strauss. Having been not only a composer, but also a talented conductor, erudite and a personality of subtle critical mind R. Strauss substantially influenced the art of music and performing culture of the time. The musical celebration will be crowned by the concert performance of the excerpts from R. Strauss’ most popular opera Rosenkavalier. After scandalous productions of one-act operas Salome and Elektra, the composer turned towards ‘refinement of style’, thus Rosenkavalier resonates with ‘heavenly Mozart’. However, in addition to graceful lyricism and melancholic thoughtfulness one enjoys unexpected turns of the plot and boisterous humour so characteristic of R. Strauss. Under the baton of Maestro Modestas Pitrėnas the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra shares the stage with Lithuanian opera soloists Viktorija Miškūnaitė and Gunta Gelgotė as well as Latvian singer Anastasia Lebedyantseva. For more information on the concert please visit www.filharmonija.lt and to buy tickets online go to www.bilietai.lt

April 23-28, Electronic Music Festival ‘Young Music’, Arts Printing House, Sapieha Palace, Vilnius

Jauna Muzika (lt. Young Music) is a yearly festival presenting artists working with sound and music as an experimental art form. Founded in 1992, the festival initially focused on contemporary classical and academic electro-acoustic music, but has since evolved to cover a diverse range of sonic practices and from 2019, it has shifted the attention of its audiences towards a further ‘cochlear-vestibular’ sensibilities through sound art and performative concerts. To learn more about the festival please go to its official webpage www.jauna.org