Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The Cultural Department at the French Consulate General in partnership with the Embassy of Finland and with the support of Cercle Des Amis de la Culture Francaise presented an authentic piano recital here on Wednesday.

The piano recital that gathered an audience of music lovers at the residence of the French consul general was performed by the Finnish pianist Laura Mikkola.

Mikkola played a variety of musical instruments by the prominent German musician Van Beethoven, Sibelius, Ravel, Debussy, Chopin and Liszt.

Commenting on the ceremony, Ambassador of Finland Antti Rytövuori told Saudi Gazette: “The goal of this classical music piano concert was to give our contribution to the opening up of the cultural life of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

When asked about the efforts of the Finnish mission at increasing cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the ambassador said: “Cultural cooperation is a new area also for the Finnish Embassy. We could think about sponsoring other Finnish popular music artists to perform in the Kingdom now that the country is opening up also in that area as we have experienced recently in the fabulous concerts at Ad Diriyah during the Formula E.”

When asked about what’s unique about Finland that can attract Saudis to visit the country, the ambassador said: “Traditionally Finland has been a home for many high-tech companies and with its vibrant start-up culture Finland has become one of the hot spots worldwide for investors hunting for new ‘unicorns’ – new innovations, that may change the world in their respective areas. For a visitor, Finland can provide very unique Nordic experiences such as midnight sun in the summer or northern lights (aurora borealis) in the winter. For nature lovers, Finland has a lot of fresh air and unspoiled wilderness. The capital city of Helsinki is a stress-free place to explore design, culture, shopping, and world-class restaurants. The Monocle’s quality of life survey ranked Helsinki the Most Liveable City in the World. There is something going on in Finland every day of the year.”