Jarkko Nieminen was the star of the night / by vavel

Jarkko Nieminen Ends Career With Singles Exhibition Against Roger Federer

09-11-2015

Roger Federer helped send Jarkko Nieminen into retirement in style. The two played an exhibition match dubbed "The Final Night" to give Nieminen a chance to say thank you in front of his fans in Helsinki, Finland

Chris Spiech

 

Jarkko Nieminen and Roger Federer/Lehtikuva

 

Jarkko Nieminen was the star of the night as thousands gathered inside Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland to watch him play one more time. Nieminen had officially ended his ATP World Tour career in October after losing to Nicolas Almagro at the Stockholm Open. Monday, he faced Roger Federer in one final exhibition match.

The Final Night in Hartwall Arena

Tennis fans flocked to the arena in Helsinki, Finland on Monday for one final chance to say goodbye to their retiring hero, Jarkko Nieminen. The 34-year-old retired from the ATP World Tour in October. His final competitive match came in Stockholm, Sweden where he lost in three sets to Nicolas Almagro. This however was a night meant for celebration and fun for Nieminen. Federer and Nieminen had announced at the end of September that they would play Monday's exhibition match dubbed "The Final Night" in Helsinki as Nieminen's last professional tennis match.

Doubles Brings Out Ex-Hockey Stars

Before the main course of the evening, Jarkko Nieminen and Roger Federer also played a doubles exhibition match. Nieminen paired with Helsinki native and former NHL player Teemu Selanne. Federer was paired with Swedish NHL legend Peter Forsberg for the match. To the delight of the crowd, it was the Finnish pairing of Nieminen and Selanne who came out on top, winning the single set match 6-3.

Federer Wins Tight Match

Following the doubles match, it was on to the final match for Nieminen. It would be an entertaining match for the crowd and players who joked often in between points. The match ended with Federer edging Nieminen in two tie breaks, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).  The end result was not the story though. The outcome of the match never mattered, it was simply a chance for Finnish fans to show their appreciation for Nieminen and vice versa. Federer also took the opportunity to express his appreciation for his longtime friend, saying, "He has always been one of the most generous of friends and he did not behave differently outside the court than on the pitch. We always come along very well with each other."

Nieminen Bids A Final Farewell

Nieminen stayed on court for nearly ten minutes after the end of the singles match as he spoke with the crowd. The Fin expressed his gratitude for the entire evening. He thanked his wife Anu and his daughter for their support. Nieminen expressed similar sentiments for the night, much as he did on his online blog after his final match in Stockholm. Nieminen wrote, "I can say that I have never been happier than I am at the moment. I think that I have always been quite a happy guy and fortunate in my life but I feel that I'm even more that now. I could finish the career on my own terms, totally healthy and still being able to play some pretty good tennis."

 

Pretty good tennis is exactly what the spectators at Hartwall Arena were treated to on Monday. It was a fitting way to formally end the professional tennis career of Jarkko Nieminen

 

http://www.vavel.com/en-us/tennis-usa/565072-atp-jarkko-nieminen-ends-career-with-singles-exhibition-against-roger-federer.html 

 

Esa-Pekka Salonen & Philharmonia by Evening Standard

Going Out /Evening Standard

1. Music

 

Philharmonia/Salonen, classical music review: Perfect control to a storming finale

 

Salonen showed perfect control of the tiny details while also building the broad sweep that gives the symphony its heartbeat, says Nick Kimberley

                                       

• Nick Kimberley
• Monday 2 November 2015
• 0 comments

All in the detail: Esa-Pekka Salonen showed his skill as a conductor Rex

As a student, the Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen co-founded a group called Ears Open, partly to signal Finnish music’s need to escape the shadow of Sibelius. Thirty years on, Salonen no longer needs to deny Sibelius; as he showed in this performance of Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony, he has his own way with the composer’s music.

 

Like much of his work, Sibelius’s Fifth builds complex structures from basic elements. Salonen showed perfect control of the tiny details while also building the broad sweep that gives the symphony its heartbeat. As the Philharmonia’s principal conductor, he knows how to take his players with him, allowing them — individually and collectively — off the leash for the big moments, then displaying exquisite volume control when the music is at its most inward. Most impressive of all was the way he shaped the final movement, from the opening evocation of flying swans to the climactic pile-driver blows. The cumulative impact was shattering.

 

Salonen opened with the UK premiere of Caprice by the Swiss composer Richard Dubugnon, 10 minutes of mostly fast and furious playing, led by the brass but with strings occasionally opening up calmer spaces. Certain moments evoked big band swing, elsewhere West Side Story seemed the reference point. Caprice didn’t have far to go but travelled with energy and exuberance.

 

The programme’s centrepiece was Brahms’s Violin Concerto, given a performance of unshowy virtuosity by Arabella Steinbacher. Her 1710 Stradivarius has a lovely, clean tone, whether singing sweetly or huskily; while other players may find more flash, her lack of exaggeration, even in the storming finale, paid dividends.

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http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/music/philharmoniasalonen-classical-music-review-perfect-control-to-a-storming-finale-a3105046.html