There’s a German goth in my Finnish class.

When I did a summer Italian class in Florence, most of the class were
there for the art. When I studied my masters in London, many students were
there to go clubbing. And in Helsinki, a fair whack of my class are here for
the music.

In a country of five and a half million there are seven professional
orchestras. Including the Sinfonia Lahti, one of the best orchestras in
Northern Europe, based in a small industrial city that Lonely Planet
suggests you drive through without stopping. And Sinfonia Oulu, the
most northern professional orchestra in the world. The orchestras have
great venues – there’s the gleaming glacier Alvar Aalto master work
Finlandia Hall in the centre of Helsinki, the modernist steel block
sitting on the water in Oulu’s harbour, or the triplestoreywindows
culture cathedral in suburban Tapiola, right next to the shopping mall,
McDonald’s and the K Supermarket.

Finnish music has a solid classical base. The overarching national icon
is Sibelius. Like Verdi in Italy, Sibelius music fostered the nationalist
Finnish spirit and drive to independence.

But
what really puts Finland on the music map, and the reason the Slovakian, the
German, the Italian and the French are in my Finnish class, is rock. Northern
Europe music is heavier than the rest of Europe – Roskilde in Denmark is not a fluffy festival. And Finland has become the centre. Finland is
the last bastion of long hair, axe guitars and black leather rock. Goth, metal,
glam and thrash.

Read more on the website here.