Listening to Helsinki uses music to explore what shaped the city and how music helped doing so. From ancient traditions of rune-singing, through centuries of Swedish rule and Russian influence, to the emergence of Finnish national identity and modern urban culture: 

Music offers a unique, audiovisual lens into city culture and ensures you enjoy a memorable time in Helsinki.

Cities can be seen but they can also be listened to. Music is not created in isolation. It emerges from history, geography, language, and social conditions. In Helsinki, determined by its Northern location between  Eastern and Western powers, music offers a particularly rich context for understanding the city’s layered history, cultural identity, and relationship to place.

Far from being an academic lecture or trivial entertainment tour, Listening to Helsinki invites you to immerse yourself in the life of the city by uncovering the stories behind the music, and the music behind the stories and places of Helsinki.

Enjoy  an uplifting journey into Helsinki's culture and history, without  missing depth and context, even if you think music is meant for concert halls.