Bach and the art of cycling – Topi Linjama’s travelogue

Bach, cycling and love of the homeland

Musicologist and Bach researcher Topi Linjama talks about his latest book “Bach ja pyöräilyn taito” (Bach and the art of cycling).

Linjama cycled through Finland listening to Bach’s Goldberg Variations. As the music played, the idea of life took on new dimensions for him. The music samples will be performed by Topi Linjama himself.

The event should be particularly appealing to local cycling enthusiasts. The event is held in Finnish.

Bach ja pyöräilyn taito J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations feature an aria, thirty variations, followed by another aria. For a cycling musicologist, the work comes off as a departure from home, a 30-day cycling journey and a return home. In a lecture at Sibelius Museum, Topi Linjama will talk about his five-week cycling trip through Finland as well as Bach’s masterpiece and the book he has written based on the trip. Linjama will explore the links between music and cycling and talk about his three loves: music, cycling and the country he belongs to. In between, we hear parts of Bach’s work. “Bach ja pyöräilyn taito” is Linjama’s fourth book on Bach. In previous books he discussed Bach’s passions and cantatas.