Kaija Saariaho

Kaija Saariaho (IPA2|ˈkɑijɑ 'sɑːriˌɑho) (born October 14, 1952) is a Finnish composer.

Kaija Saariaho studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she has lived since 1982. Her studies and research at IRCAM have had a major influence on her music and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures are often created by combining live music and electronics. Although much of her catalogue comprises chamber works, from the mid-nineties she has turned increasingly to larger forces and broader structures, such as the opera "L’amour de loin", premiered at the 2000 Salzburg Festival (with a US premiere at the Santa Fe Opera in 2002), and "Oltra mar" for chorus and orchestra, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. Her second opera, "Adriana Mater", was commissioned for the Opéra National de Paris’ 2006 season. Her second string quartet, "Terra Memoria", was commissioned for the Emerson Quartet by Carnegie Hall for a June 2007 premiere.

Life and work

Kaija Saariaho was born in Helsinki and studied music at the Sibelius Academy there. She later studied in Freiburg (under Brian Ferneyhough and Klaus Huber) and at IRCAM in Paris. Most critics, however, cite spectral music composers Gerard Grisey and Tristan Murail as her largest influences. Her work in the 1980s and 1990s is marked by its emphasis on timbre and use of electronics alongside traditional instruments; "Nymphéa (Jardin secret III)" (1987), for example, is for string quartet and live electronics. It contains an additional vocal element: the musicians whispering the words to a poem by Tarkovsky. In the late 1990s Saariaho began to eschew electronics and focus increasingly on melody.

Saariaho was influenced by post-serialism, but she grew to find it too restrictive: "You were not allowed to have pulse, or tonally oriented harmonies, or melodies. I don't want to write music through negations. Everything is permissible as long as it's done in good taste."

She has won the Prix Italia and, in 1989, the Prix Ars Electronica; received commissions from Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Intercontemporain; and has been the subject of a pan-European collaborative project to produce a CD-ROM Prisma about her work.

In 2000 she won the Nordic Council Music Prize for the work "Lonh" for soprano and electronics.

She was awarded the title "Musician of the Year 2008" (announced by Musical America, the US publishing company for performing arts), for being "among the few contemporary composers to achieve public acclaim as well as universal critical respect"

Career highlights

*1976-81 - studied composition with Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki
*1982 - attended courses in computer music at IRCAM, Paris and took up residence there
*1986 - awarded Kranichsteiner Prize at Darmstadt
*1989 - awarded Ars Electronica Prize for Stilleben and Io; one year residency at the University of San Diego
*1991 - composition of ballet music Maa, premiered by Finnish National Ballet
*2003 - awarded the Grawemeyer Award for "L’amour de loin"

Key works

* "Verblendungen" (1984; orchestra)
* "Nymphéa" (1987; string quartet, electronics)
* "Petals" (1988; cello, electronics)
* "Du cristal..." (1989; orchestra, live electronics)
* "...à la Fumée" (1990; solo alto flute and cello, orchestra)
* "Graal théâtre" (1994; violin, orchestra)
* "L’amour de loin" (2000; opera)
* "Orion" (2002; orchestra)
* "Adriana Mater" (2005; opera)
* "Notes on Light" (2007; cello concerto)
* "Terra Memoria" (2007; string quartet)

Selected recordings

* "Graal Théâtre" - Gidon Kremer; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen - Sony SK60817
* "L’Amour de loin" - Gerald Finley; Dawn Upshaw; Finnish National Opera; Esa-Pekka Salonen - Deutsche Grammophon DVD 00440 073 40264
* "Nymphéa" - Cikada String Quartet - ECM New Series 472 4222

External links

* [http://www.saariaho.org Kaija Saariaho's homepage]
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2431&State_2905=2&composerId_2905=1350 Chester Music Composer's homepage]
* [http://www.compositiontoday.com/articles/saariaho.asp CompositionToday - Saariaho article and review of works]
* [http://www.iawm.org/articles_html/Iitti_saariaho1.html Sanna Iitti , “Kaija Saariaho: Stylistic Development and Artistic Principles” "International Alliance for Women in Music Journal", 2001]

Persondata
NAME = Saariaho, Kaija
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Finnish composer
DATE OF BIRTH = October 14, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH = Helsinki, Finland
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =