Kaija Saariaho Essentials

Kaija Saariaho had been crafting groundbreaking spectral and composer-based music since the early 1980s, following her studies at IRCAM (the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustic Music). Much of the Finnish composer's work deals in sound masses, a way of focusing on texture rather than chords or pitches. Notes on Light and Verblendungen find a spiritual eeriness in their clusters; her chamber music (“Oi Kuu”, “Nocturne for Solo Violin”) is often concerned with the delicate, expressionistic qualities of individual timbres. Her obsession with sound resulted in compelling compositions, and here you can explore her haunting and often overwhelmingly beautiful soundworld. Saariaho was actively composing up until her death, at 70, on 2 June 2023.