Composers You Should Know: Kaija Saariaho
Kaija Saariaho, finnish composer
BORN: October 14, 1952
DIED: June 2, 2023 (age 70 years)RAISED: Helsinki, FinlandKaija Saariaho is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, celebrated for her ability to blend acoustic and electronic elements with unparalleled sensitivity. Her works, characterized by rich textures and spectral harmonies, push the boundaries of timbre and form, creating immersive soundscapes that resonate deeply with audiences and performers alike. Saariaho’s groundbreaking compositions, such as L’Amour de Loin and Graal Théâtre, have not only redefined contemporary opera and chamber music but have also inspired a generation of composers to explore the intersections of technology, emotion, and sound.
Youth & Early Adulthood
Kaija Saariaho was born on the 14th October 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. From a young age, she learned the piano, violin, and guitar and, soon after, she began to compose. She went on to study piano at the Helsinki Conservatorium, musicology at the University of Helsinki and composition at the Sibelius Academy. From 1981-83, she studied at Germany’s Hochschule für Musik Freiburg under Brian Ferneyhough and Klaus Huber. However, she felt restricted by their musical beliefs, which emphasized mathematical structures and strict serialism.
Kaija rehearsing for her first publiclypresented composition. Bruden, 1978.
Awards and Accolades
Throughout her life, Saariaho earned the Grawemeyer Award, the Nemmers Prize, the Sonning Prize, and the Polar Music Prize for her inspiring compositions. In 2011, a recording of Saariaho’s first opera, L’Amour de loin, produced by Martin Sauer, won the Grammy award for Best Opera Performance. Saariaho was also lauded as The Greatest Living Composer by the BBC Music Magazine in 2019. Most recently, her choral work, Reconnaissance, won the 2024 Grammy award for Best Choral Performance. Click here to listen to Reconnaissance on Spotify.
Kaija Saariaho with Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker in Luzern for Laterna Magica, 2008.
L'Amour de loin by Kaija Saariaho (left) became the first opera by a woman to be performed at the New York Met since 1903.
Conductor, Susanna Mälkki (left), and Kaija Saariahoat the Met rehearsal for L’Amour de loin, New York, 2016.
Music Career
Overview:Saariaho wrote a huge range of music – including orchestral, chamber, and solo works, even writing six operas. In all of these works, she aimed to incorporate elements of electronic music into classical music. Her early works, Verblendungen and Lichtbogen, were well received, and her integration of electronic music into orchestral works was widely appreciated.
Kaija with 2E2M musicians for Lichtbogen's premiere, Centre Pompidou, 1986.
Working in her studio, rue Bernard de Clairvaux, Paris, 2000. Photo Credit: Raphael Gaillarde.
Saariaho and Esa-Pekka Salonen preparing Adriana Mater, 2006.
PERSONAL INFLUENCES:Saariaho’s work broke the rigid structures that most of the classical music of her time stood within. She became a pioneer in modern music through her use of electronic music within her classical works. Her work was influenced hugely by spectral music, specifically spectralists Gérard Grisey, Tristan Murail, and Michaël Lévinas, acclaimed composer-teachers that she met at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany. Kaija’s interest in spectralism led her to move to its place of origin, Paris, France, so she could learn more about it at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics and Music, which was known for its dedication to the research of electro-acoustical art music.
Along with her newfound education and understanding of spectralist and electronic music, Saariaho’s inspirations for her compositions ranged from poetry, to vocal artists such as Billie Holiday, Lakshmi Shankar, Luciano Berio, and Luigi Dallapiccola. As well, despite living in France for 40 years, she always remained keen to her home country of Finland, writing works such as Lichtbogen, whose name stems from her admiration of the Northern Lights as she began to compose it. Lichtbogen was Saariaho’s first fully instrumental piece that she created on a computer.
Kaija Saariaho and Camilla Hoitenga at Darmstadt, Germany, 1982.
Working on Verblendungen in her studio, rue de la Verrerie, Paris, 1983.
Saariaho in Paris, 1981.
Major Works
Most Famous Work
L’Amour de loin (2000)
Composed in 2000, this 2009 recording won a Grammy award in 2011 for Best Opera Performance.
Recording credits: Ekaterina Lekhina, Marie-Ange Todorovich, Daniel Belcher, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, cond. Kent Nagano
Important Composition
Lichtbogen (1986)
Graal Théâtre’s 2002 chamber version recording of Saariaho’s Lichtbogen was a recommended listen by the composer herself via her website. Give it a listen!
Recording credits: John Storgårds, Avanti!, cond. Hannu Lintu
Present-Day Influence
In 2000, she wrote her first opera, L’Amore de loin, which The Guardian ranked as the sixth greatest classical music work of the 21st century in 2019. In 2016, L’Amore de loin became just the second opera by a female composer to be performed by the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. In 2022, the Met announced its plans to include Innocence in future programming, which, upon its performance, will make Saariaho the first female composer to have two operas staged at the Met. Following her passing in June of 2023, they shared it will be a part of their 2025–2026 season.
Kaija Saariaho, at home in Paris, in 2004. She moved to the city in 1982, when she began studies at IRCAM, the music research institute founded by Pierre Boulez.
Kaija with Clément Mao-Takacs for Innocence, still from the upcoming documentary film on Saariaho’s life by Anne Grange.
Watch, Listen, Learn:
Learn More:
Kaija Saariaho’s official website – saariaho.org
A Conversation with Kaija Saariaho – Music & Literature
The Flute Music of Kaija Saariaho: A Personal History – Music & Literature
Kaija Saariaho, a composer with ears wide open – NPR
The pains of operatic labour: a conversation with Kaija Saariaho – Music Web International
Kaija Saariaho: “At the moment the computer and I belong together” – Finnish Music Quarterly
Kaija Saariaho: ‘Composing requires patience, but it is a magical thing and a great privilege’ – Anthropology of How Art is Created
Kaija Saariaho on Spotify
