Above: Kaija Saariaho, in a Christophe Abramowitz portrait
June 2, 2023 - This morning I read of the death of the distinctive Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, at the age of 70. It was thru my friendship with the Italian choreographer Luca Veggetti that I became interested in Ms. Saariaho's music, and to Luca I send my sincere condolences: he and Ms. Saariaho were very dear friends and colleagues.
in a poll arranged by the BBC Music Magazine in 2019, 174 contemporary composers from all over the world were asked who, in their opinion, was the greatest composer of all time. The winner was J.S. Bach, but the highest-rated living composer, in 17th place, was Kaija Saariaho. To be thought so highly of by others in the same field strikes me as the most meaningful praise possible.
When I began to write this reflection on my experiences of hearing Ms. Saariaho's music live, I realized that the works were always entwined with dance, singing, or instrumentaton; so, rather than trying to pull out passages about the music alone, I linked to the complete articles. In some cases, I hope, the photos will prove evocative.
I first heard Ms. Saariaho's music in 2010, when her ballet MAA, composed in 1991, was being freshly choreographed by Mr. Veggetti. A preview took place at the Guggenheim, with the premiere coming soon after at the Miller Theater at Columbia University. It was a spell-binding work. My beloved friend Kokyat photographed the dress rehearsal.
In 2013, Luca took MAA to Paris; he prepared it at the Graham Studios at Westbeth, and he very kindly invited me to a rehearsal.
Luca created a work for the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2012; entitled From The Grammar of Dreams, it used Ms. Saariaho's music to captivating effect. Photographer Matt Murphy and I spent a lovely afternoon watching the Graham goddesses rehearsing this piece.
In a program from the Miller Theater's "Bach, Revisited" series 2014, violinist Jennifer Koh played Ms. Saariaho's Frises...twice! And Ms. Saariaho was present:
"The composer spoke briefly after the music ended, her enchanting voice and the charmingly candid brevity of her responses to questions about her creative process kept her finely wrapped in an enigma, and simply made us want to hear more of her astonishing work"
Later in 2014, Ms. Saariaho's The Tempest Songbook was performed by the late, lamented Gotham Chamber Opera at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Once again, I was privy to a studio rehearsal, and then to a sublime performance the Museum.
In 2016, my friend Dmitry and I spent an immersive afternoon at The Metropolitan Opera watching a performance of what is probably Ms. Saariaho's best-known work: the opera L'Amour de Loin.
In February of 2018, choreographer Miro Magloire created a ballet, I Am, set in part to Saariaho's music. I was unable to see the finished work, but I went to a rehearsal and loved the music, played by Miro's expert musicians Melody Fader (piano) and Doori Na (violin).
Later in 2018, Ben Weaver, my fellow writer for this blog, went to see Saariaho's opera, Only The Sound Remains, at the Rose Theatre. His report made me wish I had been there.
The last time Kaija Saariaho's work was reported on here was not so long ago: in November 2022, Ben Weaver heard his first concert in the newly renovated Geffen Hall; he wrote this of the Saariaho piece he heard that night:
"Finland...dominated the second half of the program. Kaija Saariaho’s Ciel d’hiver - lifted from her larger 2003 composition Orion - was a gorgeous sensory experience. Saariaho has a highly unique sound palette; her ability to create otherworldly sounds is extraordinary. There’s a timelessness and weightlessness to her music; it’s as if it has always been there, like primordial space - it is all around us. The transparency of the sound can now be appreciated in the hall's new acoustics."
In the above paragraph, Ben has so perfectly expressed the essence of Kaija Saariaho's music. The world has lost a truly unique voice.
~ Oberon