大象传媒

Donald Macleod discovers why Kaija Saariaho loves writing vocal music, including her setting of four texts by the Finnish poet Eino Leino.

鈥淢usic is a study of my own self and of the human spirit鈥�, so says the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. Her passion for music is all consuming, with the inspiration to compose reflecting the breadth of her interests, in poetry, literature, fine arts, and cinematography to name but a few.
One of the foremost composers of our time, Kaija Saariaho was born in 1952 in Helsinki. She studied with the modernist Paavo Heininen, before founding the pioneering 鈥淓ars Open鈥� group with fellow composer Magnus Lindberg. Her studies continued in Freiburg with Brian Fernyhough and Klaus Huber at the Darmstadt summer courses, and then at the ground-breaking IRCAM research institute in Paris.
Earlier this year Donald Macleod and Kaija Saariaho met up in Paris, the city in which she鈥檚 made her home since 1982, to talk about five contrasting aspects of her music.

Today Kaija Saariaho has elected to talk to Donald about the reasons why she loves writing for the voice, why she was once told by her teacher Paavo Heininen to stop writing for vocal music altogether, and the different ways in which she has used that medium in her music.

Quatre Instants (excerpt)
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre National
Marko Letonja, conductor

Quatre instants
II : Douleur 鈥� Torment
III: Parfum de l鈥檌nstant
Karita Mattila, soprano
Martin Katz, piano

Nuits, adieux for mixed choir and 4 soloists
Ditte Marie Br忙in, Astrid Sandvand Dahlen, 脴ystein Stensheim, Olle Holmgren, soloists
The Norwegian Soloists鈥� Choir
Grete Pedersen, director

True Fire for baritone and orchestra (excerpt)
Gerald Finley, bass
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor

Leino Songs
Anu Komsi, soprano
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor