大象传媒

Donald Macleod talks to Kaija Saariaho about the genesis of her award winning opera L'amour de loin and why she once famously said she would never write an opera!

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.

In the final part of their conversation Donald and Kaija Saariaho talk about the huge success she has enjoyed with her first operatic venture, l'amour de loin and the diversity of the series of stage works that followed, and her life-long fascination with the writing and life of the philosopher and activist Simone Weil.

L鈥檃mour de loin, Act 4 excerpt
Marie-Ange Todorovitch, mezzo-soprano, Le P茅lerin
Daniel Belcher, tenor, Jaufr茅 Rudel
Berlin Radio Chorus
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Kent Nagano, conductor

La passion de Simone for soprano solo, choir, orchestra and electronics (excerpt)
Dawn Upshaw (soprano)
Tapiola Chamber Choir, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor

Only the Sound Remains (excerpt)
Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor, Spirit
Davon茅 Tines, baritone, Priest
Dudok Quartet
Eija Ankaanranta, kantele
Camilla Hoitenga, flute
Niek Kleinjan, percussion
Nederlands Kamerkoor

L鈥檃mour de loin, Act 5
Final prayer
Ekaterina Lekhina, soprano, Cl茅mence
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Kent Nagano, conductor