Kaija Saariaho
Composer
Kaija Saariaho was a prominent member of a group of Finnish composers and performers who made a worldwide impact. She studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she lived since 1982. Her studies and research at IRCAM had a major influence on her music, and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures are often created by combining live music and electronics. Although much of her catalogue comprises chamber works, from the mid-nineties, she turned increasingly to larger forces and broader structures, such as the operas L’Amour de loin and Adriana Mater and the oratorio La Passion de Simone. Saariaho passed away in June 2023.