Kaija Saariaho was a Finnish composer who saw music as an art for all the senses, suggesting color, texture, and more for a richer sensory palate.
- Died: June 2, 2023 (Who else died on June 2?)
- Details of death: Died in Paris of brain cancer at the age of 70.
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Kaija Saariaho’s legacy
Early in her music studies, Saariaho began to forge the philosophies that would inform her later work. Feeling stifled by the rigid structures that were emphasized by her teachers, she instead decided that in music, “everything is permissible as long as it’s done in good taste.” Hearing spectral music – which uses the full acoustic spectrum as the basis for composing music – for the first time in 1980, and then going on to study at IRCAM, a Parisian computer music research institute, further guided her away from traditional music and towards something unique.
Saariaho continued to experiment with electronically composed music throughout the decade, and she would soon begin incorporating exotic forms of percussion, found sounds, and more. When performed live, her orchestral work was presented in a nontraditional manner, often combining traditional orchestral instruments with electronics.
In 2016, Saariaho became just the second female composer to have an opera performed at the Metropolitan Opera, and the first in over 100 years. Her works garnered her a number of awards over the years, including a Wihuri Sibelius Prize, a Nordic Council Music Prize, and a Grammy for Best Opera Recording.
Notable quote
“The visual and the musical world are one to me … Different senses, shades of color, or textures and tones of light, even fragrances and sounds blend in my mind. They form a complete world in itself.”— Kaija Saariaho, University of Illinois Press (2009)
Tributes to Kaija Saariaho
Full obituary: The Washington Post
