Kaija Saariaho

Her first orchestral work Verblendungen (1984) was followed by Du Cristal (1989) and … à la Fumée (1990). Her first opera L’amour de loin, directed by Peter Sellars, was premiered at the Salzburger Festspiele, in 2000. This was followed by the operas Adriana Mater and Émilie. Besides operas, Kaija Saariaho composes vocal music and orchestral works, as well as a great variety of chamber and ensemble music. Kaija Saariaho received the Grawemeyer Award for L’amour de loin, the Wihuri Sibelius Award, the Nemmers Prize, the Sonning Award and the Polar Music Prize. In 2015, she was a member of the jury for the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award, a mentor at the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and professor in residence at the music department of U.C. Berkeley. The world premiere of her harp concerto Trans will take place in August 2016, performed by Xavier de Maistre and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ernest Martinez-Izquierdo. In 2016 Saariaho composed two short plays for Only the sound remains with stage director Peter Sellar.

In Dutch National Opera & Ballet, in collaboration with Dutch National Opera: Émilie, Only the sound remains

October 2023, Dutch National Opera will present the Finnish composer's latest work, Innocence.

Photo: Priska Ketterer