Kaija Saariaho

The life of Kaija Saariaho: A summary

Early Life and Education

Kaija Saariaho was born on October 14th 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. She played piano, violin and guitar in her childhood.

She initially studied at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki. She then moved to Germany to study at Freiburg University of Music and then she moved to France to study at IRCAM research institute in Paris.

Career Highlights

Saariaho’s breakthrough work was Lichtbogen in 1986. A piece for ensemble and electronics. She soon  expanded into variety of genres, including chamber pieces and choral music.

She received international acclaim for her operas beginning with L’Amour de loin (2000). This opera, with a French libretto by Amin Maalouf, was commissioned for and premiered at the Salzburg Festival. It was awarded the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. ENO performed the first UK stage production in 2009.

Other operas with librettos by Amin Maalouf followed Adriana Mater (2005), the oratorio La Passion de Simone (2006), based on the life and writings of philosopher-activist Simone Weil and the monodrama Émilie (2009), about 18th-century scientist and writer Émilie du Châtelet.

Saariaho received many major composing awards including the Grawemeyer Award, the Nemmers Prize, the Sonning Prize and the Polar Music Prize. Two of her recordings have received Grammy Awards. She was named ‘Greatest Living Composer’ in a survey of her peers conducted by the BBC Music Magazine in 2019.

Kaija Saariaho sadly died of a brain tumor in 2023.

Saariaho’s musical style and influence

Saariaho’s was a pioneer in contemporary classical music. She often blended electronics with live instruments to create a distinctive, shimmering sound world.

Saariaho’s Operas

Saariaho wrote six operas:

• L’Amour de loin (2000)
• Adriana Mater (2006)
• La Passion de Simone (2006)
• Émilie (2010)
• Only the Sound Remains (2016)
• Innocence (2020)