Echoes of the Universe – Kaija Saariaho’s Music

When the BBC asked 174 composers to list the most important composers of all time, Finnish Polar Laureate Kaija Saariaho, who sadly passed away this summer, came in 17th place, just behind Jean Sibelius. Not bad. (Bach came first.) After the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in the late 70s, studies followed at IRCAM in Paris – an institute for research into electroacoustic art music, which influenced her direction as a composer in that she liked to work with electronic sounds alongside classical instruments. In 2016, she became the first female composer in over a hundred years to stage an opera - L'Amour de Loin - at the Met in New York. A unique artistry already engraved in music history.