Kaija Saariaho’s life
The big moments of this life, and what was happening in the world at the same time.
A life at a glance
- 1952👶 Birth
Born in Helsinki on 14 October
- 1961🌍 Meanwhile
Yuri Gagarin, first human in space
- 1964🌍 Meanwhile
Robert Moog presents his synthesizer
- 1972📚 Trainingage 20
Studies visual arts, then composition at the Sibelius Academy
- 1977🎩 Careerage 25
Co-founds the ‘Open Ears’ group (Korvat auki)
- 1982🌍 Meanwhile
The compact disc (CD) is launched
- 1986🎼 Workage 34
Lichtbogen, inspired by the northern lights
- 1991🌍 Meanwhile
The World Wide Web is born
- 1994🎼 Workage 42
Graal théâtre, violin concerto for Gidon Kremer
- 2000🎼 Workage 48
L’Amour de loin, premiered at the Salzburg Festival
- 2003🎩 Careerage 51
Grawemeyer Award for composition
- 2016🏛️ Landmarkage 64
L’Amour de loin at the Metropolitan Opera in New York
- 2023🕯️ Deathage 71
Dies in Paris on 2 June
Listen to the music
Press the big button to listen. Close your eyes: how does it make you feel?
Kaija Saariaho’s music is still recent: it belongs to its creators and their families. Ask a grown-up to play it for you on the radio or at a concert!
Once upon a time…
Kaija Saariaho was born in Finland, a country of snow and forests. As a little girl she heard so much music in her head that she asked her mum to “turn off” her pillow!
She first studied drawing and painting, then music. She settled in Paris, where she worked with computers to invent new sounds.
Her music is like light changing colour. One of her works was inspired by an aurora borealis, the great green lights that dance in the sky of the far north.
Her opera L’Amour de loin was the first opera by a woman performed at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in more than a hundred years.
Kaija Saariaho’s instruments
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