The album Reconnaissance was, of course, never intended as an epitaph. Nonetheless, It is difficult to imagine a more fitting summary of, or introduction to, the character, spirit and life’s work of Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) on a single disc, especially where her choral repertoire is concerned.

This recording presents Kaija Saariaho’s works for choir, a cappella and with electronics, and displays her virtuosity in the treatment of texts, which she endows with the full range of verbal expression. Nuits, adieux, presented here both in its a cappella version and with electronics, could be described as a lullaby, not so much for a sleeping child as for an elderly person sleeping out of our world. Funny and very serious at the same time, Horloge, tais-toi was conceived for a children choir.

Écho! deals with the myth of Echo and Narcissus, with the idea of echo being naturally extended with electronics that process and reverb the voices of the singers. Based on poems by German poet Friedrich Hölderlin, Tags des Jahrs display an archaic choral treatment expanded by sounds of the human voices, birds, wind and other natural phenomena. Überzeugung engages with medieval music and treats the contrast between light and dark as a trance-like interplay between past and present. Finally, Reconnaissance can be seen as a ‘science-fiction madrigal’.

Nils Schweckendiek and the Helsinki Chamber Choir initially performed this program in concert in August 2022 as part of the celebrations surrounding Saariaho’s 70th birthday.

REVIEW:

The album Reconnaissance was, of course, never intended as an epitaph. Nonetheless, it is difficult to imagine a more fitting summary of, or introduction to, the character, spirit and life’s work of Kaija Saariaho on a single disc, especially where her choral repertoire is concerned. To quote her artistic statement on choral music from the booklet, ‘the entire range of verbal expression is available to be woven into a multi-layered and heterogeneous whole’. The remarkable array of works showcased here – and mostly in recording premieres, no less – demonstrates just how dedicated she was to this principle over the course of so many decades.

In addition, by presenting two contrasting versions of the same piece (Nuits, adieux) together, the album provides a rare example of a composer’s process of revisiting the same material for different times and places, allowing us a glimpse into a whole other dimension of Saariaho’s musical thinking. Lastly, the album is a testament to her ongoing collaboration with other members of the musical community, including high-profile colleagues and young family members alike. How fortunate we are to have this one last gift from Saariaho, a document that not only expands the discography of her critically important oeuvre but also serves as a testament for future generations to the example of a composer’s life exceptionally well lived.

-- Classical Music Daily

The opening work, Nuits, adieux, is as good an illustration as any of the manifoldness of Saariaho’s sound-world. It exists in two versions: the original (with electronics) from 1991, and the a cappella version from 1996. Together, they bookend this delectable programme...A particular attraction is the recurring solos by the marvellously beautiful soprano voice of Linnéa Sundfær Casserly. In the a cappella version, the electronics are replaced by eight-part chorus, while the solo parts are practically identical with the original. It is a special treat to return to the work in that modified version at the end of the programme.

Écho! from 2007 for eight voices and electronics, was inspired by a double-choir motet by Claude Le Jeune (c. 1528/30–1600), which deals with the Echo myth...It is immensely beautiful.

To me, [the title work, Reconaissance] is the most important choral work composed on this side of the turn of the millennium, and in harness with the rest of the programme, which is just as valuable, this is an indispensable disc for all lovers of choral music. The performances are tremendous. It is also a worthy memorial to Kaija Saariaho.

-- MusicWeb International

A likely masterpiece from Finland joins new music from scintillating Saariaho

Kaija Saariaho is the Finnish composer, alongside Magnus Lindberg, who most excites me at present. Like her fellow countryman, she finds textures that feel absolutely fresh, vibrant and full of colour. Her journeys of imagination here are gripping. And it’s good to see such high-profile performers in new music – perhaps especially the sublime Karita Mattila.

-- Gramophone [11/2008]

SAARIAHO Notes on Light.1 Orion. Mirage1,2 • Christopher Eschenbach, cond; Anssi Karttunen (vc);1 Karita Mattila (sop);2 O de Paris • ONDINE 1130 (63:22)

Kaija Saariaho writes exciting music. At one time associated with the spectral school of composition, in which spectra, the harmonic fingerprints of sound, were used to generate new works, she’s been able to assimilate and then transcend such a purely analytical approach to arrive at her present individual, communicative language. In the past, she’s also broadened her palette with electronics. Her vivid music is characterized by an acute sense of color and texture, allied to a sure feeling for form and pacing. Melody, too, plays an important part. Although there are no big tunes to whistle, the musical flow can be lyrical, even rhapsodic. At times, an almost oriental melisma wafts through the music: at others, what I would call “proto-melodies” (four or five note phrases) accrete to form larger modules, most notably in Orion.

Notes on Light, Saariaho’s cello concerto, often projects a mysterious mood. Glissandos of varying lengths in cello and orchestra, and a line that sways and sighs as it evolves and devolves suggest a yearning, or questing aspiration. The evocative title comes from T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland, and inspired Saariaho’s vision of the cello as a source of light. The energetic second movement stands apart from the rest, with swift, downward cascades in tuned percussion and flute mirrored by exuberant, upward-winging piccolo flurries. These effects, plus the churning cello, create a drive and momentum distinct from the slower, exploratory nature of the other four movements. That’s not to say that the rest of the concerto is placid, or without internal drama. Throughout, Saariaho skillfully deploys her “transparent” orchestra in often-delicate counterpoint to the soloist.

Orion finds Saariaho reveling in larger forces, with more brass (there are no trumpets and trombones in the concerto) and even organ: some of the climactic moments must be quite overwhelming in person. Unifying thematic elements link the three movements. A subtle pulse as Orion begins arrests the attention, drawing the listener into this “constellation” of sound. Gradually, ideas and images coalesce, until the orchestra achieves a monumental presence worthy of the young god. The volume waxes and wanes, but the overall impression is massive. The second movement’s texture is primarily diaphanous, although heavier “clouds” of sound arise before the ethereal conclusion. A piccolo plays a pastoral tune over a dreamily shimmering background, ushering in a violin solo that could be a distant cousin to Shéhérazade. This gives way to an exotic, sinuous clarinet and oboe, and so it goes, one colorful episode succeeding another. The third movement starts out like Notes on Light’s second, but becomes even more wild and tempestuous. Trumpets, swirling winds, and scintillating strings fluoresce, illuminating the orchestral landscape. The storm eventually subsides, its mass floating away, the last note struck by a single triangle.

Mirage is a passionate setting of the “song” of a Mexican woman, shaman, and healer who, in this ecstatic musical incarnation, affirms her being while summoning the forces that pass through her to effect her cures. Karita Mattila brings Saariaho’s hypnotic score to vibrant life, swooping and gliding effortlessly, imparting a palpable exaltation. From the first half-whispered “I am” one is swept up and riveted by this spellbinding performance. The cello is an equal partner in Mirage, probing at the opening, acquiring confidence, and increasing in strength until it joins with the voice in its voyage of discovery. The two dip and soar in tandem, although the melodic outline is not identical.

Mattila and Karttunen are superb musicians who are perfectly attuned to Saariaho’s style. Their long friendship with the composer guarantees informed, sympathetic performances, and it would be difficult to imagine better ones. Eschenbach and the orchestra support the soloists beautifully in Notes on Light and Mirage, and contribute stunning playing in Orion. Saariaho’s many admirers will enjoy these latest additions to her discography, while anyone who’s been afraid to dip a toe into contemporary waters should consider taking the plunge, for while undeniably “modern,” the music’s range of expression, melodic flexibility, invention, and pervasive color make it immediately accessible. While not neo-Romantic by any means, it’s nonetheless music that manifests beauty and feeling in every note.

FANFARE: ROBERT SCHULSLAPER

Classical Music

Joanna Gutowska writes: “The album Kaija Saariaho – Works for Cello has been inspired by Saariaho’s extremely rich musical language, which significantly influenced my artistic development and inspired me to further exploration of colors. The album largely refers to my doctoral dissertation ‘Kaija Saariaho’s cello works as an example of new qualities of sound and expression,’ in which I focused on identifying the key factors that contributed to the development of her original musical language. It mainly focuses on the composer’s small instrumental works (Petals for cello and electronics [1988], Spins and Spells for solo cello [1996], Mirrors for cello and flute [1997], Neiges for eight cellos [1998], Sept Papillons for cello solo (2000), and Light and Matter for violin, piano and cello [2014]).”

A 2020 GRAMMY Nominee for Best Classical Compendium!

Several of Kaija Saariaho’s works are named after natural phenomena that serve as a starting point to her compositional process. Composed in 1998, Neiges was inspired by various qualities of snow and explores instrumental languages and colors similar to those found in her earlier works. On the present album the piece is heard in its never-before recorded version for twelve cellos, performed by the cellists of the Oslo Philharmonic. Another source of inspiration has been medieval literature, which formed a point of departure for Graal Théâtre, the first concerto Saariaho wrote, as well as for the recent Vers toi qui es si loin (2018). Recorded for the first time here, the piece is a transcription, made for the violinist Peter Herresthal, of an aria from the opera L’Amour de loin. These two works for violin and orchestra bookend this amply filled disc, and frame Circle Map, a work in six movements for large orchestra.

Permeating the work are six short poems by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, providing inspiration through their essence and vivid imagery, but also part of the musical material by way of a recording of them recited in Persian. This recording forms the raw material for the electronics included in the work, but also for much of the writing for the orchestra, for instance in terms of pitches and intonations. All four works are conducted by Clément Mao Takacs, who has collaborated extensively with Kaija Saariaho and conducted her music across Europe and in the U.S.A.

REVIEW:

Performances could scarcely be bettered. Peter Herresthal finds greater expressive variety in Graal Théâtre than Gidon Kremer (the only other account with full orchestra), with Clément Mao-Takacs making more of those emotional contrasts in Circle Map than Susanna Mälkki. The Oslo Philharmonic evince all the clarity and fastidiousness this music requires, heard to advantage in an opulent yet well-defined acoustic. Disc and booklet are presented in BIS’s current Ekopak format, which looks as stylish as the music contained within is compelling.

– Gramophone

REVIEW:

Alex Ross's enthusiastic review will have appeared by the time the reader sees this. Why a recent release of music by a still-young contemporary in so prestigious a place? Because Kaija Saariaho is a composer of remarkable originality and quality three of whose works, and splendid examples they are, appear beautifully performed on a technically superb CD. Can recording serve a better cause? (One tries besides, and belatedly, to dilute the harm a since-departed reviewer inflicted. His snide remarks looked, from where I sat, like vandalism. My editor talked me into withdrawing a "Critics' Corner" objection. I should have held out.) Another reason for this CHOF follow-up looks through a side door to San Diego. I review in this issue an excellent CRI CD, entitled Sonor Ensemble. Rand Steiger's new-music group operates out of the University of California at San Diego, whose music department has grown in less than three decades to world prominence. For example, the British composer Brian Ferneyhough, whom I mention specifically because he was at one time Saariaho's mentor, has been teaching there since 1987. The plot thickens: the two orchestral pieces, Du cristal and ... à la fumée, the composer's first efforts on this scale, came about as a result of a year's stay at San Diego. Nymphéa too has a West Coast connection in that the San Francisco-based Kronos requested its creation.

Producer-engineer Joseph Magee brings us one of the better-sounding orchestral recordings I've lately heard. (The reader requires a good, wide-range sound system to fully savor its pleasures.) Saariaho's orchestral sonorities, reflecting her unique investigations into electronically generated sound, strike me as remarkably fine tone-paintings, all the more remarkable for their being the composer's first large-scale essays for other than computer-assisted ensemble. As to Nymphéa, the string quartet with electronics, the focal point is now IRCAM in Paris, which has long since proved a force in new directions in acoustic-electronic combinations and the computer's unstoppable, unpredictable role. None of this is to suggest, on the one hand, that Saariaho is destined to stand on the pantheon's highest pedestal—she may or may not—or, on the other, that one somehow hedges his bet in honoring a recording of a young modern's music in less than terms absolute ecstasy. Rather, I salute both an ideal application of recording's role and a powerful talent.

-- Mike Silverton, Fanfare

Also availble on standard DVD

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Over a decade of dance is represented here with no fewer than 22 ballets in this magnificent 15-disc collection of stunning performances by The Royal Ballet, including spectacular stagings of well-known narrative ballets, era-defining abstract works and show-stopping shorter ballets. 19th-century masterpieces, heritage works by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan, and contemporary classics by The Royal Ballet’s Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon are here performed by Royal Ballet dancers past and present. A special edition book contains articles about The Royal Ballet, its repertory and its choreographers, as well as full synopses for all the narrative ballets, richly illustrated with striking photographs of the productions.

Also available on Blu-ray

Over a decade of dance is represented here with no fewer than 22 ballets in this magnificent 15-disc collection of stunning performances by The Royal Ballet, including spectacular stagings of well-known narrative ballets, era-defining abstract works and show-stopping shorter ballets. 19th-century masterpieces, heritage works by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan, and contemporary classics by The Royal Ballet’s Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon are here performed by Royal Ballet dancers past and present. A special edition book contains articles about The Royal Ballet, its repertory and its choreographers, as well as full synopses for all the narrative ballets, richly illustrated with striking photographs of the productions.

"The life-force of Kaija Saariaho's music is its feast of sensory awakening and shocking emotional nakedness. A raw honesty permeates the atmosphere of mystery. This music is an obsessive, immersive and magical weather system bringing ecstasy, cleansing, and renewal." - Peter Sellars

On the occasion of her 60th anniversary in 2012, this 4-CD collector's box contains recordings of fourteen orchestral works by Grammy-awarded Kaija Saariaho, many of them featuring vocal or instrumental soloists. This specially priced anthology highlights the Finnish composer's oeuvre from 1986 to 2007, a period that follows the evolution of her compositional style from the early days of her career to more recent times. The featured works have helped to cement Saariaho's international position as one of the most successful living composers and have garnered her several important awards along the way (Grawemeyer Award 2003, Musical America's Composer of the Year 2008, MIDEM Classical Award 2009, Wihuri Sibelius Prize 2009, Sonning Music Prize 2011). Kaija Saariaho has been the New York Carnegie Hall's Composer-in-Residence since the beginning of the 2011-12 Season.

The recordings were made between 1992 and 2008 have been previously released by Ondine to international popular and critical acclaim.

Saariaho: Maa (Earth)