"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...

"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.