Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952) is among the most prominent names in contemporary music scene today. This new album by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu includes world première recordings of three works by Saariaho featuring bass-baritone Gerald Finley and harpist Xavier de Maistre as soloists. True Fire is a six-movement song cycle that was written to a commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the NDR Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France, for baritone Gerald Finley with an original idea to explore the scope of the baritone voice. The texts conclusively determined what the vocal expression would be like and how the details in the musical material would shape up. The disparate texts chosen by Saariaho in fact have a common underlying theme: the status of humankind surrounded by nature, our observations of it and our belonging to it. Saariaho’s orchestral triptych Orion (2002) is one of her most performed works. Orion as a celestial phenomenon is showcased in the middle movement, Winter Sky. In 2013, Saariaho rescored this movement for a smaller orchestra, and to distinguish it from the original she gave it a title in French with the same meaning, Ciel d’hiver. It joins the series of works by Saariaho that are in one way or another inspired by things in sky and space. Trans for harp and orchestra is the composer’s latest addition to a series of concertos. It was written to a joint commission from the Suntory Foundation for Arts, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, Radio France and the Hessen Radio Orchestra. The premiere was given by Xavier de Maistre in Tokyo in August 2016.

"The harp and Christmas: this is a perfect fit, as the warm and elegant sound of the harp creates a very special atmosphere. I carefully selected various well-known Christmas tunes which are transcribed for solo harp, but I find it important to add lesser-known melodies as well – many of them reflecting different Christmas traditions." -Xavier de Maistre

"All the works that are included in Christmas Harp bear the hallmarks of harpists and composers who have been intimately familiar with their instrument. It was Xavier de Maistre himself who undertook the arrangement of the "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy" from the Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-93). The arrangement of "The Waltz of the Flowers" was prepared by the young Russian harpist and composer Alexander Boldachev, as was the transcription of "Carol of the Bells." The Welsh harpist and composer John Thomas (1826–1913) left a substantial body of work, including a transcription of the Ave Maria by Franz Schubert (1797–1828). The French harp virtuoso Alphonse Hasselmans (1845–1912) [wrote] the Conte de Noël that de Maistre is performing here. One of Hasselmans’s pupils was Carlos Salzedo (1885–1961), who studied with Hasselmans for a year before being accepted into his harp class at the Conservatoire at the age of only thirteen. His works feature in the lion’s share of the pieces that are included in this album. Particularly delightful are his concert variations on the opening carol O Tannenbaum, where he may be said to pull out all the stops in his desire to show how much music lies hidden in this number’s apparently simple twelve bars." -Thomas Otto