Composer of the Day!

Today’s Composer of the Day is Kaija Saariaho.

(b. 1952)

Kaija was born in Finland.

Her music reflects a deep interest in psychoacoustics, particularly the differences between harmony and timbre. It has been said that the music abolishes parametric hierarchies, creating a new kind of organic framework. Others contend that she creatively reorganizes parametric hierarchies. I think the music is just lovely.

Kaija’s works often blend idiomatic instrumental writing (“idiomatic” being another term for virtuosic) and computer generated sounds (click here). Yet, the means are overshadowed by the result. The pieces have a musically logical flow; no sound is wasted.

Her music is also sexy (click here). She revels in the female voice’s femininity. Thus, a lot of her pieces contain a female vocal part.

She has won awards. She is well-known in Europe, but not so much in the States. She has studied with composers, including Brian Ferneyhough and Klaus Huber.

She is also a founding member of Petals, a non-profit organization for the dissemination of commercially underrepresented musical projects.

You should definitely listen to her music.