Kaija Saariaho - Saarikoski Songs; Vista; Three Preludes (Anu Komsi; Sakari Oramo)

Information

Composer: Kaija Saariaho

1. Saarikoski Songs: Luonnon kasvot
2. Saarikoski Songs: Jokaisella on tämänsä
3. Saarikoski Songs: Kaikki tämä
4. Saarikoski Songs: Minussa lintu ja käärme
5. Saarikoski Songs: Sumun läpi
6. Vista: I. Horizons
7. Vista: II. Targets
8. Three Preludes: I.
9. Three Preludes: II.
10. Three Preludes: III.

Anu Komsi, soprano

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sakari Oramo, conductor

Marzi Nyman, organ

Date: 2026

Label: Ondine

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Featuring world-premiere recordings, this album presents three works by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho performed by soprano Anu Komsi, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Sakari Oramo, and organist Marzi Nyman. The collection opens with Vista (2019), Saariaho’s final orchestral work, which captures expansive sonic landscapes inspired by the California coast. The Saarikoski Songs (2021), written for Komsi and orchestrated shortly before the composer's terminal diagnosis, sets Pentti Saarikoski's nature poetry to reflect on environmental loss. The album concludes with Three Preludes (1981), an early expressionistic setting of biblical texts for voice and organ, recorded on the Helsinki Music Centre’s organ, which Saariaho personally helped fund.

Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023) was an acclaimed Finnish composer whose career bridged technological innovation with deeply poetic expression. Following early studies in Helsinki, Freiburg, and Paris, her groundbreaking work at IRCAM led to a signature style blending live instrumentation with electroacoustic textures, beginning with her 1986 breakthrough Lichtbogen. Her extensive catalogue includes celebrated chamber works, symphonic song cycles, concertos, and grand orchestral pieces. Saariaho achieved widespread international acclaim through her six celebrated operas, particularly Innocence (2020) and L’Amour de loin (2000). Honored with the Polar Music Prize, Grawemeyer Award, and two Grammy Awards, her legacy endures through an extensive network of global collaborators.

High Resolution 24-bit / 48 kHz