Kaija Saariaho, who wrote acclaimed works that made her the among the most prominent composers of the 21st century, died Friday. She was 70.
Saariaho died at her apartment in Paris, posted on her Facebook page. She had been diagnosed in February 2021 with glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable brain tumor.
鈥淭he multiplying tumors did not affect her cognitive facilities until the terminal phase of her illness,鈥� the statement said. Her family said Saariaho had undergone experimental treatment at Piti茅-Salp锚tri猫re Hospital in Paris.
鈥淜aija's appearance in a wheelchair or walking with a cane have prompted many questions, to which she answered elusively,鈥� the family said. "Following her physician's advice, she kept her illness a private matter, in order to maintain a positive mindset and keep the focus of her work.鈥�
Her 鈥淟鈥橝mour de Loin (Love from Afar)鈥� premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2000 and made its U.S. debut at the Santa Fe Opera two years later. In 2016, at the Metropolitan Opera since Ethel M. Smyth鈥檚 鈥淒er Wald鈥� in 1903.
鈥淪he was one of the most original voices and enjoyed enormous success,鈥� Met general manager Peter Gelb said. 鈥淚t had impact on one's intellect as well as one's emotions. It was music that really moves people's hearts. She was truly one of the great, great artists.鈥�
Saariaho did not like to be thought of as a female composer, rather a woman who was a composer.
鈥淚 would not even like to speak about it,鈥� she said during an interview with The Associated Press after a piano rehearsal at the Met. 鈥淚t should be a shame.鈥�
Born in Helsinki on Oct. 14, 1952, Saariaho studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Hochschule f眉r Musik Freiburg. She helped found a Finnish group "Korvat auki (Ears Open) in the 1970s.
鈥淭he problem in Finland in the 1970s and 鈥�80s was that it was very closed,鈥� she told NPR last year. 鈥淢y generation felt that there was no place for us and no interest in our music 鈥� and more generally, modern music was heard much less.鈥�
Saariaho started work in 1982 at Paris' Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM), a center of contemporary music founded in the 1970s by Pierre Boulez. She incorporated electronics in her composition.
鈥淚 am interested in spatialization, but under the condition that it鈥檚 not applied gratuitously,鈥� posted on her website. "It has to be necessary 鈥� in the same way that material and form must be linked together organically.
Inspired by viewing Messiaen鈥檚 鈥砈t. Francois d鈥橝ssise" at the 1992 Salzburg Festival, she wrote 鈥淟鈥橝mour de Loin." She went on to compose 鈥淎driana Mater,鈥� which premiered at the Op茅ra Bastille in 2006 and 鈥溍塵ilie,鈥� which debuted at the Lyon Op茅ra in 2010.
Her latest opera, 鈥淚nnocence,鈥� was first seen at the 2021 Aix-en-Provence Festival. Putting a spotlight on gun violence, the work was staged in London this spring and is scheduled for the Met's 2025-26 season.
鈥淭his is undoubtedly the work of a mature master, in such full command of her resources that she can focus simply on telling a story and illuminating characters,鈥� Zachary Woolfe wrote in The New York Times.
Saariaho received the University of Louisville's Grawemeyer Award in 2003 and was selected Musical America's Musician of the Year in 2008. Kent Nagano's recording of 鈥淟鈥橝mour de Loin" won a 2011 Grammy Award.
Saariaho's final work, a trumpet concerto titled 鈥淗USH,鈥� is to premiere in Helsinki in Aug. 24 with Susanna M盲lkki leading the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
The announcement of Saariaho's death was posted by her husband, composer Jean-Baptiste Barri猫re; son Aleksi Barri猫re, a writer; and daughter Aliisa Neige Barri猫re, a conductor and violinist.
