Kaija Saariaho
Publication Year: 2009
Published by: University of Illinois Press
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Preface
Download PDF (107.3 KB)
pp. vii-viii
By exploring the contexts of Saariaho’s studies and work, her approaches to music and composition process, and her works, this book aims to identify the fundamental ingredients of her music—its central elements and aesthetics—as well as to provide insights into how it has come to be such as it is and how...
1. Biography
Download PDF (337.2 KB)
pp. 1-25
As a child, Kaija Laakkonen spent much time alone, partly due to her poor health. She remembers being an overly sensitive child who was fascinated by all kinds of sounds. Her earliest childhood memories are of being ill and looking out at other children playing outside. “I loved the quietness of the house...
2. Developments
Download PDF (327.0 KB)
pp. 26-51
The third period could be called the sound laboratory. During this time, Saariaho worked extensively with computers, analyzing different kinds of sounds and becoming familiar with the possibilities computers offered to her compositions. Her emphasis was more on intellectual studies and computerized music...
3. Work
Download PDF (228.7 KB)
pp. 52-72
Saariaho’s process of composing, as well as her musical production, reflect her personal way of perceiving the world. Different senses intermingle; she senses visual, tactile, and even bodily sensations musically with sounds. Music may also give rise to visual and bodily experiences. She regards this as one of her...
4. Sounds
Download PDF (211.0 KB)
pp. 73-92
If loosely categorized, Saariaho’s works move within those streams of contemporary music that make music “for the ears,” focus on sound quality, employ both electronic and acoustic means of expanding music, and renew musical conventions without opposing them. These streams of contemporary music reflect the...
5. Dramas
Download PDF (190.8 KB)
pp. 93-107
Writing an opera was a natural result of Saariaho’s musical creativity, which draws from multisensory sensations. The visual dimension of her musical imagination and her tendency to become musically inspired by literary texts provided fruitful ground for the creation of staged art. Some of her earlier works have...
Notes
Download PDF (137.5 KB)
pp. 109-119
Selected Works
Download PDF (86.6 KB)
pp. 120-
Selected Listening
Download PDF (103.8 KB)
pp. 121-122
For Further Reading
Download PDF (102.9 KB)
pp. 123-
Index
Download PDF (121.1 KB)
pp. 125-130
Back Cover
E-ISBN-13: 9780252091933
Print-ISBN-13: 9780252032776
Page Count: 144
Publication Year: 2009
Series Title: Women Composers
