The eminent Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho is in residence at UC Berkeley's Department of Music, giving a series of lectures while her works are being performed at numerous concerts and recitals on campus and elsewhere.
Saariaho, turning 63 on Oct. 14, has lived in Paris since 1982. She is a multiple award winner, and considered one of the most prominent contemporary composers. Her orchestral works and operas - L'amour de loin and Émilie among them — are being performed in major concert halls and opera houses. Laterna Magica is one of her best-known works and will be performed by Berkeley Symphony on Oct. 14.
Saariaho's distinctive sound — initially characterized by slow transformations of dense masses of sound — is described by SFCV's Lisa Hirsch in her review of a Adriana Mater performance in Santa Fe:
An elusive quality in Saariaho's music makes it difficult to describe in concrete terms. In Adriana Mater, her vertical orchestration is enormously detailed and beautiful, with many unusual combinations of instruments.
The strings and winds are deployed to express texture more than melody. Harmonies shift slowly and subtly within a wash of tone, with melodies or individual instruments arising from the mass of sound. Sometimes a solo wind or brass instrument will directly pick up a note from a singer and continue the phrase after the singing stops.
The main activity by the composer during her Berkeley residence is a series of five Ernest Bloch Lectures in Hertz Hall — on Oct. 12, 21, 28, 30, and Nov. 6. These free events all start at 8 p.m., and will include conversations with Cal Performances Director Matias Tarnopolsky and others.
Among other events featuring Saariaho's works:
- Oct 14 Berkeley Symphony, Zellerbach Hall
- Oct. 23: ECO Ensemble, David Milnes director; Hertz Hall
- Oct. 24: S.F. Contemporary Music Players; Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
- Oct. 25-26: Left Coast Chamber Ensemble; Marin and San Francisco
- Oct. 28: UC Free Noon Concert; Hertz Hall
- Oct. 30-31: UC Berkeley Campus University Symphony Orchestra; Hertz Hall