Kaija Saariaho was born Kaija Anneli Laakkonen on 14 October 1952. She took the surname Saariaho from architect Markku Saariaho, whom she divorced after a brief marriage. Her distinctive relationship with sound began in early childhood. At bedtime, she would often ask her mother to ‘turn off’ her pillow, because music and images kept appearing in her mind. This vivid imagination would later develop into a form of synaesthesia: Saariaho not only heard music but also saw it, as shades of light, shadow and colour. In a 2011 interview for Concertgebouw Brugge, she described it like this: ‘When I “imagine” music, I don’t just hear it: I also use my other senses. I imagine textures and surfaces, and different sounds evoke different gradations of light. I don’t think this is really a fascination, but rather the way my perception works.’

Her education also reflects this varied, sensory approach: Saariaho first studied graphic design, piano and musicology before turning to composition. Building a career as a composer was far from straightforward in Finland, or elsewhere. She had to contend with a deeply rooted patriarchal musical culture in which there was little or no room for women composers. To counter the conservative tendencies in Finnish music, she co-founded the group Korvat Auki (literally ‘Open Your Ears’) in 1977, alongside Magnus Lindberg, Esa-Pekka Salonen and others.

After a brief stay in Freiburg, Germany, where she studied with Klaus Huber and Brian Ferneyhough, Saariaho settled permanently in Paris in 1982. There she married French composer Jean-Baptiste Barrière, who helped her explore the world of electroacoustic music at IRCAM. She also encountered spectralist composers such as Gérard Grisey and Tristan Murail. These experiences inspired her to use electronic music to explore the hidden sonic qualities of a note. From then on, sound and space became central to her work: she composed for traditional instruments while also experimenting with tape compositions and live electronics. She became particularly known for her ability to combine acoustic and electronic sounds.

Her breakthrough with a wider audience came in 2000 with her first opera, L’Amour de loin, directed by Peter Sellars. It marked the beginning of a successful operatic career, with works including Adriana Mater, Émilie, Only the Sound Remains and her fifth and final opera, Innocence. Her music bears the influence of spectralism and modernism, but its defining qualities are its remarkable refinement and poetry. Throughout her career, Saariaho became a role model for young composers. When BBC Music Magazine asked leading composers worldwide to name the greatest composers of all time in 2019, Saariaho was the highest-ranked living composer. In the same poll, Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir described her as ‘one of the most important composers of our time, whose music – particularly her large-scale works for large ensembles – has served for many years as a beacon and source of inspiration for younger generations, especially young women in music. Her multifaceted influence will continue to shape the future of music.’ Saariaho died in the summer of 2023, at the height of her fame.