New Album Presents Premiere Recordings of Three Works by Late Finnish Composer Kaija Saariaho

A newly released album featuring three works by the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho has been reviewed by The Guardian, which noted that all three pieces are premiere recordings. Saariaho, described by the publication as an idiosyncratic composer, died in 2023, leaving behind what the review called a significant body of unrecorded music.

According to the review, the album—titled Vista, Saarikoski Songs, Three Preludes—brings together compositions spanning 40 years, each bearing what the reviewer described as the composer's distinctive musical fingerprints. The recording features soloists Komsi and Nyman alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by fellow Finn Sakari Oramo, and is released on the Ondine label.

The most substantial work on the album, per the review, is Vista, composed in 2019. The piece is described as a tone poem inspired by a drive along the Interstate 5 highway to San Diego. The review states that the first movement, titled Horizons, opens with an extended oboe duet before brass, winds and tuned percussion introduce additional tonal colors, creating what the reviewer characterized as music evoking a sense of cruise control, layered with orchestral string textures and notable musical details.

The second movement of Vista, called Targets, is described in the review as more dynamic than the opening section, portraying a turbulent musical journey that resolves into a serene conclusion by its end.

The review praised conductor Sakari Oramo's interpretation as sensitive and assured, and commended the BBC Symphony Orchestra for what it called precise and texturally detailed playing throughout the recording.

The album is among a number of posthumous releases documenting previously unrecorded works by Saariaho, whose compositions have continued to be performed and recorded following her death in 2023.