Remembering Kaija Saariaho

I was saddened to hear about Kaija Saariaho’s passing this week. In 2014, a few of my works were being performed in New York and I thought of inviting Kaija on a whim. I didn’t know her at that time, but I knew she was in residence at Columbia. I was so happily surprised to receive such a warm response to the invitation, but alas, Kaija said she was too busy to attend. To my surprise, as the concert was starting, I turned to the doors so see Kaija standing their with a smile. I was thrilled, and of course looking forward to talking with her after the show. But at intermission, she had already disappeared! Nevertheless, our correspondence had begun.

Kaija and I exchanged a great deal of correspondence over the course of the next few years and I was encouraged by her words about, and belief in, my music. We kept up over the years, meeting in New York when she was there, which was often. In 2019, Kaija and I worked together at the Etchings Festival in France, along with composers Martin Brody and Francesco Filidei. It was a memorable week, and Kaija became great friends with my mother who I brought along that summer. My mother and Kaija connected over their shared stories of life in post-war Europe. My mother was a refugee in Germany from ’45 to ’53, the year just after Kaija was born.

There are few composers that have impacted my life as deeply and as spiritually as Kaija has. She will be sorely missed and deeply remembered.