Discover the incandescent and colourful textures and sonorities of renowned Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, in a programme featuring works by Kaija Saariaho, Hans Martin and Keiko Devaux.

Like Hungarian composer György Ligeti, Kaija Saariaho has inspired several generations of composers. She has written several operas which have been international successes, including L’amour de loin, based on a libretto by Amin Maalouf.

The programme opens and closes with two versions of Kaija Saariaho‘sHorloge, tais-toi! composed for her daughter Aliisa, with a libretto by her son Aleksi.

Her emblematic piece Lichtbogen was inspired by the observation of the Northern Lights in the Arctic sky, when she first started composing it. It is her first work composed using a computer in a purely instrumental music context.

The concert also includes a work commissioned by the SMCQ from composer Hans Martin whose musical research explores sound “as sound” through forms influenced by the tradition of algorithmic music, from the Renaissance to the present day.

Composer Keiko Devaux describes her extraordinary work Arras as “a kaleidoscope of influences encompassing several generations, cultures and musical genres, within the framework of my sonic histories and those of my families.” This piece was premiered thanks to the 2020 Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music and won the Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year (2022).

A brilliant and colourful concert with the Ensemble de la SMCQ conducted by Cristian Gort and the exceptional participation of Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal conducted by Andrew Gray.