ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien / Prégardien / Meister

As a child, she sometimes couldn't fall asleep because she heard music inside her – and thought it was coming out of her headrest. She still had to wrest a place in her composition class from her teacher – because she was a girl. Born in Helsinki in 1952, Kaija Saariaho initially studied painting and drawing, but found greater understanding and more significant inspiration in Paris. Her tonal language, inspired by the visual arts, is characterised by suggestive imagery. »The visible and audible worlds are one for me«, she said. »Shades of colour, textures, scents and sounds form a completely independent world.« Two works by the composer, who died in 2023, based on music theatre pieces, characterise this evening with former chief conductor Cornelius Meister: »Song for Betty« (from »L'amour de loin«) and »Lumière et Pesanteur« (»La Passion de Simone«). Her imagery is reflected in Mussorgsky's »Pictures at an Exhibition«, her emotionality in Mahler's »Rückert-Lieder« with portrait artist Julian Prégardien.