IDAGIO | Kaija Saariaho: Touches - Complete Works for Piano and Harpischord 0761195146927

Featuring

Tuija Hakkila
Anssi Karttunen
Kaija Saariaho

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Composer's Artistic Vision

In Kaija Saariaho's music, tempo is always flexible and sometimes completely free, with transitions often being slow.

Composer Biography

Kaija Saariaho was fascinated by the sound of the harpsichord and used recordings of its sounds and resonances for her sound syntheses.

Performer Biography

Tuija Hakkila, the pianist on this album, has premiered dozens of works by living composers and holds a senior position as Professor of Piano Music at the Sibelius Academy.

Composer Biography

Kaija Saariaho, the composer, found solo piano works challenging because she thought of music as shifting continua of sound, which is difficult to create on a piano.

Composition History

The piece "Monkey Fingers, Velvet Hands" by Kaija Saariaho was commissioned by Japanese pianist Aki Takahashi for an album of works inspired by Beatles hits.

Compositional Technique

The piece "Im Traume" for cello and prepared piano uses the piano as a percussion instrument, with objects placed on the strings, its wooden body knocked, and strings plucked inside.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Kaija Saariaho's piano scores always include the instruction "Sempre molto pedale" (always use a lot of pedal), as she considered the role of pedals important for creating illusions of different acoustics.