SAARIAHO PROJECTS
I have been interested in Kaija Saariaho’s music already for decades, and in particular her work for human voice. My doctoral thesis discussed her first opera, L’amour de loin (2000) applying the theory of musical semantics. In addition, I have explored also her second opera, Adriana Mater (2006), as well as Émilie (2010) and Only the Sound Remains (2016) (see the publication below).
My work on Saariaho’s music includes also non-academic publications, such as programme book texts for i.e. The Finnish National Opera and Opéra national de Paris as well as several festivals in Finland and abroad (see my publications). I also wrote the introduction of L’amour de loin production for the awarded The Deutsche Grammophon DVD (2006). Several newspapers and musical magazines have published my texts on Saariaho’s music, too.
Doctoral dissertation
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2008. Kaukainen rakkaus – Saavuttamattomuuden semantiikka Kaija Saariahon oopperassa. [L’amour de loin – Semantics of the unattainable in Kaija Saariaho’s opera]. Doctoral thesis. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press (in Finnish).
– Review of the dissertation of Liisamaija Hautsalo, Richardson, John 2008. ’Praiseworthy research on Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin’. Musiikki 2: 87–95 (in Finnish).
Peer-reviewed articles or book chapters
Hautsalo, Liisamaija [2022]. Unspoken feminism: Kaija Saariaho’s monodrama Émilie. In Yayoi Uno Everett & Nick Steven (eds.): Opera in Flux: New Approaches to Identity, Staging, and Narrative. Mary Francis (University of Michigan Press) (in print)
Hautsalo, Liisamaija & Osmo Pekonen 2017. Émilie, an Opera about Love, Death, and Mathematics. Bridges 2017 Conference Proceedings. Online:
http://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2017/bridges2017-387.pdf (in English).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2011. Whispers from the Past: Musical Topics in Saariaho’s L’amour de loin. In Tim Howell with Jon Hargreaves & Michael Rofe (eds.): Kaija Saariaho: Visions, Narratives, Dialogues. York, UK: Ashgate Publishing. 107–129 (in English).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2005. Transelementit Kaija Saariahon oopperassa Kaukainen rakkaus. [Transelements in Kaija Saariaho’s opera, L’amour de loin]. In Anne Sivuoja-Gunaratnam (ed.): Elektronisia unelmia. Kirjoituksia Kaija Saariahon musiikista. [Electronic dreams. Writings on Kaija Saariaho’s music]. Helsinki: University Press. 231–256 (in Finnish).
Other scientific articles or book chapters
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2012. Rakkaus Kaija Saariahon oopperoissa [Love in Kaija Saariaho’s operas]. In Pekka Hako (ed.): Aistit, uni, rakkaus. Kaksitoista katsetta Kaija Saariahoon. [Senses, Sleep, Love: Twelve Views towards Kaija Saariaho]. Helsinki: LURRA Editions. 221–250 (in Finnish).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2010. Pyhän semantiikka Kaija Saariahon Kaukaisessa rakkaudessa. [The semantics of the sacred in Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin]. Synkooppi Op. 98, 1: 20–25.
Also published online: http://www.amfion.fi/jutut/esseet/pyhan-semantiikka-kaija-saariahon-oopperassa-kaukainen-rakkaus/ (in Finnish).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2006. Kaija Saariaho’s opera L’amour de loin: Themes, stylistic features, and the idea of foreignness. In Eero Tarasti (ed.): Music and the Arts II. Proceedings from ICMS 7. Acta Semiotica Fennica XXIII, vol. 2: 859–866 (in English).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2003. Muukalaisuudesta ja ylittämisestä Kaija Saariahon oopperassa L'amour de loin [On Otherness and transitions in Kaija Saariaho’s opera L’amour de loin]. Synteesi 1: 84–89 (in Finnish).
Texts in programme books
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2017. Kaija Saariahon Only the Sound Remains tarkastelee olemisen peruskysymyksiä [Kaija Saariaho’s Only the Sound Remains deals with fundamental questions of human life]. Helsinki: The Finnish National Opera (in Finnish and English).
– Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2017. Kaija Saariaho on hienostuneiden sointivärien säveltäjä. Helsinki: The Finnish National Opera. Online:
http://oopperabaletti.fi/kulisseissa/kaija-saariaho-on-hienostuneiden-sointivarien-saveltaja/ (in Finnish).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2015. Moniäänisiä monologeja [Polyphonic Monologues]. [on Kaija Saariaho’s Émilie]. Helsinki: The Finnish National Opera (in Finnish and English).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2008a. Lengsel etter det transsensuelle [A yearning for the trans-sensual]. [on L’amour de loin]. Bergen: Bergen Music Festival (in Norwegian).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2008b. ”Musiikkini joutui kohtaamaan maailman” [”My music had to face the world”]. [on Adriana Mater]. Helsinki: The Finnish National Opera (in Finnish and English).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2006. Espaces à la frontière du sonore. [on Adriana Mater]. Paris: Opéra National de Paris (in French and English).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2004. Kaipausta yliaistilliseen [Longing for trancendent]. [on L’amour de loin]. Helsinki: The Finnish National Opera (in Finnish and English).
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2002. Kaija Saariaho -juhlakonsertin teosesittelyt. Sibelius-Akatemian konserttisarja (in Finnish).
DVD Introduction
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2005. A yearning for the trans-sensual. Kaija Saariaho’s opera L’amour de loin. DVD. Deutsche Grammophon 00440 073 4026 (in English).
Hautsalo in radio and TV on Saariaho
Intermission discussion with a mezzo-soprano Monica Groop. Live broadcast of Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin from the Metropolitan Opera, New York. 10 December, 2017. The Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE1. Journalist: Risto Nordell (in Finnish).
What is enchanting in Kaija Saariaho’s music? Radio interview in Kultakuume programme. 14 February 2008. The Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yle1 (Radio). Journalist: Janne Koskinen (in Finnish).
Finnish Music. Part 7: Finnish Opera. First broadcast 15 November 2006. The Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yle1 (TV). Director: Tiina-Maija Lehtonen (in Finnish).
Spotlight: Liisamaija Hautsalo. How a music theorist listens to the most often performed Finnish opera L’amour de loin? Television programme, 30 min. First broadcast 21 December 2004. The Finnish Broadcasting Company, Teema/Yle1 (TV). Journalist: Arto Hyvönen (in Finnish).
Commenting on the premiere of L’amour de loin. Radio interview. 7 September 2004. The Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yle1 (Radio). Journalist: Janne Koskinen (in Finnish).
Symposia and other events on Saariaho’s music organized by Hautsalo
Interdisciplinary symposia on Kaija Saariaho’s monologue opera Émilie. Amazing Émilie – Ihmeellinen Émilie. 1–2 April 2015. In collaboration with the Finnish National Opera and the AvaraOpera. Funded by the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland, and the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Kaija Saariaho’s 60th birthday festival. Voices, Spaces, Senses. Concerts and international research symposium on Saariaho’s vocal music. 12–14 October 2012. Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland. Funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Wihuri Foundation.
Presentations on Saariaho’s music
Hautsalo, Liisamaija 2019. ‘Dreams in Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater’. A gateway to secret existences”: Dream, Body and Sound in Kaija Saariaho’s music. DFG-Graduiertenkolleg 2021: Europäische Traumkulturen. Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany, May 24 –25, 2019.
Hautsalo, Liisamaija & Osmo Pekonen. Émilie, an Opera about Love, Death, and Mathematics. Accepted paper. BRIDGES WATERLOO 2017. Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Education, Culture. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 27–31 July 2017.
Émilie and the other Voices. Journée d'étude international. Les oeuvres de Kaija Saariaho – entre inspiration visuelle et influence littéraire. CDMC, Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine. Organisée par Márta Grabócz. Paris, France, 26 April 2013.
Émilie and the other Voices. Voices, Spaces, Senses. Kaija Saariaho’s 60th anniversary symposium. Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland, 13 October 2012.
Monodraaman monet äänet: Kaija Saariahon Émilie. [The many voices of monodrama: Èmilie by Kaija Saariaho]. The chair of the Amin Maalouf -session 21 July 2011. Kaija Saariaho and Amin Maalouf: Finnish and French collaboration in words and music seminar. Mäntän klubi, Mänttä-Vilppula, Finland, 20–21 July 2011.
Kaija Saariahon oopperateokset [Kaija Saariaho’s opera works]. Lecture for the Senior Psychologists of Finland. Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland, 27 September 2010.
Tristan ja Kaukainen rakkaus hovirakkauden peilissä [Tristan and L’amour de loin through courtly love]. Sylvi Symposium. Pieksämäki, Finland, 8 September 2009.
Miten väri soi? [How does color sound?]. Syneasthesia in Kaija Saariaho’s music. Lecture series in Taidekoti Kirpilä. Organised by Dr. Anna Kortelainen. Finnish Cultural Foundation. Helsinki, Finland, 14 October 2009.
Kaija Saariaho’s operatic works L’amour de loin & Adriana Mater. Talks and research seminar series. University of Liverpool, School of Music, Liverpool, UK, 22 April 2008.
Rakkaus Kaija Saariahon oopperoissa [Love in Kaija Saariaho’s operas]. Studia Generalia semiotica. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, 18 February 2008.
Rakkaus Kaija Saariahon oopperoissa [Love in Kaija Saariaho’s operas]. The Finnish Association of Non-fiction Writers. University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland, 12 February 2008.
Topics in Kaija Saariaho’s opera L’amour de loin. Presentation. Tenth International Congress of the International Project on Musical Signification. Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilna, Lithuania, 21–25 October 2008.
Eksistentiaalisemioottisia näkökulmia Kaija Saariahon oopperaan Kaukainen rakkaus. [Existential-semiotic standpoints on the Kaija Saariaho’s opera L'amour de loin]. Post-Doctoral seminar. Faculty of Art Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, 10 March 2006.
Eksistentiaalisemioottisia näkökulmia Kaija Saariahon oopperaan Kaukainen rakkaus. [Existential-semiotic standpoints on the Kaija Saariaho’s opera L'amour de loin]. Uudet tuulet -seminar. Faculty of Musicology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 27 January 2006.
Barokin käytännöistä Kaija Saariahon oopperassa Kaukainen rakkaus. [Practices of baroque music in Kaija Saariaho’s opera L’amour de loin]. VEST-seminar. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 25 November 2005.
Practices of baroque music in Kaija Saariaho’s opera L’amour de loin International Doctoral and Postodoctoral Seminar in Musical Semiotics -symposium 7–11 2005, musiikkitiede, Helsingin yliopisto.
Towards the Other: Kaija Saariaho’s Opera L’amour de loin. 8th International Congress on Musical Signification Sorbonne, Paris, 2–8 October 2004.
Newspapers and musical magazines
Finnish Music Quarterly (in English)
Deep in Sound, Deep in Soul. Finnish Music Quarterly. Online publication. Published 7 October 2016. http://www.fmq.fi/2016/10/deep-in-sound-deep-in-soul/ [Saariaho in New York].
About Love. Finnish Music Quarterly, vol. 1 (2010), p. 8–13 [on Émilie].
Adriana Mater more modern than its predecessor: Peter Sellars’ direction leaves room for improvement. Finnish Music Quarterly, vol. 2 (2006), p. 38 [on Adriana Mater].
The Sufferings of Young Adriana. Finnish Music Quarterly, vol. 1 (2006), p. 36–40 [on Adriana Mater].
Sliding in Sound. Material and Immaterial Images in Kaija Saariaho’s Flute Music. Finnish Music Quarterly, vol. 1 (2003), p. 27–33 [on Saariaho’s flute music].
Simply unadorned and crystal-clear. Kaija Saariaho’s Love From Afar is modern opera at its most beautiful. Finnish Music Quarterly, vol. 3–4 (2000), p. 67–69 [on L’amour de loin].
Rondo (in Finnish)
Rakkaudesta tietoon ja totuuteen: Kaija Saariahon Émilie on monodraama sopraanolle ja kamariorkesterille [Love for Knowledge and Truth. Kaija Saariaho’s Émilie is a monodrama for soprano and chamber orchestra]. Rondo 2/2010 [on Émilie].
Kaipausta yliaistilliseen. Kaukainen rakkaus on modernismistaan huolimatta romanttinen ooppera [A yearning for the trans-sensual: L’amour de loin is a modernistic opera in spite of its romantic flavour]. Rondo 7/2004 [on L’amour de loin].
Muukalainen, paitsi musiikissa [A stranger, but not in music]. Rondo 8/2002 [Saariaho in interview].
Kaipuu, rakkaus, kuolema. Kaija Saariahon esikoisooppera kypsyi vuosikymmenen, mutta valmistui vuodessa [Yearning, Love and Death: The first opera by Kaija Saariaho needed ten years to mature, but one to be written]. Rondo 4/2000 [on L’amour de loin].
Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish)
(Suurin osa Keskisuomalaisessa julkaistuista ooppera-arvioista on ilmestynyt myös Savon Sanomissa ja Karjalaisessa)
Nainen sodan jaloissa. Keskisuomalainen 28.3.2006 [on Adriana Mater].
Karua, pelkistettyä ja kristallinkirkasta. Keskisuomalainen 17.8.2000 [on L’amour de loin].
Työpöydällä orkesteriteos, ajatuksissa ooppera. Keskisuomalainen 24.12.1998 [Saariaho in interview].
Saariahon laulusarja rakkaudesta ensi kertaa Suomessa. Keskisuomalainen 10.9.1998 [on Saariaho’s vocal music].
Sibelius-Akatemia sai Madame Saariahon. Keskisuomalainen 19.9.1997 [Saariaho in interview].
Heleää, henkeäsalpaavaa. Keskisuomalainen 16.9.1997 [on Saariaho’s music in general].
Kaleva (in Finnish)
Émilie on yhden naisen ooppera. Kaleva 3.3.2010 [review on Émilie].
Tinkimättä omalla tiellään. Kaleva 14.10.2002 [Saariaho on her 50th birthday].
Karu, pelkistetty, kristallinkirkas. Kaleva 19.8.2000 [review on L’amour de loin].
Savon Sanomat (in Finnish)
Pöydällä orkesteriteos, ajatuksissa ooppera. Savon Sanomat 24.12.1998 [Saariaho in interview].
Säveltäjä palasi kotiin – Sibelius-Akatemia sai Madam Saariahon. Savon Sanomat 16.9.1997 [Saariaho in interview].
Heleää, henkeäsalpaavaa. Savon Sanomat 16.9.1997 [review on the 50th years birthday concert].