Creating a new repertoire for cello and organ with two of Saariaho’s close collaborators Anssi Karttunen and Olivier Latry.

Kaija Saariaho had a very close relationship with the organ. Before deciding to become a composer she studied the organ and even played with the idea of becoming a church organist. She wrote an organ concerto, “Maan Varjot” for Olivier. She made a major donation to the Musiikkitalo in Helsinki towards building the concert hall organ thanks to which the organ was inaugurated in January 2024.

The cello was the instrument Kaija most wrote for as a solo instrument and in many chamber combinations, largely thanks to her close friendship with Anssi Karttunen. She wrote a piece for cello and organ, “Offrande” as a wedding present to Anssi’s daughter, Marianna Karttunen. ”Offrande” was the opening piece in the inaugural concert of the organ of Musiikkitalo on January 1st 2024.

Anssi and Olivier have created a commissioning fund in Kaija’s memory for duos for cello and organ and an impressive and diverse list of 18 internationally celebrated composers have joined to write pieces for them. Both organ and cello have extensive repertoires but there is practically no repertoire for them together, apart from Kaija’s Offrande.

Many new concert halls have built great organs, but almost no have recitals for organ with another instrument. Another aim of this project is to motivate those concert halls to start programming recitals.

The composers join us in feeling that creating a whole repertoire for the cello and organ and developing recitals in modern concert halls is the best possible way of honouring the memory of Kaija Saariaho.

The pieces will be finished in the first half of 2025. The first 9 of them will be premiered at the Musiikkitalo in Helsinki on the 101h of November 2025. The Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation supports the commissioning of all the pieces for the Helsinki concert

All 18 pieces will be premiered at the Philharmonie de Paris during the season 2026-27. Philharmonie de Paris will organise a whole day around this project involving young players from the CNSM de Paris.

The whole cycle will be available for touring from the season 2026-27 onwards.

TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROJECT CLICK HERE

Composers writing for this project:

For Helsinki:

Julian Anderson: New piece

Jukka Tiensuu: Loistoon

Helena Tulve: I touched her shadow when the light delayed 

Lotta Wennäkoski: Signes

Betsy Jolas: This is Love

John Paul Jones: The Call

George Lewis: Différance

Magnus Lindberg: Voie

For Paris:

Zosha di Castri

Chaya Czernowin

Pascal Dusapin

Francesco Filidei

Luca Francesconi

Thomas Lacôte

Augusta Read Thomas

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Outi Tarkiainen: Majakka

Anna Thorvaldsdottir

Some of the halls we will be offering the recitals:

Lyon Auditorium

Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg

Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen

NOSPR, Katowice

Maison  Symphonique, Montreal

Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles

Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall

Royal Festival Hall, London

Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Gothenburg Concert Hall, Sweden

Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Alte Oper, Frankfurt

Luxemburg Philharmonie

Wien Konzerthaus

Stockholm Konserthuset

Reykjavik Harpa

Luzern KKL Concert Hall

Rotterdam De Doelen

Leipzig

etc.

photos: Sakari Röyskö, Muriel von Braun, Marianna Karttunen