Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho dies aged 70

Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho “died peacefully in her bed, at her home, in Paris”, announces his family on Friday June 2 in a press release, relayed by France Musique. The musician was 70 years old and suffered from cancer.

>> Kaija Saariaho (1/5): “I was a very shy and sensitive little girl with fragile health”

Born in 1952 in Helsinki, Kaija Saariaho had learned to play several instruments such as the piano, the violin, the organ and the guitar. She had studied music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki between 1976 and 1981, before moving to Paris in 1982.

She has collaborated regularly with the Franco-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, as well as his director, Peter Sellars. She was made Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1997 then Knight of the National Order of Merit in 2006, and has received numerous distinctions such as the Nemmers Prize in musical composition (2008), a Victoire de la Musique Classical (2022) or the Golden Lion at the Venice Musical Biennial in 2021.