Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw pays tribute to Kaija Saariaho with the Saariaho Festival, which highlights her extraordinary career from her earliest spectral works to her final solo concerto. The festival will feature internationally acclaimed artists such as Verneri Pohjola, Anssi Karttunen, and the Helsinki Chamber Choir.

The Muziekgebouw hosts the Saariaho Festival in Amsterdam from March 13 to 16. The four-day festival, co-curated by Saariaho’s publisher’s representative Oscar Zepeda Arias (Wise Music Group) and Fedor Teunisse (Asko|Schönberg), will include performances, exhibitions, films, installations, lectures, and masterclasses.

The festival will welcome Saariaho’s trusted interpreters, including longtime friend and collaborator, cellist Anssi Karttunen, as well as the versatile trumpet player Verneri Pohjola—for and with whom she composed her final concerto, HUSH. Both will perform concerts and lead masterclasses during the event, as will Meta4, one of Finland's most internationally acclaimed string quartets. The Grammy-winning Helsinki Chamber Choir, conducted by Nils Schweckendiek, will also bring Saariaho’s choral repertoire into the spotlight.

Kaija Saariaho was one of Finland’s most prominent composers, with an international career spanning more than four decades. Her globally recognized achievements and esteemed position helped strengthen the reputation of Finnish contemporary music worldwide. She served as a role model and an inspiration to many of her colleagues, both in Finland and beyond.

Read more about Kaija Saariaho and her career on FMQ Magazine's Special Issue.