The most refined nuances are our sensory vocabulary, and in Kaija’s works nuance is all the pieces: Understanding the important that means in every expression is vital. For a composer, having her message handed on to the viewers in the proper means, with the proper sensitivity, is totally important.
Kaija’s closest longtime collaborators — akin to Jean-Baptiste Barrière, her husband; the cellist Anssi Karttunen; the flutist Camilla Hoitenga; and the conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen — acknowledged her expertise and trusted her intuition, understanding her distinctive voice from the start. There had been us others of a youthful era who joined Kaija’s musical household later, and she or he would by no means fail to specific how grateful she was for our work. We in flip will ceaselessly really feel a deep gratitude for the belief, for all of the methods she supported us by means of her heat and care, and for all of the friendships which have grown out of our shared love for her artwork.
She was a mom, exceptionally dedicated to her kids and household. In time, her kids Aleksi and Aliisa additionally turned working companions, and Kaija repeatedly spoke about how a lot she realized from them and their observations. But this nurturing and caring weren’t restricted to them alone. Having been allowed to be part of her inventive household has been the best privilege possible; her generosity in supporting the younger era of composers and musicians can be an indicator of her considering, which was aimed to maintain constructing issues greater than ourselves. She was heat and humorous too, and a really sensible and compassionate good friend — a very, remarkably lovely individual, each outdoors and in.
The braveness with which Kaija constructed her life’s work is gigantic, contemplating the condescending or humiliating attitudes she needed to endure as a lady early in her profession — be it within the press, by establishments or in non-public encounters. She by no means needed to attract a lot consideration to this, however there have been hurtful experiences she solely shared after years of shut friendship. Her the Aristocracy and energy to rise above all that, nonetheless — in preserving on, then exhibiting the way in which to others — was unimaginable, robust and exemplary. She knew that even in that respect, her work carried big significance, however she selected to let the music converse for itself.
She is and stays a job mannequin, not just for her place in music historical past, but in addition for her ethics and her braveness to talk up about subjects that she thought-about necessary. She selected advanced topics for her operas, akin to these of “Adriana Mater” and “Innocence,” and the theater would come with all the pieces: the insufferable truths, but in addition the soothing dream world — which for her was essentially the most central component of “Innocence,” not the tragic occasions themselves. Through this real fearlessness and honesty, she restored many individuals’s perception in opera as artwork kind.
It is unattainable to think about the world — the music world or my very own life — with out Kaija. But her presence is with us in her artwork. What helps now, within the grief, is the interior gentle current in her works, which we are going to now hold carrying ahead, all the time transferring towards the sunshine.
Content Source: www.nytimes.com