Amin Maalouf is a Lebanese-born French author who has lived in France since 1976. Although his native language is Arabic, he writes in French, and his works have been translated into over 40 languages.
Eino Leino was a Finnish poet and journalist who is considered one of the pioneers of Finnish poetry and a national poet of Finland. His poems combine modern and Finnish folk elements. Much of his work is in the style of the Kalevala and folk songs in general. Nature, love, and despair are frequent themes in Leino's work. He is beloved and widely read in Finland today.
IRCAM is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organisationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The extension of the building was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. Much of the institute is located underground, beneath the fountain to the east of the buildings.
Kaija Anneli Saariaho was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the BBC, the New York Philharmonic, the Salzburg Music Festival, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and the Finnish National Opera, among others. In a 2019 composers' poll by BBC Music Magazine, Saariaho was ranked the greatest living composer.
Karita Marjatta Mattila is a Finnish operatic soprano.
Pentti Saarikoski was a Finnish poet. He is considered one of the most important poets in the literary scene of Finland during the 1960s and 1970s. His body of work comprises poetry and translations, among them such classics as Homer's Odyssey and James Joyce's Ulysses.
Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group.
L'Amour de loin is an opera in five acts with music by Kaija Saariaho and a French-language libretto by Amin Maalouf. The opera received its world premiere performance on 15 August 2000 at the Salzburg Festival.
Adriana Mater is the second opera by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, with a libretto in French by her frequent collaborator, Amin Maalouf. The Opéra National de Paris and the Finnish National Opera jointly commissioned the opera. It received its world premiere at the Opéra Bastille on 3 April 2006 in a production directed by Peter Sellars. The production was dedicated to Gerard Mortier, Artistic Director of the Paris Opera.
Émilie is an opera – specifically a 9-scene, 75-minute monodrama for soprano – by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho to a libretto by Amin Maalouf. It was written in 2008. Based on the life and writings of Marquise Émilie du Châtelet (1706–1749), the work premiered at the Opéra de Lyon, France, on 1 March 2010, with Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, its dedicatee, in the title role. It recounts the achievements of this mathematician, physicist, and mistress of Voltaire: the first woman to establish an international scientific reputation, with pioneering work in the study of fire.
Friedrich Heinrich Kern is a German composer, pianist, and glass harmonica player.
Essays: First Series is a series of essays written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published in 1841, concerning transcendentalism.
Maan varjot is a composition for solo organ and orchestra by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was jointly commissioned by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre national de Lyon, Southbank Centre, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. It was first performed in Montreal on May 29, 2014, by the organist Olivier Latry and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Kent Nagano.
D'Om le Vrai Sens is a clarinet concerto by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was jointly commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC, the Fundação Casa da Musica, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Radio France. It was given its world premiere by the clarinetist Kari Kriikku and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Sakari Oramo in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, on September 8, 2010. The concerto is dedicated to Kari Kriikku.
Petals is a piece of spectral music composed by Kaija Saariaho for cello and live electronics. It is one of the works studied in the Edexcel syllabus for the A-Level in Music. It has been recorded both by its dedicatee, Anssi Karttunen, on the Finlandia label and by the cellist Wilhelmina Smith on the Ondine label.
Sept Papillons is a piece for solo cello by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The piece was commissioned by the Rudolf Steiner Foundation and was premiered on 10 September 2000 by Anssi Karttunen, to whom the piece is dedicated.
Vista is a composition for orchestra written by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Oslo Philharmonic. The world premiere took place at the Helsinki Music Centre on 12 May 2021 and was performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra led by the conductor Susanna Mälkki, to whom the piece is dedicated.
Trans is a harp concerto written in 2015 by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was commissioned by the Suntory Foundation for Arts, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Radio France, and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. The world premiere was performed by the harpist Xavier de Maistre and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ernest Martínez Izquierdo at Suntory Hall, Tokyo.
Orion is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was written in 2002 on a commission from the Cleveland Orchestra. Its world premiere was performed by the Cleveland Orchestra led by conductor Franz Welser-Möst in Cleveland, Ohio, on 23 January 2003. The piece is dedicated to Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Innocence is an opera in five acts by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The libretto was written in Finnish by Sofi Oksanen and translated/adapted by Aleksi Barrière.
