Guildhall School Musicians: Spotlight on Kaija Saariaho

The BBC Symphony Orchestra’s day of Total Immersion in the music of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho begins with music of gentle (but limitless) power.

Kaiija Saariaho is one of the most original and influential figures in 21st-century music, a composer who used Finland’s buoyant musical traditions as a launchpad for a journey that has transformed our very perception of musical space and time. Few living composers are more deserving of a day of total immersion; and none occupies such a striking position between intellectual enquiry and pure, wondrous beauty.

‘I hope the music can open all kinds of minds’ she says. ‘It’s like eating a cake, you just enjoy it or you do not.’ And so we begin in the intimate space of Milton Court with a taster selection of her chamber music – performed by musicians from Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

This day of events will now take place on Sunday 7 May, previously scheduled for Saturday 6 May, in respect of His Majesty King Charles III's Coronation.

This performance will end at approximately 2pm, with no interval

Produced by BBC Symphony Orchestra