Kaija Saariaho

Join us on Sunday, May 4 at 1 p.m. on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, May 5 at 7 p.m. on WRTI HD-2 when The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert series brings you a performance featuring Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" symphony, a suite from Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, and Saariaho's Graal théâtre. Rafael Payare is on the podium, alongside violinist Carolin Widmann in her debut with the orchestra.

Gabriela Ortiz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Karen Slack with Michelle Cann, and Donald Nally with The Crossing were among the classical music winners at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

Join us on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. on WRTI HD-2 as The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert brings you Ravel’s complete ballet Daphnis et Chloé, as well as works by Kaija Saariaho and Esa-Pekka Salonen, who conducts. Guest organist Olivier Latry is featured in Salonen’s work.

Saariaho, who battled a male-dominated educational system in her native Finland, forged a strong and singular voice in contemporary music.

From sexist professors and low self-esteem to worldwide acclaim, the Finnish composer talks about her path to success and her relentless pursuit of sound.

Saariaho isn't the first woman composer to stage an opera at New York's Metropolitan Opera — just the first in more than a century. Her opera, L'Amour de Loin, has its New York premiere this week.

Her music arrives like a massive glacier - towering, deliberate, and unstoppable. To those who follow modern music, such sounds as these could only be the…

David Patrick Stearns profiles the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. Read more about her work here.