Disc Details

Contents

Work Title	Composer
Cendres	Kaija Saariaho
Laconisme de l'aile	Kaija Saariaho
Mirrors	Kaija Saariaho
NoaNoa	Kaija Saariaho	Listen
Petals	Kaija Saariaho	Listen
Six Japanese Gardens	Kaija Saariaho	Listen
Spins and Spells	Kaija Saariaho	Listen

Reviews

• This recital focuses on Kaija Saariaho's pieces for solo instruments and chamber music. Flute, cello and piano appear alone or in different combinations, with the longest work, Six Japanese Gardens, a set of six pieces for percussion and electronics. The latter have a central role in Saariaho's output and inform her approach to the sound-production acoustic instruments. This is heard most obviously in Gardens, the live performer melding with the electroacoustic background to the point that they are (purposely) indistinguishable. Here, variou chant and bell-like interventions from the electronics set the seal on a mystical orientalism. In the pieces with solo flute (Laconisme de l'aile and Noa Noa) the electronics enhance the phonic capabilities of the flute from a more traditionally modernist perspective.
  
  ...the quality of the performances, the generous programme and its distinctive focus on chamber music makes this an issue well worth exploring.
  Fabrice Fitch, Gramophone, 01 June 2005