The Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho passed away Friday at the age of 70. 

There’s been an outpouring of grief, sadness and love on social media and in statements from orchestras, festivals and opera companies as the music community processes the loss of one of the greatest composers of our time.

Kaija Saariaho seated in a chair, looking off to the side.

Kaija Saariaho. Photo © Oliver Roller

When I was a young composer, the first work by Saariaho I heard live was Jardin Secret I (1985) at the 1988 Hong Kong ISCM Festival. 

It was the first time the International Society of Contemporary Music had staged a festival in an Asian country, and many European composers were in attendance. 

I was swept up by the work with its haunting bell tones transformed through electronics. The music sounded simultaneously familiar and alien, intimate and immense. I was awed by the imposing presence of a composer I knew only from music history texts.

Later, we met when I served...