Performed by Modi Deng at the Karlheinz Company: Suffrage 125 Celebration Concert
Modi Deng Photo: RNZ/Tim Dodd
In the early 70s, Kaija Saariaho was the only woman in her composition class at the Paarvo Academy in Helsinki and she was confronted with the realities of life as a female composer. There were some teachers who refused to teach her, claiming it was a waste of time.
This Prelude is one of only three works of hers for solo piano. It’s a study of scintillating high register tintinnabulations and virtuoso passagework unfolding over an obsessively repetitive two-note utterance.
Recorded by RNZ Concert in the University of Auckland Music Theatre, 23 September 2018
Producer: Tim Dodd; Engineer: Rangi Powick
