Classic CD: Kaija Saariaho, Chamber Works for Strings

Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.

KAIJA SAARIAHO Chamber Works for Strings Vol.1
Stars: 5/5
Verdict: An indispensable introduction to a major contemporary voice, ignored in our concert halls

There was a time, not so long ago, when New Zealand was seen as having special musical links with Finland. Perhaps it had something to do with the perceived influence of Sibelius on Douglas Lilburn although, in the late 1980s, there were vigorous musical exchanges between our countries, many of which involved conductor and composer William Southgate.

Pietari Inkinen has had some influence on the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Within the past five years we have heard works by Einojuhani Rautavaara, Magnus Lindberg, Leif Segerstam, Jukka Tiensuu and, most recently, Kalevi Aho.

Worryingly, this Nordic boys' club has totally sidestepped the marvellous Kaija Saariaho, whose music, apart from Radio New Zealand Concert broadcasting her recent 60th birthday celebrations, seems fated to infiltrate this country only through CDs.

The first volume of Saariaho's chamber music for strings has just appeared. It is presented by META4, a hot, hip Finnish string quartet, currently touring Mendelssohn, Zemlinsky and their young countryman Fagerlund through the Finnish hinterland.

On this disc, they come together only for Saariaho's 1987 Nymphea, playing against Marko Myohanen's electronic backdrop.

Nymphea is the third of the composer's Secret Garden pieces, a maze of sonic mysteries, ranging from scattered fragments and murmurs to blistering walls of sound and bold spells of near silence.

Electronics feature in the 2006 Vent Nocturne, intertwined with the eloquent viola of Atte Kilpelainen but elsewhere accompaniment is provided by pianist Anna Laakso.

The 2010 Tocar is an enticing opening track. Violinist Minna Pensola and Laakso catch the volatile relationship between their two instruments (the piece's title means "touch" in Finnish).

META4's leader Antti Tikkanen takes over with the 2009 Calices, three movements reworked from the composer's 1994 violin concerto, Graal Theatre.

Cellist Tomas Djupsjobacka is superb in the 1997 Spins and Needles, its retuned strings allowing for unexpectedly delicate resonances and moments of elegiac reflection.