The Memorial Commissions for Kaija Saariaho were inspired by her piece Offrande, which the cellist Anssi Karttunen and the organist Olivier Latry performed at the inauguration of the new organ at the Helsinki Musiikkitalo (Helsinki Music Centre). 18 new works for cello and organ were commissioned in memory of the composer.
Following the great success of the performance of the first half of the works in November 2025 in Helsinki, the second concert featuring world premieres will now take place at the Maison de la Radio in Paris. Anssi Karttunen, alongside Alma Bettencourt and Thomas Ospital at the organ, will perform works by Zosha Di Castri, Chaya Czernowin, Pascal Dusapin, Francesco Filidei, Luca Francesconi, Thomas Lacôte, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Augusta Read-Thomas and Mioko Yokoyama.
Kaija Saariaho had a special relationship with the organ. She studied the organ herself and – before deciding to become a composer – even toyed with the idea of becoming a church organist. She later wrote an organ concerto, Maan Varjot, for Olivier Latry and donated a large sum to the Musiikkitalo in Helsinki for the construction of the organ in the concert hall, which was inaugurated in 2024 thanks to her support. The cello was the instrument for which Kaija Saariaho wrote most frequently – largely thanks to her close friendship with Anssi Karttunen. She even wrote a piece for cello and organ, Offrande, as a wedding gift for Anssi’s daughter, Marianna Karttunen. Offrande was the first piece performed at the inauguration concert for the Musiikkitalo organ on 1 January 2024.
Although both the organ and the cello have an extensive solo repertoire, there is virtually no repertoire for the two instruments together. In memory of Kaija Saariaho, Anssi Karttunen and Olivier Latry have launched a project to commission new duets for cello and organ. Eighteen internationally renowned composers who were closely associated with Kaija Saariaho have composed new works for this combination.
On 10 November 2025, Anssi Karttunen and Olivier Latry gave a highly successful premiere of the first half of the 18 commissioned works, composed by Julian Anderson, Betsy Jolas, John Paul Jones, George Lewis, Magnus Lindberg, Outi Tarkiainen, Jukka Tiensuu, Helena Tulve and Lotta Wennäkoski. These works will also be performed again in Paris on 28 November: in an afternoon concert, students from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris will perform these compositions.
Following their world premiere, all the new works will be available for touring.
