10/26/2025
/ON THIS DAY/ On October 26, 1993, in Antwerp, Kaija Saariaho's SOLAR was premiered by Champ d'action conducted by Alain Franco.
☀️ SOLAR for ensemble with electronics (1993) continues a series of ensemble works such as LICHTBOGEN and IO that take their name from cosmic phenomena, in a period when Kaija was avidly reading about astrophysics, and herself continuing her research on the aesthetic qualities that could be derived from a scientific and technological approach to the nature of sound and hearing. Compared to the previous works of the same series, the musical writing is growing into a more contrasted direction characteristic of the composer's later work, and many elements of the violin concerto GRAAL THÉÂTRE (1994) are already falling into place. Kaija's note about the work:
"SOLAR is based on the idea of an ever present harmonic structure, which radiates an image around it and forces the harmony over and over again back to its original form, as if following the laws of gravity. The piece is named after this idea. This 'solar' harmony is then contrasted with a very different kind of harmonic principle, based more on polarities.
The musical material in SOLAR is deliberately limited. The same ideas re-appear, orchestrated in different manners, and above all in different tempi; this is another important aspect of SOLAR. Towards the end of the piece musical elements - registers, harmony, rhythm, tempo, orchestration - are presented in rapidly changing extremes.
The two electronic keyboards have limited but clear functions. The pianist alternates with the first keyboard 's sounds of metal bells tuned in quartertones. These sounds are connected to metallic percussions and the trumpet. The second keyboard, a Yamaha SY99 synthesiser, is used to complete piano and percussion textures, or to create sustained background chords and thus replace a larger string section."
🎶 Listen to the classic recording of SOLAR by Avanti! kamariorkesteri / Avanti! Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu (17 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P559Kro3WLw
Illustration: Ultraviolet imaging reveals the intense activity of the Sun’s upper atmosphere, the corona. The wild movements of plasma (charged gas burning at a temperature of ca. 1 million °C) that are observable with this imaging method are caused by the Sun’s powerful magnetic activity, which creates coronal ‘lines’ and ‘loops’ that can be up to 10,000 km wide. Picture ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team, 2024.
