— About
KA is a chamber work written in homage to Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who passed away one month before the residency during which the piece was composed. The residency was part of the Creative Dialogue XIV programme, held at Kallio Kuninkala, Järvenpää, Finland.
Four composers, four kantele players, and six string players from around the world gathered alongside British composer Julian Anderson, Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen, and Finnish kantele player Eija Kankaanranta. Composers wrote new pieces for strings and kantele, kokle, and kanklės, while the instrumentalists performed repertoire by Julian Anderson and Kaija Saariaho, and an improvisation group formed of all participants closed the sessions. For the first time, all Baltic countries were represented among the instruments and musicians involved.
All the pieces developed during the workshop were presented at the final concert at the Musiikkitalo in Helsinki on the 8th of July. The workshop and concert were dedicated to the memory of Kaija Saariaho.
— Video documentation