New Gates is Saariaho’s 1996 arrangement of ballet music she composed earlier. The ballet didn’t have a plot as such but was, instead built around mythological archetypes like doors and gates. Saariaho also avoids telling a story with her music, choosing instead to handle the germinal themes in a dream-like way through the medium of association. Her music sounds as if it’s moving towards gates, opening them, showing us new landscapes, then continuing towards more new gates.
Kaija Saariaho Photo: Priska Ketterer, ex artist's website
Recorded 29 August 2018, City Gallery, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer/Engineer: Darryl Stack
