Mahler and Saariaho

Kaija Saariaho is considered one of the best contemporary composers in the world, and has worked with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra before. Her harp concerto Trans was commissioned by the orchestra in 2015, and is now performed with award-winning soloist Xavier de Maistre! Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 is known particularly for its fourth movement, Adagietto, which is often performed separately at concerts. The adagietto is one of Mahler’s best known compositions, and was dedicated – with an accompanying love poem – to his wife Alma, to whom he had then recently gotten married.