Vom „Anti-Väinämöinen“ zum „neuen Sibelius“

Die Imago der Komponistin Kaija Saariaho als Musterbruch im finnischen Musikdiskurs

Abstract

Kaija Saariaho was the first female Finnish composer who gained a remarkable international reputation. In comparison to the established patterns that coined the image of Finnish composers – mainly, but not exclusively, based on the discursive construction of Jean Sibelius as the most prototypical example – the appearance of Saariaho can be regarded as a disruptive event on several levels. My article sets out by introducing definitory concepts of patterns (as potentially multi-modal sign complexes that serve as models and are being reproduced) and pattern disruption (as breach of a canon). With special regard to the imago of an artistic personality, a multi-modal approach is taken in both describing the core elements which form the image of a “canonic” Finnish composer and the disruptive aspects in Saariahoʼs music, career and public image in relation to those patterns. Finally, the analysis hints at the observation that pattern disruptions in artistic discourses may result into an almost immediate formation of new patterns or pattern blends, thus attenuating their disruptiveness. Further research might be conducted based on this indication, asking whether such transformative disruptions are perhaps the normal case rather than the exception in discourses related to the arts in general.