Composer Aulis Sallinen (b. 1935) has been one of the key voices in Finnish contemporary music since the 1960s. Aulis Sallinen rose into national and international prominence particularly through his dramatic and skilfully written six operas, written between 1973 and 1999 – including his fourth opera, Kullervo, which was premiered in Los Angeles in 1992. In addition to opera and vocal music, Sallinen has made significant contributions to chamber music through his growing Chamber Music series – a contemporary equivalent to Hindemith’s Kammermusik series –, String Quartets and Sonatas, as well as Symphonies.

This selection of music from ten different works by Sallinen celebrates his 90th anniversary of birth and highlights some of Sallinen’s finest contributions within opera, orchestral music and chamber music.