Kaija Saariaho has written a song-cycle, True Fire, for the baritone Gerald Finley who gave the first performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel. Now, with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu, he has recorded it for Ondine alongside two other works by Saariaho. James Jolly paid Gerald Finley a visit to talk about the score, its challenges and how he and Saariaho first encountered each other.

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Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke