A Finnish-born composer, whose music won international acclaim for its combination of sonic complexity and ethereal lyricism, has died.

Kaija Saariaho passed away at her home in Paris after fighting an aggressive type of brain cancer.

In a career that spanned four decades, she wrote a dozen lengthy works for orchestra and won the Polar Music Prize in 2013.

The last piece she wrote, a trumpet concerto titled Hush, is scheduled to premiere in her native Finland in August.

Kaija Saariaho was 70