This article discusses the nature of transcontextual references to time in the light of one composition, Kaija Saariaho's radiophonic work Stilleben. The term transcontextuality indicates that a sound has a dual meaning, which refers both to the musical context created by the composer and to its original, natural or cultural context. The concept of transcontextuality is particularly rewarding because a substantial part of Stilleben's sound material is drawn from an earlier composition by Saariaho, Lichtbogen. The focus of the study is in defining the ways the composition refers to time outside of the musical time of Stilleben itself. These references are divided into two categories: (i) references to the musical time of Lichtbogen, and (ii) references to the passage of time in a non-musical context. The first category leads to a music analytical approach where dominance/subordination relations of the time structures of the two compositions in question are studied. It is concluded that the temporal structure of Stilleben is defined by the temporality of Lichtbogen on various structural levels. The second category gives rise to reasoning with respect to narrative interpretation: environmental sounds convey stories and thus refer directly to the passage of time.