Kari Kriikku | |
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Born | 1960 (age 62–63) Finland |
Education | Sibelius Academy |
Occupation | clarinetist |
Years active | 1980s-present |
Musical career | |
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Member of | Avanti! Chamber Orchestra |
Kari Kriikku (born 1960) is a Finnish classical clarinetist.
Concentrating on contemporary music, Kriikku has served as an interpreter of works for the clarinet by composers such as Olli Koskelin, Vinko Globokar, Kaija Saariaho, Jukka Tiensuu, Jouni Kaipainen, Kimmo Hakola, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Pawel Szymanski, Eero Hämeenniemi, Magnus Lindberg, Michel van der Aa, and Usko Meriläinen.
Kriikku was born near Seinäjoki, Finland into a musical family. His father was a trumpet player and a pianist; his mothers and sisters played the guitar and piano. Kriikku's first public performance was at a school end-of-term event, during which he and his father performed a piano four hands. [1]
Kriikku left traditional school at age 16 to join the Helsinki Garrison Band, which required him to move into Army barracks. He later studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He continued to study with clarinetists Alan Hacker in England, and Leon Russianoff and Charles Neidich in the United States. [1]
Kari Kriikku co-founded the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in 1983, and has served as the ensemble's artistic director since 1998. [1]
Finnish contemporary classical composer Jukka Tiensuu wrote clarinet and orchestra concerto Puro (1989), [2] and clarinet concerto Missa (2007) for Kriikku. [3]
In 2002, composer Magnus Lindberg wrote his Clarinet Concerto specifically for Kriikku. The United States premiere performance took place in 2010, conducted by Alan Gilbert, with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. The performance was praised by The New York Times , and Kriikku was described as "a player of Olympian virtuosity." [4]
Kaija Saariaho wrote the clarinet part of her orchestra concerto D’om le Vrai Sens (2010) for Kriikku to perform. [5] It was inspired by the six-panels of the 16th-century tapestries "The Lady and the Unicorn," with Saariaho conceiving the clarinet as the unicorn. [6]
Kriikku gave the first performance of South Korean composer Unsuk Chin's Clarinet Concerto in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2014. The piece received a mixed review from The Guardian, with music critic Andrew Clements writing, "it doesn’t seem to be the major addition to the clarinet repertoire that, for instance, the concerto that Magnus Lindberg composed for Kriikku in 2002 most certainly is." [7]
In late 2015, Kriikku toured with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under guest-conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya. [8]
Kriikku made his Minnesota Orchestra debut in March 2023, performing Saariaho's D’om le Vrai Sens (2010). [9]
Kari Kriikku plays on Buffet Crampon RC Prestige clarinets.
His recordings of the concertos of Carl Maria von Weber was voted "best ever" recording by Classic CD and BBC Music Magazine. [10]
In 2006, his recording of Magnus Lindberg's Clarinet Concerto (2002) won both BBC Music Magazine's Award and the Classic FM Gramophone Award. [1] [3] [11]
He was the 2009 winner of the Nordic Council Music Prize: the prize committee wrote, "Kari Kriikku is an extraordinary virtuoso on his instrument, the clarinet. His performance is characterised by flexibility and a positive musician's joy – he is a musician in the best sense of the word." [12]
Title | Released | Featuring | Label |
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Crusell: Complete Clarinet Quartets | 1989 | Avanti! Quartet | Ondine |
The Virtuoso Clarinet | 1989 | Avanti! Chamber Orchestra | Finlandia |
Alexander von Zemlinsky: Clarinet Trio, Op. 3 / Max Bruch: Eight Pieces, Op. 83 | 1991 | Matti Hirvikangas (viola), Martti Rousi (cello), Arto Satukangas (piano) | Ondine |
Claude Debussy: Rhapsody For Clarinet And Orchestra / Jukka Tiensuu: Puro / Jouni Kaipainen: Carpe Diem! | 1991 | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste | Ondine |
Magnus Lindberg: ...De Tartuffe / Je Crois / Linea D'Ombra / Ritratto / Zona | 1992 | Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor), Anssi Karttunen (cello), Avanti! Chamber Orchestra | Finlandia |
Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet; Grand Duo Concertante / Felix Mendelssohn: Concert Pieces 1 & 2 for Clarinet, Basset-horn and Piano | 1994 | New Helsinki Quartet, Osmo Linkola (basset-horn), Arto Satukangas (piano) | Ondine |
Klarinetti! | 1994 | Osmo Linkola, Anna-Maija Korismaa, Kullervo Kojo, Suomalainen klarinettiyhtye | Suomen Kuvalehti Classica |
From Scandinavia: Lindberg, Sørensen, Saariaho, Tiensuu | 1996 | Arditti String Quartet, Jukka Tiensuu | Auvidis, Montaigne |
Carl Maria von Weber: Clariner Concertos 1 & 2 / Concertino / Clarinet Quintet | 1997 | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo | Ondine |
Avanti! | 1997 | Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, John Storgårds | Ilmailulaitos |
Crusell: Clarinet Concertos | 2000 | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo | Ondine |
Kimmo Hakola: Clarinet Quintet / Loco / Capriole | 2002 | Avanti! Quartet, Anssi Karttunen (cello) | Ondine |
A Century of Finnish Chamber Music: Live from the Kuhmo Festival | 2002 | Various artists [13] | Ondine |
W.A. Mozart / Johann Molter: Clarinet Concertos | 2005 | Tapiola Sinfonietta, John Storgårds | Ondine |
Kimmo Hakola: Clarinet Concerto / Verdoyances crépscules / Diamond Street | 2005 | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo | Ondine |
Magnus Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto // Gran Duo // Chorale | 2005 | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo | Ondine |
A Due | 2007 | Anssi Karttunen (cello) | Ondine |
Jukka Tiensuu: Nemo · Puro · Spiriti | 2008 | Mikko Luoma (accordion), Avanti!, Susanna Mälkki (conductor) | Alba |
Bizarre Bazaar | 2009 | Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jan Söderblom | Ondine |
Jukka Tiensuu - Vie / Missa for Clarinet and Orchestra / False Memories I-III | 2010 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds | Ondine |
Uljas Pulkkis: Tales of Joy, Passion and Love | 2011 | Gabriel Suovanen, Hannu Lintu, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | Ondine |
Saariaho - D'om Le Vrai Sens for clarinet and orchestra / Laterna Magica / Leino Songs | 2011 | Anu Komsi, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo | Ondine |
Magnus Lindberg: Chamber Works | 2012 | Anssi Karttunen (cello), Magnus Lindberg (piano) | Ondine |
Brahms-Glanert: Four Serious Songs / Brahms-Berio: Clarinet Sonata No. 1 / Glanert: Weites Land | 2017 | Michael Nagy (baritone), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Olari Elts (conductor) | Ondine |
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Kaija Anneli Saariaho was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the BBC, the New York Philharmonic, the Salzburg Music Festival, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and the Finnish National Opera, among others. In a 2019 composers' poll by BBC Music Magazine, Saariaho was ranked the greatest living composer.
Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and has been the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence since the beginning of the 2014–15 season.
The Sibelius Academy is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities with roughly 1,400 enrolled students.
Pekka Kuusisto is a Finnish musician.
The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded annually by NOMUS, the Nordic Music Committee. Every two years it is awarded for a work by a living composer. In the intervening years it is awarded to a performing musician or ensemble.
Anssi Karttunen is a Finnish cellist.
Jukka Santeri Tiensuu is a Finnish contemporary classical composer, harpsichordist, pianist and conductor.
Ondine is a Finnish classical record label founded in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland. Its catalogue with several award-winning releases includes over 600 titles with major Finnish and international artists.
Tomi Räisänen is a Finnish composer.
Timo Korhonen is a Finnish classical guitarist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists in his generation.
Kimmo Hannu Tapio Hakola is a Finnish composer. Born in Jyväskylä, he studied composition with Einojuhani Rautavaara and Magnus Lindberg at Sibelius Academy. He first came to prominence with his First String Quartet, which won the Unesco Composers' Rostrum in 1987.
The Avanti! Chamber Orchestra is a Finnish ensemble that focuses on contemporary music. The ensemble when it performs varies in size from a solo player to a symphony orchestra. Avanti! Chamber Orchestra won the Gramophone Prize with their first recording. The Orchestra also holds a music festival of its own each summer.
Op. 120, No. 1, also entitled Opus 120, No. 1 or in its German form, Opus 120, Nr. 1, is a 1986 arrangement for clarinet and orchestra of Johannes Brahms's Clarinet Sonata Op. 120, No. 1 by Italian composer Luciano Berio. As with the original Sonata, the soloist in this arrangement can either be a clarinet or a viola.
D'Om le Vrai Sens is a clarinet concerto by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was jointly commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC, the Fundação Casa da Musica, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Radio France. It was given its world premiere by the clarinetist Kari Kriikku and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Sakari Oramo in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, on September 8, 2010. The concerto is dedicated to Kari Kriikku.
The Clarinet Concerto is a composition for solo clarinet and orchestra by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. It was written for the Finnish clarinetist Kari Kriikku. The piece was given its world premiere in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, on September 14, 2002 by Kari Kriikku and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The composition is one of Lindberg's most frequently performed works.
The Concerto for Orchestra is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The work was commissioned by the BBC and was composed between 2002 and 2003. It was given its world premiere by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jukka-Pekka Saraste on September 30, 2003 at the Barbican Centre, London.
Sculpture is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The music was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with support from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation to celebrate the orchestra's inaugural season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Its world premiere was given by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen on October 6, 2005.
Lotta Annukka Wennäkoski is a Finnish composer.
Unsuk Chin's Clarinet Concerto was written in 2014 on a joint commission from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Philharmonia Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. A partial premiere of piece was given by the clarinetist Kari Kriikku and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano at the Gothenburg Concert Hall on May 8, 2014; the complete concerto was given its world premiere by Kriikku and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert at Avery Fisher Hall on September 23, 2014.