Kari Kriikku
Clarinet
Kari Kriikku played with such sublime deftness - and at the very limit of what was playable and audible - that 5,000 people let out a collective gasp..”
The Times (BBC Proms 2007)
Kari Kriikku is recognised as a champion of contemporary music whilst, in equal measure, maintaining his position as an important interpreter of the standard clarinet repertoire. His musical inventiveness and fresh attitude towards traditional performance have established for him a fascinating and versatile career which in June 2009 was further acknowledged as Kari Kriikku was announced recipient of the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize.
Many of his native composers have written for him, including Magnus Lindberg, whose Clarinet Concerto (2002) has been given over forty performances by Kriikku - including a sell-out performance at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony with Semyon Bychkov. “Puro” by Jukka Tiensuu, has equally had great exposure and his second concerto “Missa” was premiered by Kari Kriikku in Spring 2007 with co-commissioning orchestras Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, both under the baton of John Storgårds.
The 2009/10 season will see Kari Kriikku making his New York Philharmonic debut at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Alan Gilbert. He is guest soloist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons, with the Helsinki Philharmonic/John Storgårds, Oslo Philharmonic/Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Bergen and Rotterdam Philharmonics, the latter with Mikko Franck. Further afield he also appears under the baton of Paul Daniel with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, Perth.
Last seasons’ highlights have included performances under Semyon Bychkov both with the Radio Symphony Orchestra of the WDR Cologne and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan. With the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic with Sakari Oramo he closed the Philharmonic’s composer- festival performing Kimmo Hakola’s concerto, and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and John Storgårds he gave the London premiere of Jukka Tiensuu’s Missa. He won over local audiences on a nationwide tour with the New Zealand Orchestra under its Music Director Pietari Inkinen and was soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic/Baldur Bronnimann. In August 2008 Kari Kriikku made an inspired debut at New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival under the direction of Osmo Vänskä: returning to New York’s Lincoln Center in 2009/2010 as guest soloist in a chamber festival of Finnish music, featuring a new clarinet quintet of Jukka Tiensuu.
In Spring 2009 Kari Kriikku’s impressive discography for Ondine saw the release of “Bizaare Bazaar” – an intriguing compilation of works for clarinet and strings influenced by musical styles of the Middle East and klezmer. Kriikku’s recording of Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto has received five-star reviews and many awards. His disc of works for clarinet by Kimmo Hakola was awarded the prestigious Finnish Janne Prize.
As Artistic Director of Avanti! Chamber Orchestra since 1998, Kriikku is an active participant in their experimental group, ‘HumppAvanti!’, in which Kriikku incorporates his skills as an accomplished drummer and on the 5-stringed Bluegrass banjo. HumppAvanti! released its first CD on the EMI Bluenote label in 2007.
SEASON 2009/2010
