Kari Kriikku
Encyclopedia
Kari Kriikku is a Finnish
classical clarinet
ist.
He studied at the Sibelius Academy
in Helsinki
, and later with Alan Hacker in England and with Leon Russianoff and Charles Neidich
in the USA.
An extremely sensitive player with a seemingly flawless command of his instrument, Kriikku is undoubtedly one of the world's foremost clarinetists. His recordings of the concertos of Carl Maria von Weber
and Bernhard Crusell have received worldwide acclaim (the Weber CD was voted "best ever" recording by Classic CD and BBC Music Magazine). In 2006, his recording of Magnus Lindberg
's clarinet concerto won both BBC Music Magazine's award and the Gramophone Award.
Concentrating on contemporary music, Kriikku is Scandinavia's leading interpreter of works for the clarinet by composers such as Magnus Lindberg, Vinko Globokar
, Kaija Saariaho
, Jukka Tiensuu
, Jouni Kaipainen
, Kimmo Hakola
, Esa-Pekka Salonen
, Pawel Szymanski
, Eero Hämeenniemi, Olli Koskelin and Usko Meriläinen
. He has performed Tiensuu's clarinet concerto PURO over 30 times.
Kari Kriikku is a founding member of the Avanti!
chamber orchestra and has served as the ensemble's artistic director since 1998.
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.”
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
classical clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
ist.
He studied at the Sibelius Academy
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy is 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...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, and later with Alan Hacker in England and with Leon Russianoff and Charles Neidich
Charles Neidich
Charles Neidich is an American classical clarinetist, composer, and conductor.-Early career:A native New Yorker of Russian and Greek descent, Charles Neidich began his clarinet studies with his father, Irving Neidich, at the age of eight, and continued them with the renowned teacher Leon Russianoff...
in the USA.
An extremely sensitive player with a seemingly flawless command of his instrument, Kriikku is undoubtedly one of the world's foremost clarinetists. His recordings of the concertos of Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
and Bernhard Crusell have received worldwide acclaim (the Weber CD was voted "best ever" recording by Classic CD and BBC Music Magazine). In 2006, his recording of Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He is currently the composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.-Education:...
's clarinet concerto won both BBC Music Magazine's award and the Gramophone Award.
Concentrating on contemporary music, Kriikku is Scandinavia's leading interpreter of works for the clarinet by composers such as Magnus Lindberg, Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar is a French avant-garde composer and trombonist of Slovene descent.His work is noted for its use of unconventional and extended techniques, closely allying him to contemporaries Salvatore Sciarrino and Helmut Lachenmann...
, Kaija Saariaho
Kaija Saariaho
Kaija Saariaho is a Finnish composer.Kaija Saariaho studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she has lived since 1982. Her studies and research at IRCAM have had a major influence on her music and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures are often created by...
, Jukka Tiensuu
Jukka Tiensuu
Jukka Tiensuu is a Finnish contemporary classical composer, harpsichordist, pianist and conductor.His repertoire as musician ranges from baroque music to John Cage and free improvisation and he has given master classes in baroque performance practice and free improvisation.He has written as well...
, Jouni Kaipainen
Jouni Kaipainen
Jouni Kaipainen is a Finnish composer.Kaipainen was born in Helsinki. He studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki under Aulis Sallinen and Paavo Heininen.- Works for the Stage :...
, Kimmo Hakola
Kimmo Hakola
Kimmo Hakola is a Finnish composer of notational music born in 1958 in Jyväskylä. He studied composition with Einojuhani Rautavaara and Magnus Lindberg...
, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
, Pawel Szymanski
Pawel Szymanski
Paweł Szymański is a Polish composer. His music is based on strict technical discipline and the initial sound material of Szymański’s pieces has roots in past conventions but is always processed and composed from the beginning...
, Eero Hämeenniemi, Olli Koskelin and Usko Meriläinen
Usko Meriläinen
Usko Meriläinen was a Finnish composer. He was born in Tampere.In 1954 his Partita for Brass won the Thor Johnson composition competition in Cincinnati, Ohio.His works include:* Symphony No. 1...
. He has performed Tiensuu's clarinet concerto PURO over 30 times.
Kari Kriikku is a founding member of the Avanti!
Avanti!
Avanti! is a 1972 American/Italian comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder. The film starred Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L...
chamber orchestra and has served as the ensemble's artistic director since 1998.
He was the 2009 winner of the Nordic Council Music Prize
Nordic Council Music Prize
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...
: 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.”