Education
He studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and later with Alan Hacker in England and with Leon Russianoff and Charles Neidich in the United States of America.
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Kari Kriikku
Edit ProfileCareer
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 Civil Defense was voted "best ever" recording by Classic Civil Defense and British Broadcasting Corporation Music Magazine). 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. chamber orchestra and has served as the ensemble"s artistic director since 1998.
His performance is characterised by flexibility and a positive musician’s joy - he is a musician in the best sense of the word.” In late 2015, he toured with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under guest-conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya.
Achievements
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In 2006, his recording of Magnus Lindberg"s clarinet concerto won both British Broadcasting Corporation Music Magazine"s award and the Gramophone Award. 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.
Membership
Kari Kriikku is a founding member of the Avanti!.
