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Cover: Magnus Lindberg – Clarinet Concerto · Gran Duo · Chorale

Magnus Lindberg

Clarinet Concerto

Gran Duo · Chorale

Kari Kriikku, clarinet
Finnish RSO
Sakari Oramo, conductor

ODE 1038-2 · CD · July 2005

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Track listing

3 tracks · 50:16

Listen to samples on selected tracks.

Magnus Lindberg

  1. 1 Clarinet Concerto (2001-02) 24:57
  2. 2 Gran Duo (1999-2000)for woodwind and brass 19:22
  3. 3 Chorale (2001-02) 5:57

Press

Brilliantly extrovert and entertaining piece from the Finnish composer, requiring the clarinettist (the astonishing Kari Kriikku, for whom it was written) to take on a fluttering solo line full of multiphonics and other special effects. A giddy 25-minute flight through an enchanted forest of bewitching sounds.
Neil Fisher and Richard Morrison, Times Online, November 21, 2009, The ten best classical albums of the Noughties: fifth position

The concerto is alive and well and flourishing in Northern Europe, especially given Kari Kriikku's breathtaking virtuosity.
Guy Rickards, 2006 Classic FM Gramophone Award, Best Contemporary

Apart from Kari Kriikku's stunning playing in the Concerto, there's a dazzling kaleidoscope of colour from Oramo and the orchestra, in music that's completely up to date without losing touch with traditional forms.
Martin Cotton, 2006 BBC Music Magazine Award, Best Première

The excellent clarinetist Kari Kriikku, remarkably accompanied by Sakari Oramo and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, shows a breathtaking facility when playing with the challenges of this magnificent music.
Patrick Szersnovicz, Le Monde de la Musique, Choc de l'année 2005

BBC Radio 3, CD Review Critics' Choice 2005, Listeners' Discs of the Year 2005

Here's a wonderful trio of pieces by one of Finland's finest contemporary composers. (...) the performance couldn't be bettered.
Guy Rickards, The Gramophone, October 2005, Editor's Choice

Served by the sumptuous and inspired clarinet performance of Kari Kriiku, (...) this concerto appears to be a total masterpiece. (...) Maybe the contemporary music is not in such a bad shape...
Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin, Classica-Repertoire, December 2005/January 2006, Evénements CD, R10

There are also gems like this one, waiting to be discovered, proving conclusively that Classical Music is not dead, and may even (...) be thriving. (...) All of the performances under Sakari Oramo are just plain stunning, and so is the sound. What a terrific disc!
David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com, November 2005, Disc of the Month, Artistic Quality 10/10 Sound Quality

The artists

Kari Kriikku

Hailed by the New York Times as “A physically flamboyant player of Olympian virtuosity…”, Kari Kriikku has been a living inspiration behind a great number of remarkable Finnish compositions for the clarinet. On stage and through recordings, he has championed concertos and chamber works written for him by Kimmo Hakola, Jouni Kaipainen, Magnus Lindberg, Uljas Pulkkis, Kaija Saariaho, and Jukka Tiensuu. Above all, Kari Kriikku has premiered the entire output for clarinet by Magnus Lindberg. His recording of the Clarinet Concerto earned him both a Gramophone Award and a BBC Music Magazine Award in 2006. Furthermore he has championed the clarinet works of Jukka Tiensuu. Both concerto works Puro (“brook”, or “Bach” in German) and Missa he has performed more than fifty times.

Full biography

Also recommended

Magnus Lindberg

Piano Concerto · KRAFT

Magnus Lindberg, piano · Toimii Ensemble · Finnish RSO · Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor

ODE 1017-2 · CD · Apr 2004

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