Kari Kriikku

Kari Antti Kriikku, born on April 29, 1960 near Ylistaro, Finland, is a Finnish clarinetist. After leaving school at 16 to join the Helsinki Garrison Band, he studied at the Sibelius Academy and later with Alan Hacker, Leon Russianoff, and Charles Neidich. Kriikku’s debut album The Virtuoso Clarinet (1989) was followed by later releases Tiensuu: Vie / Missa for Clarinet and Orchestra / False Memories I‑III (2010) and D'Om Le Vrai Sens (For Clarinet And Orchestra) · Laterna Magica · Leino (2011). He premiered works by Jukka Tiensuu, Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg, and Unsuk Chin, and performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Minnesota Orchestra. His recordings of Carl Maria von Weber and Magnus Lindberg’s concertos was voted "best ever" recording by Classic CD and BBC Music Magazine, and he received the 2009 Nordic Council Music Prize.